Full Record - Supraglacial lake and channel depth on the Greenland ice sheet generated using the SHEDv1.0 model

Supraglacial lake and channel depth on the Greenland ice sheet generated using the SHEDv1.0 model

GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/02132

Abstract:
This dataset contains spatially and temporally resolved outputs describing supraglacial hydrology on the southwest Greenland Ice Sheet for the period 2015-2019. The data include gridded fields of surface meltwater routing, supraglacial lake extent and volume, lake drainage events (rapid and slow), and associated surface water fluxes at 100 m spatial resolution and daily temporal resolution. Outputs are derived from physically based simulations driven by climate model forcing, surface elevation data, and stress fields. The dataset has been evaluated against satellite-derived supraglacial lake observations and in situ proglacial discharge measurements, showing good agreement in lake distribution, seasonal evolution, and discharge magnitude. These data support analyses of surface meltwater storage and transfer across the ice surface and provide inputs for studies of ice-sheet hydrology and dynamics.

License

Access:	The model code and forcing data needed to generate the model output are hosted on gitlab and zenodo (see 'Data Storage' for links).
Use:	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license

Authors

Name	UK Polar Data Centre
Role(s)	Metadata Author
Organisation	British Antarctic Survey

Name	Amber Leeson
Role(s)	Investigator, Technical Contact
Organisation	Lancaster University

Name	Prateek Gantayat
Role(s)	Investigator
Organisation	Lancaster University

Basic Information

Creation Date:	2026-01-07
Dataset Progress:	Complete
Dataset Language:	English
ISO Topic Categories:	Environment
Parameters:	Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets > Ice Sheets Cryosphere > Snow/Ice > Ice Growth/Melt Hydrosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets > Ice Sheets Hydrosphere > Snow/Ice > Ice Growth/Melt

Additional Information

Reference:	Gantayat, P., Banwell, A. F., Leeson, A. A., Lea, J. M., Petersen, D., Gourmelen, N., and Fettweis, X.: A new model for supraglacial hydrology evolution and drainage for the Greenland Ice Sheet (SHED v1.0), Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 5803-5823, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5803-2023, 2023.
Quality:	The SHED v1.0 model has been evaluated against multiple independent observational datasets. Modelled supraglacial lake locations and temporal evolution were compared with lake extents derived from MODIS satellite imagery, showing that approximately 80 % of observed lake locations were reproduced and that seasonal lake area dynamics were captured with reasonable accuracy. In addition, simulated meltwater discharge routed from the supraglacial system was compared with in situ proglacial discharge measurements from southwest Greenland catchments, demonstrating good agreement in magnitude and seasonal timing, subject to expected delays due to the absence of an explicit subglacial hydrology component. Key model parameters were calibrated using one study region and subsequently applied to other regions to assess transferability. Uncertainties related to input data (e.g. DEM accuracy, climate model runoff) and simplified process representations remain, but overall validation results indicate the model is robust for simulating supraglacial hydrology and drainage at regional scales.
Lineage/Methodology:	This data can be produced using a high-resolution (100 m, daily timestep) physically based hydrology model comprising four modules: supraglacial routing and lake-filling, hydrofracture, slow lake drainage (overtopping), and lake refreezing. Meltwater routing is simulated using a DEM-based flow-path algorithm; hydrofracture using linear elastic fracture mechanics; slow drainage via channel incision parameterization; and refreezing with an energy-balance approach. We provide the data to run the model over three distinct catchments in southwest Greenland (regions 1-3) from 2015 to 2019. The model parameters (e.g., critical stress threshold, channel width) have been calibrated by comparing model output to satellite-observed lake areas and in situ discharge.

Extent

Temporal Coverage:
Start Date	2015-01-01
End Date	2019-12-31

Spatial Coverage:
Latitude
Southernmost	64.5
Northernmost	69
Longitude
Westernmost	-52
Easternmost	-44
Altitude
Min Altitude	N/A
Max Altitude	N/A
Depth
Min Depth	N/A
Max Depth	N/A

Data Resolution:
Latitude Resolution	100 metres
Longitude Resolution	100 metres
Horizontal Resolution Range	100 meters - < 250 meters
Vertical Resolution	N/A
Vertical Resolution Range	N/A
Temporal Resolution	Daily
Temporal Resolution Range	Daily - < Weekly

Location:
Location	Arctic
Detailed Location	Russell Glacier, Southwest Greenland

Instrumentation

Data Collection:	Key inputs include: - ArcticDEM (100 m surface elevation) - for hydrological routing and lake formation. - MAR v3.11 regional climate model output - daily surface runoff, snow depth/density, meteorological forcing (air temperature, humidity, wind, shortwave radiation) at approximately 6 km resolution. - Surface von Mises stress fields - for crevasse/hydrofracture initiation. - SHED v1.0 model code (Fortran-77). - Ancillary scripts and setup files for running SHED modules and post-processing.

Data Collection:

Key inputs include:
- ArcticDEM (100 m surface elevation) - for hydrological routing and lake formation.
- MAR v3.11 regional climate model output - daily surface runoff, snow depth/density, meteorological forcing (air temperature, humidity, wind, shortwave radiation) at approximately 6 km resolution.
- Surface von Mises stress fields - for crevasse/hydrofracture initiation.
- SHED v1.0 model code (Fortran-77).
- Ancillary scripts and setup files for running SHED modules and post-processing.

Storage

Data Storage:	The model is coded in Fortran-77. The source code, along with a readme.txt file, can be freely downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7633220. We have also uploaded step-by-step instructions to run the code. Additionally, we have also outlined the steps that need to be followed to run the lake-refreezing module of the hydrology model. The daily runoff, snow depth, surface von Mises stress, snow density, air temperature, relative humidity, and other meteorological data for region 2 and region 1 can be downloaded freely from https://github.com/prateekgantayat/data_for_model and https://zenodo.org/record/7652297, respectively. Model data for region 3 can be downloaded from https://zenodo.org/record/7652634. The daily measured proglacial discharge data for region 1 and region 2 can be downloaded from https://zenodo.org/record/7655412. In addition to data, the model codes used in each of the regions have also been uploaded into the corresponding repositories. The MEaSURES velocity data can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5067/OC7B04ZM9G6Q. Sentinel-2 imagery can be downloaded from http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov. The GEEDiT-derived lake extents generated by James Lea can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7464796.

Data Storage:

The model is coded in Fortran-77. The source code, along with a readme.txt file, can be freely downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7633220. We have also uploaded step-by-step instructions to run the code. Additionally, we have also outlined the steps that need to be followed to run the lake-refreezing module of the hydrology model.

The daily runoff, snow depth, surface von Mises stress, snow density, air temperature, relative humidity, and other meteorological data for region 2 and region 1 can be downloaded freely from https://github.com/prateekgantayat/data_for_model and https://zenodo.org/record/7652297, respectively. Model data for region 3 can be downloaded from https://zenodo.org/record/7652634. The daily measured proglacial discharge data for region 1 and region 2 can be downloaded from https://zenodo.org/record/7655412. In addition to data, the model codes used in each of the regions have also been uploaded into the corresponding repositories. The MEaSURES velocity data can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5067/OC7B04ZM9G6Q. Sentinel-2 imagery can be downloaded from http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov. The GEEDiT-derived lake extents generated by James Lea can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7464796.