The Physics of Oceans and Atmospheres (POA) seminar talk, Internal waves generated by subglacial discharge plumes: Implications for glacier melt, will be given by Jesse Cusack, Assistant Professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences.

Abstract:
Submarine melting has been implicated in the accelerated retreat of marine-terminating glaciers globally. Energetic ocean flows, such as subglacial discharge plumes, are known to enhance submarine melting in their immediate vicinity. I will present evidence that discharge plumes also emit high-frequency internal gravity waves that propagate across glacier termini. Their properties, such as frequency and energy density, are modulated on seasonal timescales by fjord stratification and discharge strength. These waves were discovered through a new set of observations at an Alaska glacier terminus that reveal the structure of the waves with sufficient detail to characterize their generation mechanism and energetics. Accounting for internal wave velocities within a common melt parameterization increases predicted melt rates by 40--80 \%.