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Spatiotemporal distributions of icebergs in a temperate fjord: Columbia Fjord, Alaska

Abstract. Much of the world's ice enters the ocean via outlet
glaciers terminating in fjords. Inside fjords, icebergs may affect
glacier–ocean interactions by cooling incoming ocean waters, enhancing
vertical mixing, or providing back stress on the terminus. However,
relatively few studies have been performed on iceberg dynamics inside
fjords, particularly outside of Greenland. We examine icebergs calved from
Columbia Glacier, Alaska, over 8 months spanning late winter to mid-fall
using 0.5 m resolution satellite imagery, identifying icebergs based on
pixel brightness. Iceberg sizes fit a power-law distribution with an overall
power-law exponent, m, of -1.26±0.05. Seasonal variations in the
power-law exponent indicate that brittle fracture of icebergs is more
prevalent in the summer months. Combining our results with those from
previous studies of iceberg distributions, we find that iceberg calving
rate, rather than water temperature, appears to be the major control on the
exponent value. We also analyze icebergs' spatial distribution inside the
fjord and find that large icebergs (10 000–100 000 m2
cross-sectional area) have low spatial correlation with icebergs of smaller
sizes due to their tendency to ground on shallow regions. We estimate the
surface area of icebergs in contact with incoming seawater to be 3.0±0.63×104 m2. Given the much larger surface area of the terminus,
9.7±3.7×105 m2, ocean interactions with the terminus may
have a larger impact on ocean heat content than interactions with icebergs.
