bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estimating rates of basal motion and internal ice deformation from continuous tilt measurements
Authors: Gudmundsson G. Hilmar , Bauder Andreas , Lüthi Martin , Fischer Urs H. , Funk Martin
Published: November 2007

Over a two-year period, continuous measurements of temporal changes in tilt, conducted with a string of tilt meters in a borehole on Unteraargletscher, Bernese Alps, Switzerland, have been used to estimate the basal-motion component. This estimation is based on a comparison of the measurements with synthetic tilt curves, computed using a parameterization of a simplified flow field. The best agreement is found for a ratio of basal motion to forward motion due to ice deformation (slip ratio) equal to about 1.2. Measured tilt curves exhibit a number of different transient features. While an overall increase in tilt angle is observed at every tilt-meter location, two of the sensors recorded anomalous tilt behaviour. These anomalies are characterized by sudden and drastic variations in tilt. A particularly intriguing example of such short-term tilt variations was recorded with a tilt meter positioned 40 m above the bed during the 1997 summer melt season.
A new surface-processes model combining glacial and fluvial erosion
Authors: Braun Jean , Zwartz Dan , Tomkin Jonathan H.
Published: November 2007

We have developed a new surface-processes model incorporating large-scale fluvial processes, local hill-slope processes and glacial erosion. Ice thickness and velocity are calculated under a shallow-ice approximation. Simulation experiments in fast-growing orogens comparing the efficiencies of fluvial and glacial erosion, where the two are operating simultaneously over several glacial cycles, show that: glacial landscapes can support greater ice masses than fluvial landscapes; glacial valley and lake shapes create a disequilibrium between landform and land-forming process that leads to pulses of high erosion at the end of glacial periods; glacial erosion rates can reach a constant value in a uniformly growing orogen; and glacial erosion is capable of eroding drainage divides when the ice is moderately thick.
Cosmogenic analysis of glacial terrains in the eastern Canadian Arctic: a test for inherited nuclides and the effectiveness of glacial erosion
Authors: Davis P. Thompson , Bierman Paul R. , Marsella Kimberly A. , Caffee Marc W. , Southon John R.
Published: November 2007

To determine the effectiveness of glacial erosion and the magnitude of cosmogenic nuclide inheritance from prior periods of cosmic-ray exposure, we measured the abundance of10Be and26Al in nine samples collected from bedrock, boulders and cobbles exposed by the retreat of Tumbling Glacier, Baffin Island, Canada. Most samples had nuclide concentrations so low that we were only able to set upper limits for nuclide abundance. Three boulders, two on a Neoglacial moraine of Tumbling Glacier that impounds Crater Lake and one on a roche moutonnée within the Neoglacial moraine loop, had nuclide abundances indicating no more than 900 yr of exposure at the surface. Three bedrock samples, striated by Tumbling Glacier and exposed by ice retreat within the last 20 yr, have similarly low nuclide abundances. One bedrock sample, covered by Tumbling Glacier ice for some part of the Holocene but not eroded, allows us to estimate crudely the duration of Neoglaciation at our sample site (about 5450 yr) and to provide a lower limit on the erosion rate of Tumbling Glacier (0.10 ± 0.03 mm a–1). We analyzed two cobbles collected from the tops of roches moutonnées at Crater Lake; one cobble had the equivalent of 3000 yr of exposure, the other < 900 yr.
Preliminary study of laminated, silt-rich debris bands: Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.
Authors: Ensminger Staci L. , Evenson Edward B. , Larson Grahame J. , Lawson Daniel E. , Alley Richard B. , Strasser Jeffrey C.
Published: November 2007

Several different types of laterally extensive debris bands occur along the western terminus region of the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A. An ice-bed process, which to our knowledge has not previously been recognized and described, forms the most common and most prominent type of debris band at Matanuska Glacier’s terminus. The debris bands are composed of one or several millimeter-thick laminations of silt-rich ice having much higher sediment content than that of the surrounding ice. Samples of these bands and their surrounding englacial ice have been analyzed for anthropogenic tritium (3H), oxygen-18 (δ18O), and deuterium (δD).We interpreted the laminated, silt-rich debris bands as basal fractures, along which silt-laden, glaciohydraulically supercooled and pressurized waters flowed, healing the fractures by ice growth. This process is analogous to the inward growth of hydrothermal quartz from the sides of an open fracture.
Structure and strength of basal ice and substrate of a dry-based glacier: evidence for substrate deformation at sub-freezing temperatures
Authors: Fitzsismon Sean J. , McManus Kevin J. , Lorrain Reginad D.
Published: November 2007

This paper presents new data and interpretations of the structure, strength and behaviour of basal ice and the substrate of Suess Glacier, south Victoria Land, Antarctica, which is a small alpine dry-based glacier that has a basal temperature of—17°C. A tunnel excavated in the glacier revealed a substrate composed of frozen sand and gravel and a basal zone that was 3.8 m thick. From bottom to top, the basal zone was composed of 1.8 m of stratified, complexly deformed layers of ice and debris overlain by a 0.9 m thick layer of frozen sediment and a 0.8 m thick layer of discoloured ice lying immediately beneath clean glacier ice. Direct shear tests performed in the field on 36 samples show that the average peak shear strength of substrate samples was 2.53 MPa, which is almost twice as strong as the average value for basal ice (1.28 MPa) and the glacier ice samples (1.39 MPa). The direct shear tests suggest that the glacier substrate is unlikely to deform at the current temperature. However, observations of the structure and composition of the basal zone suggest that the substrate contains localized weaknesses that may reduce the peak strength sufficiently to permit bed deformation and entrainment. Two observed forms of weakness are ice lenses and layers in the permafrost and lenses of unsaturated permafrost, which may be inherited from the active zone of a former land surface or produced as pore ice sublimes into cavities which have formed at the glacier bed. Interpretation of data from this study suggests that glacier beds well below the freezing point can be deformed and eroded under certain conditions.
Identifying fast ice flow from landform assemblages in the geological record: a discussion
Authors: Hart Jane K.
Published: November 2007

Different types of fast ice flow (both spatial and temporal) in valley glaciers (surging glaciers, tidewater glaciers and deforming-bed glaciers) and ice sheets (ice streams and deforming-bed ice-sheet flow) are discussed briefly. Although there are unlikely to be any specific individual landforms associated with fast ice flow, there may be landform assemblages.

At valley glacier scale, it is suggested that there are two landform assemblages: (1) an ice-thrust type, dominated by bulldozed push moraines and hummocky moraines (associated with glaciers with a high supraglacial sediment supply, a coarse-grained substrate and a coarse-grained proglacial sediment wedge); and (2) a bed-flow type dominated by “squeeze” push moraines, flutes and drumlins (associated with glaciers with a low supra- glacial sediment supply and fine-grained substrate). The ice-thrust type alone is only associated with discontinuous fast flow (on both rigid and deforming beds); whilst the bed-flow type is associated with both continuous and discontinuous fast flow.

It is suggested that these two landform assemblages may also be indicative of fast ice flow at ice-sheet scale, in particular the bed-flow style. If that is the case, then discontinuous fast ice flow may be indicated by the ice-thrust landform assemblage and the bed-flow style where drumlins are present.

It is also suggested that specific evidence for ice streams includes the distinctive land-form assemblages within valley or fan-like locations, and a predictable pattern of velocity reflected by drumlin elongation ratios.
The horned crag-and-tails of the Ungava Bay landform swarm, Quebec–Labrador, Canada
Authors: Jansson Krister N. , Kleman Johan
Published: November 2007

Till lineations are widespread throughout the interior of Quebec—Labrador, Canada. We discuss a previously unrecognized lineation type, horned crag-and- tails, characterized by two till ridges at the lateral flanks of a bedrock crag. This lineation type appears to occur exclusively in the Ungava Bay lineation swarm and has not been reported from other glaciated shield areas. The morphology and spatial distribution of these peculiar landforms are analyzed in the context of Laurentide ice sheet dynamics in central Quebec—Labrador. We propose that a horned crag-and-tail ridge forms when the ice sheet is frozen to the summit of the crag, but basal melting occurs lower down on the crag. The lack of basal sliding at the summit of the crag inhibits till transport across the crag and prevents the accumulation of till in a direct lee-side position. The last phase of the formation is fossilization by basal freezing of the horned crag-and-tail system. This scenario requires that the ice sheet undergoes a transition from frozen-bed conditions to basal melting with frozen patches on topographical highs, and back to fully frozen-bed conditions. Horned crag-and-tails may thus indicate a unique sequence of basal thermal conditions over large areas of Quebec-Labrador.
Subglacial sediment textures: character and evolution at Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland
Authors: Fischer Urs H. , Hubbard Bryn
Published: November 2007

Fourteen subglacial debris samples have been recovered from the margins of, or beneath, Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. The grain-size distributions of these sediments are presented and compared with each other as bivariate plots of percentage weight against (sieve-defined) particle size and log number of particles against log particle diameter. All of the samples recovered are composed of a broad range of clast sizes and approach self-similarity over the four orders of magnitude of grain-sizes analysed. Fractal dimensions range from 2.47 to 2.77. Sample intercomparison reveals the operation of at least two processes of textural evolution: the production of fines by in-situ weathering, interpreted in terms of abrasion associated with subglacial sediment deformation, and the loss of fines, interpreted in terms of eluviation by percolating subglacial meltwaters. These interpretations are supported and refined through comparison of the grain-size fractions gained (in the case of deformation) and lost (in the case of eluviation) with those fractions respectively generated in a laboratory-based simulation of sediment deformation and exiting the glacier suspended in the proglacial meltwater stream. While sediment deformation has the effect of increasing the fine fraction between 0 and 10ϕ and of raising the fractal dimension of undeformed sediments from 2.47 to 2.77, eluviation removes particles between 2 and 100, driving the fractal dimension of deformed sediments down from 2.77 to 2.54. These fractal dimensions are generally lower than those recorded at other comparable glaciers, consistent with the relatively low rates of sediment deformation inferred from other studies at Haut Glacier d’Arolla.
The significance of pre-existing, deeply weathered crystalline rock in interpreting the effects of glaciation in the Minnesota River valley, U.S.A.
Authors: Patterson C. J. , Boerboom T.J.
Published: November 2007

Minnesota is largely underlain by Precambrian crystalline bedrock that was weathered to an average depth of 30 m prior to Late Cretaceous time. The fresh-rock— weathered-rock interface is irregular, with as much as 45 m of relief. Weathering exploited joints, locally isolating meter-sized volumes of rock known as corestones. Variable amounts of residuum were removed through glaciation to leave (1) saprolite overlain by an in-situ Late Cretaceous soil profile; (2) partially eroded saprolite; and (3) undulating fresh rock surfaces (commonly mantled by rounded boulders) that display striae and glacial or fluvial polish.

Significant subglacial erosion of fresh bedrock is not required to form smoothly undulating bedrock surfaces with closed depressions; they may also form through removal of weathered bedrock and exposure of the weathering front. Large rounded boulders are not always shaped during transport; they may represent chemically rounded corestones resting at or near the bedrock source.

Unambiguous evidence for glacial erosion includes striae and streamlining of bedrock parallel to striae. Polish on rock can be created fluvially, and smoothed grooves and ridges in the rock may be chemically produced. Many rounded boulders found in glacial till and strewn on bedrock surfaces probably originated as corestones.
Assessing area and volume changes from deglaciated areas, Valle d’Aosta, Italy
Authors: Vanuzzo Chiara , Pelfini Manuela
Published: November 2007

This paper assesses the amount of area and volume retreat, from the maximum expansion phase of the Little Ice Age to date, of glaciers at the head of Valpelline and Valtournenche (Valle d’Aosta, western Alps, Italy) using field survey, air-photo interpretation, analysis of historical records and a geographical information system. The calculated areal retreat value is 42.34%. For the upper Valpelline glaciers, the area declined from 20.13 km2 to 14.78 km2; whereas for the upper Valtournenche glaciers, a loss of 14.78 km2 to 5.8 km2 has been recorded. The estimated ice-volume loss was 0.35 km3.
Late Pleistocene climate conditions in the north Chilean Andes drawn from a climate–glacier model
Authors: Kull Christoph , Grosjean Martin
Published: November 2007

A climate–glacier model was used to reconstruct Late-glacial climate conditions from two case-study glaciers at 18° and 22° S in the arid (sub)tropical western Andes of northern Chile. The model uses (i) the geometry of the Late-glacial maximum glaciation, (ii) modern diurnal and annual cycles, amplitudes and lapse rates of the climate, (iii) empirical–statistical sublimation, melt and accumulation models developed for this area, and (iv) dynamic ice flow through two known cross-sections for steady-state conditions. The model is validated with modern conditions and compares favorably with the glaciological features of today. The mass-balance model calculates the modern equilibrium-line altitude at 18° S as high as 5850 m (field data 5800 m), whereas no glaciers exist in the fully arid southern area at 22° S despite altitudes above 6000 m and continuous permafrost. For Late-glacial times, the model results suggest a substantial increase in tropical summer precipitation (ΔP= +840 (− 50/+ 10) mm a−1for the northern test area; +1000 (− 10/+ 30) mm a−1for the southern test area) and a moderate temperature depression (ΔT= −4.4 (− 0.1/+ 0.2) °C at 18° S; −3.2 (±0.1) °C at 22° S). Extratropical frontal winter precipitation (June–September) was <15% of the total annual precipitation. A scenario with higher winter precipitation from the westerlies circulation belt does not yield a numerical solution which matches the observed geometry of the glaciers. Therefore, we conclude that an equatorward displacement of the westerlies must be discarded as a possible explanation for the late Pleistocene glaciation in the Andes of northern Chile.
Energy balance of ice streams
Authors: Raymond C. F.
Published: November 2007

Analysis of the cross-flow transmission of force from the central parts of a well-lubricated ice stream to its margins shows that there is a corresponding shift in the lateral location of motion-induced heat generation. The rate of basal heat generation in the center can be substantially smaller than the local rate of potential energy loss given by driving stress times the speed of downslope motion. The basal heating is a maximum for an intermediate level of lubrication for which speed is about 40% of the speed over a friction-less bed and base stress is about 25% of the driving stress. Stable and unstable balances between meltwater production and drainage on the bed are identified. A stable steady state with a speed less (more) than that giving maximum heat generation is termed drainage-(production-) limited, since an increase in speed would lead to increased (decreased) basal melting and must (need not) be balanced by increased drainage. It is shown that gradual evolution of the basal water drainage system and the factors affecting basal melting can cause discontinuous jumps between fast- and slow-moving states. A simplified analysis applied to six cross-sections of West Antarctic Ice Streams B, D, E and Rutford Ice Stream shows them to be diverse in the level of support from the sides and corresponding shift of mechanical heating sideward from their central parts. The cross-sections of Ice Stream B near “Upstream B” may be production-limited, because of especially high lubrication and related support from the sides. Cross-sections in the upper part of Ice Stream D, Ice Stream E and Rutford Ice Stream are in a drainage-limited condition. Substantial reduction of basal heat generation by side drag (in most cases) and expected high heat flow into the basal ice associated with low thickness (in some cases) tends to favor basal freezing. Nevertheless, all of the examined cross-sections except one are expected to experience basal melting with a modest geothermal heat-flux density of 60 m W m−1 or less in some cases. The lower part of Ice Stream B is an exception, where the analysis indicates that geothermal flux density must exceed 80–100 m W−1 m to maintain melting. If this high geothermal flux is not present, then the base of the lower part of Ice Stream B may be freezing, which would suggest continued deceleration of this part of Ice Stream B.
Ice motion over Lake Vostok, Antarctica: constraints on inferences regarding the accreted ice
Authors: Kwok R. , Siegert M.J. , Carsey F. D.
Published: November 2007

Ice motion over Lake Vostok, Antarctica, is measured using repeat-pass synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) interferometry. The coverage of the lake and the components of the vector field are resolved using 10 overlapping data takes from ascending and descending look directions. Seventy-day temporal baselines provide the sensitivity required to observe the range of ice motion (0–6 m a−1) over the lake and the adjacent ice sheet. It is remarkable that the scattering field remained coherent over these time separations. This is critical for interferometric analysis and can be attributed to the low surface accumulation and low air temperature at this elevation. The regional flow of the ice sheet around Lake Vostok is from west to east, perpendicular to the surface elevation contours. As the ice flows past the grounding line, a southward component of motion develops that is correlated with the north–south surface slope along the length of the lake. The surface velocity increases slowly from the northern tip of the lake and then more rapidly south of 77° S. At Vostok station, the ice motion is 4.2 m a−1. Across the lake and away from boundary effects, the down-lake flow pattern takes on a parabolic profile with maximum velocity close to the center line of the lake. The overall influence of the subglacial lake is the addition of a down-lake motion component to the prevailing west–east motion of the ice sheet. As a result, we estimate 10% of the mass flowing onto the lake is diverted south. Reconstructions based on the Vostok ice core indicate that the ice was grounded up-glacier from the core site approximately 5000 years ago. This suggests a minimum freezing rate of 40 mm a−1 for the subglacial accretion ice, 10 times greater than that inferred from thermodynamic modeling of the upper 2 km of the ice core.
Snow accumulation rates in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, by firn-core analysis
Authors: Stenni Barbara , Serra Francesca , Frezzotti Massimo , Maggi Valter , Traversi Rita , Becagli Silvia , Udisti Roberto
Published: November 2007

A multiparametric (chemical, isotopic and physical) study on three shallow firn cores sampled in northern Victoria Land was carried out to obtain glaciological information and climatic data in this Antarctic region. Sampling areas were accurately prospected to identify sites, located at different altitudes and distances from the sea, where the snow accumulation was not influenced by katabatic wind redistribution or summer melting. Stratigraphic, isotopic (δl8O) and chemical (H2O2, MSA and nssSO42−) profiles were mutually examined for dating purposes and to determine the mean snow-accumulation rates at three different stations. Annual accumulation rates of 85–420 kg m−2 a−1 were determined in the period 1971–92. An inverse pattern between accumulation rate and altitude was shown by the progression of the mean annual rates of 160, 203 and 260 kg m−2 a−1, respectively, in the highest, medium and lowest stations. The mean accumulation value of all northern Victoria Land data available, 170 kg m−2 a−1, represents a decrease of up to 35% with respect to the estimated value most widely used until now. Our accumulation value is very close to that required for a zero net surface mass balance according to ice discharge. A linear relationship with a gradient of 0.81‰ °C−1 has been found between mean δ18O values and mean annual surface temperature for different ice cores drilled in northern Victoria Land.
Evidence for extreme pressure pulses in the subglacial water system
Authors: Kavanaugh Jeffrey L. , Clarke Garry K.C.
Published: November 2007

A suite of subglacial water-pressure records from the 1996 summer field season at Trapridge Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada, discloses a hydraulic event that cannot readily be explained by known forcings. We suggest that these records indicate covert failure of the pressure sensors caused by at least one large water-pressure pulse. The sign and magnitude of the pulse appears to have varied spatially and the pulse duration was less than the 2 min sampling interval of our data loggers. Laboratory experiments support this interpretation and indicate that the pulse magnitude exceeded 900 m of hydraulic head, roughly 15 times the ice-overburden pressure. Within glaciers, large water-pressure pulses can be generated when abrupt ice motion changes the volume of the subglacial hydraulic system.
Modelling dynamics of glaciers in volcanic craters
Authors: Salamatin Andrey N. , Murav’yev Yaroslav D. , Shiraiwa Takayuki , Matsuoka Kenichi
Published: November 2007

General equations of ice dynamics are re-examined, using scale analysis, in order to derive a simplified thermomechanically coupled model for ice flow and heat transfer in ice caps filling volcanic craters. Relatively large aspect ratios between crater depths and diameters, low surface temperatures and intense volcanic heating are the principal characteristics of such craters. The conventional boundary-layer (shallow-ice) approximation is revised to account for these conditions and, in addition, the variable density of the snow, firn and bubbly ice. Large crater depths and intense bottom melting result in low longitudinal balance velocities, controlled by both shear and longitudinal stresses, and hence small surface slopes. In such situations ice can be assumed to be linearly viscous. A flowline model of the glacier dynamics is developed using this assumption. Explicit predictive formulas for ice-particle trajectories and age–depth relations, thus obtained, suggest that the age of ice at the bottom of glaciers in volcanic craters on Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, may reach hundreds or thousands of years. Ice cores from these glaciers represent unique climatic and volcanic archives.
Small fluctuations in the density and thickness of a dry firn column
Authors: Wingham D. J.
Published: November 2007

It is of practical importance to have a description on time-scales of 1–100 years of the relationship between the mass imbalance of an ice sheet and its rate of change of thickness. In this paper, a linearized treatment of the relationship is described. Closed-form expressions are derived that relate the time-variant density in an isothermal firn layer to the fluctuations in accumulation rate and density that occur at the surface. These expressions are used to provide a spectral description of the contribution of surface accumulation and surface density fluctuations to the rate of change of thickness of an ice sheet. Using these, the contribution of firn densification to the variability of ice-sheet thickness is examined as a function of the time interval over which the ice sheet is observed. This contribution is illustrated for sites in Antarctica and Greenland. It is concluded that it is important to give greater attention than hitherto to the spatial scale of accumulation fluctuations if satellite observations of ice-sheet elevation change are to be used to estimate ice-sheet imbalance over short time intervals.
On the modelling of ice-thickness redistribution
Authors: Haapala Jari
Published: November 2007

An ice-thickness distribution model based on physical ice classes is formulated. Pack ice is subdivided into open water, two different types of undeformed ice, and rafted, rubble and ridged ice. Evolution equations for each ice class are formulated and a redistribution between the ice classes is calculated according to a functional form depending on the ice compactness, thickness and velocity divergence. The ice-thickness distribution model has been included in a coupled ice–ocean model, and numerical experiments have been carried out for a simulation of the Baltic Sea ice season. The extended ice classification allows separation of thermally and mechanically produced ice. Inherent thermodynamic growth/melting rates of the ice classes can be introduced into the model, giving a more detailed seasonal evolution of the pack ice. In addition, the model provides more information about the surface properties of pack ice.

Numerical experiments for the Baltic Sea show that both the sub-basin and inter-basin ice characteristics were realistically simulated by the model. Deformed-ice production was related to storm activity. Most of the deformation was produced in the coastal zone, which is also an important region for thermodynamically produced ice because of the ice growth in leads. The modelled mechanical growth rates of ice were 0.5–3 cm d−1 on a basin scale, close to the thermodynamic ice-production rates. The deformed-ice fraction was 0.2 in mid-winter and increased to 0.5–1.0 during spring.
A low-cost glacier-mapping system
Authors: Lintz Christensen E. , Reeh N. , Forsberg R. , Hjelm Jørgensen J. , Skou N. , Woelders K.
Published: November 2007

An old portable 60 MHz radar has been upgraded with a new digital data-processing and -acquisition system and a new antenna construction enabling a fast and low-cost installation on a Twin Otter aircraft. Augmented by a laser altimeter and kinematic global positioning system (GPS), the system has the capability of acquiring accurate data on location and ice-surface elevation, and adequate-quality data on ice thickness. The system has been applied successfully in mapping the Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden glacier, northeast Greenland, in spite of the difficult conditions with melting water on the glacier surface. The measurements from the floating part of the glacier have been evaluated by comparison of radar data with laser-altimeter and in situ measurements.
Glacier advance, ice-marginal lakes and routing of meltwater and sediment: Russell Glacier, Greenland
Authors: Knight Peter G. , Waller Richard I. , Patterson Carrie J. , Jones Alison P. , Robinson Zoe P.
Published: November 2007

The ice-sheet margin at Russell Glacier, West Greenland, advanced ∼7 m a−1between 1968 and 1999. As the ice advanced over moraine ridges, small changes in position caused major changes in the routing of proglacial water and sediment. These included changes in the distribution of ice-marginal lakes, in the periodic drainage of ice-dammed lakes, in the routing and sediment content of meltwater draining into the proglacial zone, and in the release of sediment from the moraines by erosion and mass movements. Proglacial hydrology and sediment flux appear to be controlled not simply by glacier mass balance, but by evolving ice-marginal geomorphology, which must be accounted for in palaeoenvironmental interpretation of proglacial sediments.
Englacial water distribution in a temperate glacier from surface and borehole radar velocity analysis
Authors: Murray Tavi , Stuart Graham W. , Fry Matt , Gamble Nicola H. , Crabtree Mike D.
Published: November 2007

We have obtained common offset, common midpoint (CMP) and borehole vertical (VRP) ground-penetrating radar profiles close to the margin of Falljökull, a small, steep temperate valley glacier situated in southeast Iceland. Velocity analysis of CMP and VRP surveys provided a four-layered velocity model. This model was verified by comparison between the depths of englacial reflectors and water channels seen in borehole video, and from the depths of boreholes drilled to the bed. In the absence of sediment within the glacier ice, radar velocity is inversely proportional to water content. Using mixture models developed by Paren and Looyenga, the variation of water content with depth was determined from the radar velocity profile. At the glacier surface the calculated water content is 0.23–0.34% (velocity 0.166 m ns−1), which rises sharply to 3.0–4.1% (velocity 0.149 m ns−1) at 28 m depth, interpreted to be the level of the piezometric surface. Below the piezometric surface the water content drops slowly to 2.4–3.3% (velocity 0.152 m ns−1) until ∼102 m depth where it falls to 0.09–0.14% (velocity 0.167 m ns−1). The water content of the ice then remains low to the glacier bed at about 112 m. These results suggest storage of a substantial volume of water within the glacier ice, which has significant implications for glacier hydrology, ice rheology and interpretations of both radar and seismic surveys.
Contemporaneous, localized, basal ice-flow variations: implications for bedrock erosion and the origin of p-forms
Authors: Rea Brice R. , Evans David J. A. , Dixon Tom S. , Brian Whalley W.
Published: November 2007

A detailed study of a proglacial bedrock site and a subglacial cavity of an outlet of Øksfjordjøkelen, Norway, is presented together with observations from the foreland of Konowbreen, Spitsbergen. Striation directions and subglacial observations indicate that local ice-flow paths were highly variable, deviating at angles of approximately 90° from the main ice-flow direction. Stepped bedrock topography appears conducive to the production of highly variable ice-flow paths, because the high bed roughness creates a locally variable stress regime within the ice, including low-pressure, lee-side areas into which ice can flow. If ice flow is sustained along a specific path and the ice contains debris, then abrasion should produce an erosional bedform. Models are proposed whereby locally variable ice-flow patterns could produce erosional bedforms, which would be described as p-forms, purely through mechanical abrasion.
Elevation of ice-stream margin scars after stagnation
Authors: Nereson N. A.
Published: November 2007

The evolution of an inter-ice-stream ridge flanked by stagnated ice streams is simulated using a finite-difference, continuity ice-flow model. The model tracks the elevation of small-scale topographic undulations on the ice surface (“scars”) which form at ice-stream margins, and shows that after ice-stream stagnation these surface features are lifted onto the flanks of the evolving ridge before they are carried downslope by ice flow. The model is applied to the stagnant ice streams bounding Siple Dome, West Antarctica: “Siple Ice Stream” (SIS) on the northeast flank near Ice Stream D, and the “Duckfoot” area (DF) on the south flank near Ice Stream C. The volume-adjustment time-scale corresponding to the evolution of Siple Dome and these stagnant ice-stream areas is 1500–2000 years. The present geometry and elevation of the scar features, in addition to measurements of the present mass flux across the ridge, are used to estimate stagnation ages for SIS and DF. These measurements suggest that both SIS and DF stagnated 200–500 years ago.
Ice-core evidence of the thickness and character of clear-facies basal ice: Glacier de Tsanfleuron, Switzerland
Authors: Hubbard Bryn , Tison Jean-Louis , Janssens Laurent , Spiro Baruch
Published: November 2007

Five ice cores have been retrieved from a transect close to the terminus of Glacier de Tsanfleuron, Switzerland. The cores extend from the ice surface to the glacier bed, and are 3.5–44.8 m long. Stratigraphic logging based on bubble size and density reveals the presence of a highly metamorphosed basal ice layer, about 10 m thick, from which all traces of bubble-rich ice have been removed. This bubble-poor ice, which corresponds closely withclear-faciesice observed in cavities beneath numerous temperate-based glaciers, contrasts with the overlying bubble-rich or bubble-foliatedenglacialice and the underlying debris-rich and bubble-freedispersed-faciesbasal ice.

Down-core patterns in major-ion composition, stable-isotope composition and total gas content and composition are generally consistent with formation of clear-facies ice by deformation-related metamorphism of bubbly, englacial ice. In addition, isotopic data suggest that storage of downward-percolating meltwaters occurs close to the upper surface of the clear-facies ice layer, perhaps reflecting a local variation in ice permeability across the transition from englacial to clear-facies ice. Enrichment in crustally derived ionic species is noted in the lowermost decimetres of the debris-free, clear-facies ice that immediately overlies debris-rich dispersed-facies basal ice. This ionic enrichment in debris-free ice is interpreted in terms of active inter-granular meltwater flow within some decimetres of the glacier bed.
Texture and strength changes of buried surface-hoar layers with implications for dry snow-slab avalanche release
Authors: Jamieson J. Bruce , Schweizer Jürg
Published: November 2007

Buried layers of surface hoar are the failure plane for many slab avalanches, including fatal human-triggered avalanches in various mountain regions. These layers may persist as weak layers in the snow cover for weeks or months. It is therefore essential for operational avalanche forecasters to monitor the evolution of persistent weak layers, such as buried surface hoar. Traditional grain-shape observations of isolated grains with a magnifier and crystal screen do not show bonding that is decisive for strength. In this study we used in situ microphotography and observations of texture to complement strength measurements from shear frame tests. Buried layers of surface hoar consist of crystals most of which extend from the layer below to the layer above, and may exhibit a columnar or truss-like structure. Observations and measurements show that texture and crystal size change little over periods of up to several months during which the snowpack remains dry. Under these conditions, layer thickness decreases while density and strength increase. Based on field measurements, we argue that the increase in strength is primarily due to penetration of the surface-hoar crystals into the adjacent layers, especially at the bottom of the buried surface-hoar layer, where bonding is critical. The weak bonding at the bottom implies that shear failure occurs at the lower interface rather than within the weak layer. On slopes, we find that surface-hoar crystals that were initially surface-normal are tilted downslope faster than predicted by published shear strain rates for settled snow, indicating that shear strain is concentrated in these layers. The characteristic texture of buried surface hoar (columnar or truss-like) permits collapsing at the time of fracture. The gravitational energy released by the displacement of the slab may contribute to the extensive fracture propagation associated with buried surface-hoar layers.
Portable system for intermediate-depth ice-core drilling
Authors: Zagorodnov V. , Thompson L. G. , Mosley-Thompson E.
Published: November 2007

A lightweight, portable drilling system for coring up to 500 m depths has been developed and field-tested. The drilling system includes four major components: (1) an electromechanical (EM) dry-hole drill; (2) an ethanol thermal electric drill; (3) a drill set-up with a 500 m cable capacity; and (4) a controller unit. The system may be switched quickly from a dry-hole EM drill to an antifreeze thermal electric drill. This lightweight system makes ice-core drilling more cost-efficient, and creates a minimal environmental impact. The new EM drill, which recovers 100 mm diameter, 1 m long pieces of ice core, is 3.2 m long and weighs 35 kg. This drill and the drilling set-up were recently tested at the Raven (former Dye 2) site, southern Greenland, where a core was recovered to 122 m. The thermal drill is 2.9 m long and weighs 25 kg. It produces 100 mm diameter, 2.1 m long pieces of ice core, and was tested to 315 m in Franz Josef Land, Eurasian Arctic. The drilling set-up with a 250 m cable weighs about 100 kg (or 128 kg for 500 m of cable). After minor adjustments this drill system retrieved cores of better quality than those recovered by other drill systems under similar glaciological conditions. After adjustments to optimize its performance, the drill retrieved 5.25 m of core per hour over the depth range 0–21 m.
An analysis of balance velocities over the Greenland ice sheet and comparison with synthetic aperture radar interferometry
Authors: Bamber J. L. , Hardy R. J. , Joughin I.
Published: November 2007

Balance velocities for the Greenland ice sheet have been calculated from a new digital elevation model (DEM), accumulation rates and an existing ice-thickness grid, using a fully two-dimensional finite-difference scheme. The pattern of velocities is compared with velocities derived from synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) interferometry for three different regions of the ice sheet. Differences between the two estimates of velocity highlight the respective strengths and weaknesses of the datasets and techniques used. A comparison with ten global positioning system-derived velocities indicates that the balance-velocity scheme and input datasets used here provide a remarkably good representation of the velocity distribution inland from the margins. These balance-velocity data, therefore, could help constrain numerical ice-sheet models. The balance velocities were found to be unreliable close to the ice-sheet margins due to larger errors in ice thickness, surface slope and ablation rate in this region. Comparison of the balance velocities with SAR interferometry in the region of the “Northeast Greenland Ice Stream” indicates the importance of the smoothing distance that must be applied to the DEM before calculating balance velocities. A smoothing distance of 20 times the ice thickness gave good agreement between the two measures of velocity.
Growth and drainage of supraglacial lakes on debris-mantled Ngozumpa Glacier, Khumbu Himal, Nepal
Authors: Benn D. I. , Wiseman S. , Hands K. A.
Published: November 2007

Ablation of debris-mantled glaciers in Nepal has resulted in the formation of several potentially unstable moraine-dammed lakes, some of which constitute serious hazards. Ngozumpa Glacier, Khumbu Himal, has undergone significant downwasting in recent decades, and is believed to lie close to the threshold for moraine-dammed lake formation. The debris-mantled ablation area of the glacier is studded with numerous supraglacial lakes, the majority of which occupy closed basins with no perennial connections to the englacial drainage system (“perched lakes”). Perched lakes can undergo rapid growth by subaerial and water-line melting of exposed ice faces, and calving. Subaerial and subaqueous melting beneath thick (>1 m) debris mantles is comparatively insignificant. Although lake expansion can contribute substantially to ablation of the glacier, perched lakes cannot continue to grow indefinitely, but are subject to rapid drainage once a connection is made to englacial conduits. The level of one of the lakes on the Ngozumpa, however, is controlled by the altitude of a spillway through the lateral moraine of the glacier. This lake underwent only limited growth in the period 1998–2000, but is likely to experience monotonic growth ifglacier mass balance continues to be negative.
Preliminary firn-densification model with 38-site dataset
Authors: Spencer M. K. , Alley R. B. , Creyts T. T.
Published: November 2007

Firn-densification modeling based on hot isostatic pressing with power-law creep is investigated using depth–density data from 38 sites that collectively have mean annual temperatures ranging from 216 to 256 K and accumulation rates ranging from 0.022 to 1.2 m w.e. a−1. We use an inverse technique to obtain free parameters in a simple physical model for different stages of time-dependent firn densification. Our model works as well as or slightly better than previous models interpolating within the data range, but extrapolating would require additional physics.
A physically based method for correcting temperature data measured by naturally ventilated sensors over snow
Authors: Arck Martin , Scherer Dieter
Published: November 2007

During the snowmelt period in 1998, air-temperature data were acquired at 1 min intervals using different measurement systems as part of a field campaign in the Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland. A comparison reveals that temperatures from naturally ventilated sensors exceed temperatures from aspirated sensors by as much as 6.2 K. Errors in temperature are closely connected to high values of upwelling shortwave radiation and are larger in periods of low wind speed. Measurement errors result from the instantaneous radiation conditions and propagate over the next measurements due to slow response time of the naturally ventilated sensor. A physically based method is developed for correcting temperature data influenced by radiation errors, which requires additional measurements of wind speed and upwelling shortwave radiation. Coefficients of the correction formula are automatically determined from the erroneous temperature data, so the method is independent of accurate air-temperature measurements. The high quality of the correction method could be validated by accurate psychrometer measurements. One of the most important applications is the computation of sensible-heat fluxes from snow-covered surfaces during the snowmelt period using the bulk-aerodynamic method, which is greatly improved by the new correction method.
On the characterization of glacier response by a single time-scale
Authors: Harrison W. D. , Elsberg D. H. , Echelmeyer K. A. , Krimmel R. M.
Published: November 2007

Glacier response to climate can be characterized by a single time-scale when the glacier changes sufficiently slowly. Then the derivative of volume with respect to area defines a thickness scale similar to that of Jóhannesson and others, and the time-scale follows from it. Our version of the time-scale is different from theirs because it explicitly includes the effect of surface elevation on mass-balance rate, which can cause a major increase in the time-scale or even lead to unstable response. The time constant has a dual role, controlling both the rate and magnitude of response to a given climate change. Data from South Cascade Glacier, Washington, U.S.A., illustrate the ideas, some of the difficulty in obtaining accurate values for the thickness and time-scales, and the susceptibility of all response models to potentially large errors.
Multi-model photogrammetric analysis of the 1990s surge of Sortebræ, East Greenland
Authors: Jiskoot Hester , Pedersen Asger Ken , Murray Tavi
Published: November 2007

Sortebræ is a surge-type tidewater glacier complex draining southeastward from the Geikie Plateau, East Greenland. Sortebræ’s main flow unit surged around 1950 and again between 1992 and 1995. The 1990s surge affected the lower 50 km of Sortebræ over an area of approximately 335 km2. Over a period of <1 year the tidewater front advanced >5 km. Surge velocities in the order of kilometres per annum are about 100-fold the quiescent velocities. Multi-model photogrammetric analysis shows a thinning of the reservoir zone of up to 219 m and thickening of the receiving zone of up to 74 m. The surge transported approximately 18.6 km3 of ice down-glacier. The total calving volume as a result of the surge amounted to 11.7 km3, equivalent to a calving flux of 3.9–7.3 km3 a−1. The surge characteristics and environmental setting suggest that the surge mechanism involves a switch in the subglacial drainage. This surge of Sortebræ is more similar to the fast, short Alaskan-type surges than to the sluggish, long Svalbard-type surges.
Short-term flow dynamics of a retreating tidewater glacier: LeConte Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.
Authors: O’Neel S. , Echelmeyer K. A. , Motyka R. J.
Published: November 2007

An analysis of motion in the terminus region of LeConte Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., delineates mechanisms that are important to tidewater glacier stability. This glacier is undergoing rapid retreat. Since 1995 it has retreated 2 km and thinned >125 m at the present location of the terminus. Ice velocities in this region are quite high; at the terminus they exceed 27 m d−1. Our analysis reveals that fluctuations in speed and surface elevation are forced by ocean tides, surface melt and precipitation. The nearterminus ice speed is 180° out of phase with the tide, such that high tide corresponds to low speed. Smaller, melt-forced diurnal variations in speed are present throughout the lowermost 7 km. Speed-ups in excess of 10% of the mean often occur after rainstorms as a result of increased basal water pressure and storage, but the relation is not simple. The velocity does not vary over the spring and summer seasons.
Surface properties and processes of perennial Antarctic sea ice in summer
Authors: Haas Christian , Thomas David N. , Bareiss Jörg
Published: November 2007

Ice-core and snow data from the Amundsen, Bellingshausen and Weddell Seas, Antarctica, show that the formation of superimposed ice and the development of seawater-filled gap layers with high algal standing stocks is typical of the perennial sea ice in summer. The coarse-grained and dense snow had salinities mostly below 0.1‰. A layer of fresh superimposed ice had a mean thickness of 0.04–0.12 m. Gap layers 0.04–0.08 m thick extended downwards from 0.02 to 0.14 m below the water level. These gaps were populated by diatom standing stocks up to 439 μg L−1 chlorophyll a. We propose a comprehensive heuristic model of summer processes, where warming and the reversal of temperature gradients cause major transformations in snow and ice properties. The warming also causes the reopening of incompletely frozen slush layers caused by flood-freeze cycles during winter. Alternatively, superimposed ice forms at the cold interface between snow and slush in the case of flooding with negative freeboard. Combined, these explain the initial formation of gap layers by abiotic means alone. The upward growth of superimposed ice above the water level competes with a steady submergence of floes due to bottom and internal melting and accumulation of snow.