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Glaciology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Glaciology

Surface Morphology And Subsurface Ice Content Relationships In Arcadia Planitia, Mars And The Canadian High Arctic, Shannon M. Hibbard Aug 2021

Surface Morphology And Subsurface Ice Content Relationships In Arcadia Planitia, Mars And The Canadian High Arctic, Shannon M. Hibbard

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As NASA and SpaceX prepare for future human missions to Mars as part of an In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Space Act Agreement (SAA), we need more detailed characterization of ice at proposed landing sites to constrain ice accessibility, landing safety, and scientific value. Obtaining near-surface in situ water-ice can be used for rocket fuel and life support needs which would significantly reduce the mass needed for transport to and from Mars. Arcadia Planitia is the lowest-lying region in the northern hemisphere of Mars where abundant evidence exists for an ice-rich subsurface. Shallow Radar observations indicate a decameters-thick layer of water-ice …


Kinematics Of The Exceptionally-Short Surge Cycles Of Sít’ Kusá (Turner Glacier), Alaska, From 1983 To 2013, Andrew Nolan, William Kochtitzky, Ellyn M. Enderlin, Robert Mcnabb, Karl J. Kreutz Aug 2021

Kinematics Of The Exceptionally-Short Surge Cycles Of Sít’ Kusá (Turner Glacier), Alaska, From 1983 To 2013, Andrew Nolan, William Kochtitzky, Ellyn M. Enderlin, Robert Mcnabb, Karl J. Kreutz

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Glacier surges are periodic episodes of mass redistribution characterized by dramatic increases in ice flow velocity and, sometimes, terminus advance. We use optical satellite imagery to document five previously unexamined surge events of Sít’ Kusá (Turner Glacier) in the St. Elias Mountains of Alaska from 1983 to 2013. Surge events had an average recurrence interval of ~5 years, making it the shortest known regular recurrence interval in the world. Surge events appear to initiate in the winter, with speeds reaching up to ~25 m d−1. The surges propagate down-glacier over ~2 years, resulting in maximum thinning of ~100 …


Subsurface Architecture Of Alpine Icy Debris Fans: Integration Of Ground-Penetrating Radar And Surface Observations In Alaska And New Zealand, Robert W. Jacob, Jeffrey M. Trop, R. Craig Kochel Jan 2021

Subsurface Architecture Of Alpine Icy Debris Fans: Integration Of Ground-Penetrating Radar And Surface Observations In Alaska And New Zealand, Robert W. Jacob, Jeffrey M. Trop, R. Craig Kochel

Faculty Journal Articles

Icy debris fans (IDFs) are extremely dynamic supraglacial landforms at the mouths of bedrock catchments between valley glaciers and icecaps. Recent studies quantified the nature, pace, and volume of mass flow processes contributing ice and sediment to IDFs by integrating field observations, drone and time-lapse imagery, and terrestrial laser scanning. New geophysical data presented herein characterize the subsurface architecture of IDFs along the McCarthy Glacier in Alaska and the Douglas, La Perouse, and Mueller Glaciers in New Zealand. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) profiles and soundings from field surveys during 2013–2015 provide stratigraphic evidence of the following subsurface processes important in …