Observations on a Collapsing Kame Terrace In Glacier Bay National Monument, South-Eastern Alaska

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Author: Mckenzie, Garry D.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1969
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; glacier; Journal of Glaciology; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000027003; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000027003

Abstract Detailed observations on a collapsing kame terrace indicate that the terrace is being reshaped by: slumping and sliding of debris into depressions, melt-water erosion on the side of the terrace, debris flows in the gullies, and stagnant-ice bursts, a phenomenon analogous to a glacier burst except in the mode of formation of the water. Temperatures in the gravel over the ice, where the gravel is about 4 m thick, indicate that the rate of melting of the upper surface of the ice due to conduction may be as high as 24 cm year −1 . Highest temperatures in the gravel were recorded during periods of heavy rainfall.