Deduction of Glacier Flow from the Distribution of Elongated Bubbles

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Author: Nakawo, Masayoshi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1979
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000014921; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000014921

Abstract The elongation of air bubbles discovered in a wide area of a glacier surface covered by supraglacial debris does not coincide with the direction of flow. When ice samples including elongated bubbles were subjected to simple-shear experiments, the elongated bubbles deformed passively with ice and their final orientation was a good indicator of the strain induced in the ice. Based on these experimental results, the strain and the velocity field of the glacier were deduced from the distribution pattern of the elongated bubbles. The results agreed with the measured flow velocity. The bubble foliation pattern could also be explained in terms of the passive deformation.