Effect of Glaciers on Annual Run-Off, Johan Dahl Land, South Greenland

Abstract

Abstract Run-off data for two basins in south Greenland, one of which contains glaciers, are compared with precipitation at a nearby weather station and with ablation measured in the glacier basin. Seasonal variations of run-off for the two basins are broadly similar while run-off from the glacier basin has smaller year-to-year variations. A simple statistical model shows that this is the result of a negative correlation between ablation and precipitation, which has the effect of reducing run-off variations in basins with a moderate amount of glacier cover although run-off variations may become large again for highly glacierized basins. The model also predicts an increasing run-off with ablation correlation and a decreasing run-off with precipitation correlation as the amount of glacier cover increases. Although there are still too few data sets from other parts of Greenland for final conclusions, there are indications that the present findings may be applicable to other Greenland basins.