As a result of climate warming, glacial meltwater discharge has been increasing in Greenland. During the summers of 2015 and 2016, there were rapid increases in discharge from Qaanaaq Glacier in northwestern Greenland. These discharges resulted in floods that destroyed the road linking the settlement of Qaanaaq to Qaanaaq Airport. Field measurements were performed and a numerical model of glacier runoff was developed to quantify these discharges. The high discharge associated with the 2015 flood, estimated at 9.1 m3 s−1 (hourly mean), resulted from intensive glacier melting due to warm air temperature and strong winds, while the high discharge associated with the 2016 flood resulted from heavy rainfall (90 mm d−1) that led to a peak discharge estimated at 19.9 m3 s−1. The developed model, when used to investigate future glacier runoff under warming conditions, revealed a nonlinear increase in glacial melt with increasing temperature. Additionally, the model forecasted a threefold increase in total summer discharge, owing to a 4 °C rise in temperature. Thus, this study quantified the impact of a changing climate on glacier runoff, which gives insight into future risks of flood hazards along the coast of Greenland.

中文翻译：

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格陵兰西北部 Qaanaaq 冰川排放引起的洪水事件

由于气候变暖，格陵兰的冰川融水排放量一直在增加。2015 年和 2016 年夏季，格陵兰西北部卡纳克冰川的排放量迅速增加。这些排放导致洪水摧毁了连接 Qaanaaq 定居点和 Qaanaaq 机场的道路。进行了现场测量，并开发了冰川径流的数值模型来量化这些排放量。与 2015 年洪水相关的高流量，估计为 9.1 m3s-1（小时平均值），由于温暖的气温和强风导致冰川强烈融化，而与 2016 年洪水相关的高流量是由于强降雨（90 mm d-1) 导致峰值流量估计为 19.9 m3s-1. 开发的模型在用于研究未来变暖条件下的冰川径流时，揭示了冰川融化随温度升高的非线性增加。此外，该模型预测，由于气温上升 4°C，夏季总排放量将增加三倍。因此，这项研究量化了气候变化对冰川径流的影响，从而深入了解格陵兰沿岸未来的洪水灾害风险。