Basal water pressure measured in boreholes drilled to the bed of Western Greenland: 2014-2017

The gradient of the hydraulic potential field at the ice-bedrock interface beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet dictates the routing and energetics of subglacial water, thereby influencing drainage system characteristics and sliding dynamics. In the ablation zone of the GrIS, variable water pressure due to an active subglacial drainage system and basal topography with high relief potentially interact to drive unknown spatial patterns and temporal changes in the hydraulic potential field. Here we present a suite of water pressure measurements collected in boreholes at a site in western GrIS, collected from 2014 to 2017 as part of an NSF-funded study to investigate the partitioning of surface velocity in to sliding and deformational components, and the role of meltwater on ice dynamics. Borehole sites show consistently high pressures with small scale variability during the melt season. High pressure persists during the winter period in the single borehole for each over-winter records are measured.