Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica
Taylor Glacier, an outlet of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, flows through the Transantarctic Mountains and terminates in the Dry Valleys. Understanding how this glacier fluctuates is important for studies of glacial geology, paleoclimate, ice dynamics, and ecology. Sublimation is the primary mass-los...
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ftcdlib:qt1x61202d 2023-05-15T13:57:18+02:00 Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica Bliss, Andrew Knisely 188 2011-01-01 application/pdf http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1x61202d http://n2t.net/ark:/13030/m5wd44n8 en eng eScholarship, University of California http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1x61202d qt1x61202d http://n2t.net/ark:/13030/m5wd44n8 public Bliss, Andrew Knisely. (2011). Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica. UC Berkeley: Geography. Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1x61202d Meteorology Geography Climate Change energy balance glaciology mass balance sublimation Taylor Glacier dissertation 2011 ftcdlib 2016-09-23T22:55:20Z Taylor Glacier, an outlet of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, flows through the Transantarctic Mountains and terminates in the Dry Valleys. Understanding how this glacier fluctuates is important for studies of glacial geology, paleoclimate, ice dynamics, and ecology. Sublimation is the primary mass-loss process for most of the glacier. Four years of specific balance measurements from the ablation zone show sublimation rates up to 40 cm per year. We used data from an array of weather stations as inputs to a model for latent heat flux and hence sublimation rate. Calculated and measured ablation rates agree to within uncertainties, indicating that wind speed and vapor pressure gradient (a function of temperature and humidity) are the governing variables, as expected from theory. Measurements and model results together allowed us to examine the spatial and temporal variations of sublimation on the glacier. On average, sublimation is about two times faster in summer than winter. Rapid sublimation occurs during storms and katabatic wind events, but such periods contribute less to the annual total than do slow, persistent losses. Spatially, sublimation reaches a maximum midway along the glacier, where descending surface air currents are focused by the topography of the aptly-named tributary, Windy Gully. Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Taylor Glacier University of California: eScholarship Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Taylor Glacier ENVELOPE(162.167,162.167,-77.733,-77.733) Transantarctic Mountains Windy Gully ENVELOPE(161.200,161.200,-77.867,-77.867) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
English |
topic |
Meteorology Geography Climate Change energy balance glaciology mass balance sublimation Taylor Glacier |
spellingShingle |
Meteorology Geography Climate Change energy balance glaciology mass balance sublimation Taylor Glacier Bliss, Andrew Knisely Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Meteorology Geography Climate Change energy balance glaciology mass balance sublimation Taylor Glacier |
description |
Taylor Glacier, an outlet of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, flows through the Transantarctic Mountains and terminates in the Dry Valleys. Understanding how this glacier fluctuates is important for studies of glacial geology, paleoclimate, ice dynamics, and ecology. Sublimation is the primary mass-loss process for most of the glacier. Four years of specific balance measurements from the ablation zone show sublimation rates up to 40 cm per year. We used data from an array of weather stations as inputs to a model for latent heat flux and hence sublimation rate. Calculated and measured ablation rates agree to within uncertainties, indicating that wind speed and vapor pressure gradient (a function of temperature and humidity) are the governing variables, as expected from theory. Measurements and model results together allowed us to examine the spatial and temporal variations of sublimation on the glacier. On average, sublimation is about two times faster in summer than winter. Rapid sublimation occurs during storms and katabatic wind events, but such periods contribute less to the annual total than do slow, persistent losses. Spatially, sublimation reaches a maximum midway along the glacier, where descending surface air currents are focused by the topography of the aptly-named tributary, Windy Gully. |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Bliss, Andrew Knisely |
author_facet |
Bliss, Andrew Knisely |
author_sort |
Bliss, Andrew Knisely |
title |
Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica |
title_short |
Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica |
title_full |
Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica |
title_sort |
ablation on taylor glacier, antarctica |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1x61202d http://n2t.net/ark:/13030/m5wd44n8 |
op_coverage |
188 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(162.167,162.167,-77.733,-77.733) ENVELOPE(161.200,161.200,-77.867,-77.867) |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Taylor Glacier Transantarctic Mountains Windy Gully |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Taylor Glacier Transantarctic Mountains Windy Gully |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Taylor Glacier |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Taylor Glacier |
op_source |
Bliss, Andrew Knisely. (2011). Ablation on Taylor Glacier, Antarctica. UC Berkeley: Geography. Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1x61202d |
op_relation |
http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1x61202d qt1x61202d http://n2t.net/ark:/13030/m5wd44n8 |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1766264894222499840 |