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The influence of subglacial drainage dynamics on the flow of the Antarctic ice sheets is relatively unknown. Accumulation of water in large subglacial lakes complicates analysis by providing a temporally varying sink and source of water for the Antarctic basal catchments. We examine the impact of lake development and drainage on catchment-scale hydrology in various regions of the Antarctic. Our method employs the 2D glacial hydrology model GlaDS, which incorporates both efficient and inefficient drainage systems. We first apply the model to a synthetic system to examine general controls on lake growth and drainage and then to Recovery Ice Stream and the Aurora Subglacial Basin, both located in the East Antarctic. These two systems are major catchments, draining a significant portion of the East Antarctic, but have very different basal topographies and subglacial lake characteristics. Model outputs include lake volume change and catchment hydrology network development, such as temporally varying channels and regions of high water pressure. We discuss the implications of the modelled outputs for ice dynamics in the Recovery and Aurora Subglacial Basin catchments.

Item Type:	Conference Extract
Keywords:	ice sheet dynamics, subglacial hydrology, numerical modelling
Research Division:	Engineering
Research Group:	Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering
Research Field:	Computational methods in fluid flow, heat and mass transfer (incl. computational fluid dynamics)
Objective Division:	Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards
Objective Group:	Understanding climate change
Objective Field:	Effects of climate change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments (excl. social impacts)
UTAS Author:	Graham, F (Dr Felicity McCormack)
ID Code:	125971
Year Published:	2016
Deposited By:	Oceans and Cryosphere
Deposited On:	2018-05-17
Last Modified:	2018-05-21
Downloads:	0