Glacial fjords are deep, narrow inlets with a marine-terminating glacier at their head. These environments are key sites for studying the complex interactions between ocean, ice, and atmosphere, which play a critical role in shaping the cryosphere. Fjord circulation is influenced by buoyancy-driven flows, tides, and exchanges with adjacent coastal waters, processes that regulate the delivery of heat to tidewater glaciers and drive submarine melting. Despite their significance in controlling ice loss and contributing to sea level rise, the dynamics of glacial fjords, particularly in the High Arctic, remain underexplored.
Our research in Milne Fiord, located on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic, seeks to understand the intricate interplay between oceanographic processes and the ice features within this unique system. Milne Fiord hosts Milne Glacier, a fragmented glacier tongue, and the Milne Ice Shelf, one of the last remaining ice shelves in the Northern Hemisphere. These features create a rare opportunity to study both glacial fjord and ice shelf cavity dynamics in a single setting. Through extensive field observations and high-resolution numerical modeling, we investigate the mechanisms behind the fjord’s circulation and the exchange of heat between the ocean and the ice structures. This dual approach not only enhances our understanding of Milne Fiord, but also provides insights transferable to other glacial fjords and ice shelf systems in Greenland and Antarctica, contributing to predictions of future sea level rise and the response of polar systems to climate change.
