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Glaciology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Glaciology

Glaciers In Equilibrium, Mcmurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, Andrew G. Fountain, Hassan J. Basagic, Spencer Niebuhr Oct 2016

Glaciers In Equilibrium, Mcmurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, Andrew G. Fountain, Hassan J. Basagic, Spencer Niebuhr

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a cold, dry polar desert and the alpine glaciers therein exhibit small annual and seasonal mass balances, often


Near-Surface Internal Melting: A Substantial Mass Loss On Antarctic Dry Valley Glaciers, Matthew J. Hoffman, Andrew G. Fountain, Glen E. Liston Apr 2014

Near-Surface Internal Melting: A Substantial Mass Loss On Antarctic Dry Valley Glaciers, Matthew J. Hoffman, Andrew G. Fountain, Glen E. Liston

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The McMurdo Dry Valleys, southern Victoria Land, East Antarctica, are a polar desert, and melt from glacial ice is the primary source of water to streams, lakes and associated ecosystems. Previous work found that to adequately model glacier ablation and subsurface ice temperatures with a surface energy-balance model required including the transmission of solar radiation into the ice. Here we investigate the contribution of subsurface melt to the mass balance of (and runoff from) Dry Valley glaciers by including a drainage process in the model and applying the model to three glacier sites using 13years of hourly meteorological data. Model …


Temporal Variations In Physical And Chemical Features Of Cryoconite Holes On Canada Glacier, Mcmurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, Andrew G. Fountain, Thomas H. Nylen, Martyn Tranter, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw Jan 2008

Temporal Variations In Physical And Chemical Features Of Cryoconite Holes On Canada Glacier, Mcmurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, Andrew G. Fountain, Thomas H. Nylen, Martyn Tranter, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cryoconite holes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys are ice-lidded, thus isolating the pools of water from the atmosphere and from potential surface melt. Hourly measurements of ice and water temperature and water electrical conductivity (EC) were recorded to broadly characterize the physical and chemical changes on daily to seasonal timescales. Overall, subsurface ice/water temperatures were typically several degrees warmer than air temperatures, underscoring the importance of subsurface solar heating. At no time was surface melt observed and the holes melted from within. Detailed differences in the timing and magnitude of both temperature and EC variations during melt-out and freezeup existed …