Ice-damming and fluvial erosion in the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica

An ice dam with a former impoundment volume of 1.1 × 10 6 m 3 is reported from the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. The ice of the dam was derived from wind-drifted snow subsequently changed into ice by normal summer melt and freeze processes. The reformation (after 1979 and 1987) and failure of thi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Author: Gore, Damian B.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1992
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102092000348
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102092000348
Description
Summary:An ice dam with a former impoundment volume of 1.1 × 10 6 m 3 is reported from the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. The ice of the dam was derived from wind-drifted snow subsequently changed into ice by normal summer melt and freeze processes. The reformation (after 1979 and 1987) and failure of this ice dam (during 1987 and 1990) indicates the potential for the release of geomorphologically significant flows in a polar climate. The origin of a nearby fluvially eroded channel is attributed to the release of an ice-dammed impoundment. The potential of such flows for reworking glacial debris may be important when considering the sedimentology of former proglacial areas.