Experimental Study of the Amount of Ice Melt Using Three Different Methods: A Contribution to the International Hydrological Decade

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Wendler, Gerd, Ishikawa, N.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1973
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; McCall; Brooks Range; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000031816; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000031816

In the summer of 1972, the amount of ice melt obtained by stake measurements on the McCall Glacier, Brooks Range, was compared with the discharge of a small controlled run-off site, and with heat balance calculations. For daily values the agreement was not always good; however, for the 11 d period for which the study was carried out, the agreement can be considered as excellent. The amount of ice melt calculated from run-off and heat balance gave 3.5 and 1.2% higher values, respectively, than the direct measurements. This is encouraging, insofar as it suggests that it may be possible to calculate the combined ice, water, and heat balance for the glacier as a whole.