Slow surge of Trapridge Glacier, Yukon Territory, 1951-2005 ...
Trapridge Glacier, a surging glacier located in the St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada, went through a complete surge cycle between 1951 and 2005. Air photos (1951-1981) and groundbased optical surveys (1969-2005) are used to describe the modifications in flow and geometry that occurred ov...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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University of British Columbia
2010
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0052585 https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0052585 |
| Summary: | Trapridge Glacier, a surging glacier located in the St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada, went through a complete surge cycle between 1951 and 2005. Air photos (1951-1981) and groundbased optical surveys (1969-2005) are used to describe the modifications in flow and geometry that occurred over this period. The acceleration of flow during the surge is detected by repeated measurement of poles drilled into the ice. Between 1974 and 1980, the median velocity in the lower basin went from 15.6ma⁻¹ to 38.6ma⁻¹. Downstream from this zone of active flow, coldbased ice accumulated during the previous surge impeded the flow, and a steep front formed at the boundary between the two ice masses. Over the following ten years, this bulge propagated downglacier, advancing faster than the ice and integrating stagnant ice by continuous deformation. After it peaked in 1984, the flow in the lower basin remained above 25ma⁻¹ for 12 years, but was on a slowing trend. The slowdown followed strangely regular 4-year pulses: ... |
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