Black Rapids Glacier timelapse photos, 2012-2013

• Main Author: Martin Truffer
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Arctic Data Center 2017
• Subjects: Alaska; alaska range; glacier; glaciers
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.18739/A2V545

A glacier surge is characterized by a sudden increase in speed by one to two orders of magnitude and often leads to a significant movement of the terminus of the glacier. While the role of subglacial hydraulics during the surge has been well documented, the issue of surge initiation has remained unsolved. Also, the related question of why some glaciers surge and others do not remains open. This data set supported work to investigate whether the special geometry of many Alaska Range glaciers allows particularly large shear stresses to develop that eventually allow a surge to occur. The work focused on the Black Rapids Glacier on the Denali Fault in the eastern Alaska Range. This data set contains time lapse photos collected at three sites to document the filling and draining of ice-marginal lakes. These lakes drain annually to the glacier bed and lubricate it, leading to a glacier speed-up by a factor of two or three that can last more than a day. Such events act like mini-surges. Particular emphasis is placed on the reaction of tributary glaciers to a speed-up of the main branch.