Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) velocity profiles adjacent to a tidewater glacier in Sarqardleq Fjord, West Greenland, from 2013-07-25 to 2013-07-27

The interaction of the ocean with tidewater glaciers around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet is thought to be a key control on ice sheet stability. Thus, understanding the processes which drive melting of the calving fronts of tidewater glaciers by the ocean is fundamental to projections of future global mean sea level rise. Our understanding is however currently limited, partly due to the scarcity of oceanographic data from close to the calving fronts of tidewater glaciers. The primary goal of these Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) water velocity measurements was to quantify the ocean conditions adjacent to a west Greenland tidewater glacier. In particular, knowledge of the water velocity is highly valuable as these are understood to be one of the two primary variables determining the rate at which the ocean melts the calving front of the glacier.

普遍认为，格陵兰冰盖周边海域与沿岸潮汐冰川（tidewater glaciers）的相互作用，是调控冰盖稳定性的关键控制因素。因此，厘清海洋驱动潮汐冰川冰崩前缘消融的物理过程，是未来全球平均海平面上升预测研究的核心基础。然而当前学界对该过程的认知仍存在局限，部分原因在于难以获取潮汐冰川冰崩前缘附近的海洋学观测数据。本次声学多普勒流速剖面仪（Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, ADCP）流速测量工作的核心目标，是量化格陵兰岛西部某潮汐冰川周边的海洋环境条件。尤为关键的是，水流速度数据具有极高应用价值——学界已达成共识，水流速度是决定海洋消融冰川冰崩前缘速率的两大核心变量之一。