Connecting Winter Balance and Runoff to Surges of the Bering Glacier, Alaska
Each of the four surges on Bering Glacier in the period 1950 to 2000 occurred after a running total of snow (accumulation or winter balance) on the glacier was above average for five or more years, suggesting a sustained build-up of mass as one requirement for a surge. When sufficient snow has accum...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2002
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.540.2843 http://www.hymet.com/docs/yakuart4.pdf |
| Summary: | Each of the four surges on Bering Glacier in the period 1950 to 2000 occurred after a running total of snow (accumulation or winter balance) on the glacier was above average for five or more years, suggesting a sustained build-up of mass as one requirement for a surge. When sufficient snow has accumulated on the glacier there is evidence that a surge is triggered by an abnormal influx of water as runoff. As high rates of snow accumulation are inversely correlated with high rates of runoff, there appears to be a tendency for the Bering Glacier (and possibly other glaciers) to alternate between surging and non-surging states depending on the timing of snowfall and runoff periods. To examine the connection of accumulation balance and runoff to surges of the Bering Glacier, the mass balance and runoff of the Bering/Bagley Icefield are simulated for the 1950-2000 period with a precipitation-temperature-area-altitude (PTAA) model that integrates the area-altitude distribution of the glacier and daily meteorological observations collected at low-altitude weather stations. It is proposed that the terms winter balance and summer balance be replaced with accumulation balance and ablation balance. |
|---|