Examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of Utah, United States
Rock glaciers are common geomorphic features in alpine landscapes and comprise a potentially significant but poorly quantified water resource. This project focused on three complementary questions germane to rock glacier hydrology: 1) Does the composition of rock glacier meltwater vary from year to...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1129314 https://doaj.org/article/1002e06b6b544b39939b3073f6c4376e |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1002e06b6b544b39939b3073f6c4376e 2023-06-06T11:54:46+02:00 Examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of Utah, United States Jeffrey S. Munroe Alexander L. Handwerger 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1129314 https://doaj.org/article/1002e06b6b544b39939b3073f6c4376e EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1129314/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2023.1129314 https://doaj.org/article/1002e06b6b544b39939b3073f6c4376e Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 11 (2023) rock glacier hydrology permafrost mountain environments stable isotopes Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1129314 2023-04-16T00:34:05Z Rock glaciers are common geomorphic features in alpine landscapes and comprise a potentially significant but poorly quantified water resource. This project focused on three complementary questions germane to rock glacier hydrology: 1) Does the composition of rock glacier meltwater vary from year to year? 2) How dependent is the composition of rock glacier meltwater on lithology? And 3) How does the presence of rock glaciers in a catchment change stream water chemistry? To address these questions, we deployed automated samplers to collect water from late June through mid-October 2022 in two rock-glacierized mountain ranges in Utah, United States characterized by different lithologies. In the Uinta Mountains of northern Utah, where bedrock is predominantly quartzite, water was collected at springs discharging from two rock glaciers previously shown to release water in late summer sourced from internal ice. In the La Sal Mountains of southeastern Utah, where trachyte bedrock is widespread, water was collected at a rock glacier spring, along the main stream in a watershed containing multiple rock glaciers, and from a stream in a watershed where rock glaciers are absent. Precipitation was also collected, and data loggers for water temperature and electric conductivity were deployed. Water samples were analyzed for stable isotopes with cavity ring-down spectroscopy and hydrochemistry with ICP-MS. Our data show that water discharging from rock glaciers in the Uinta Mountains exhibits a shift from a snowmelt source to an internal ice source over the course of the melt season that is consistent from year to year. We also found that the chemistry of rock glacier water in the two study areas is notably different in ways that can be linked back to their contrasting bedrock types. Finally, in the La Sal Mountains, the properties of water along the main stream in a rock-glacierized basin resemble the properties of water discharging from rock glaciers, and strongly contrast with the water in a catchment lacking rock glaciers. ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice permafrost Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Earth Science 11 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
rock glacier hydrology permafrost mountain environments stable isotopes Science Q |
spellingShingle |
rock glacier hydrology permafrost mountain environments stable isotopes Science Q Jeffrey S. Munroe Alexander L. Handwerger Examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of Utah, United States |
topic_facet |
rock glacier hydrology permafrost mountain environments stable isotopes Science Q |
description |
Rock glaciers are common geomorphic features in alpine landscapes and comprise a potentially significant but poorly quantified water resource. This project focused on three complementary questions germane to rock glacier hydrology: 1) Does the composition of rock glacier meltwater vary from year to year? 2) How dependent is the composition of rock glacier meltwater on lithology? And 3) How does the presence of rock glaciers in a catchment change stream water chemistry? To address these questions, we deployed automated samplers to collect water from late June through mid-October 2022 in two rock-glacierized mountain ranges in Utah, United States characterized by different lithologies. In the Uinta Mountains of northern Utah, where bedrock is predominantly quartzite, water was collected at springs discharging from two rock glaciers previously shown to release water in late summer sourced from internal ice. In the La Sal Mountains of southeastern Utah, where trachyte bedrock is widespread, water was collected at a rock glacier spring, along the main stream in a watershed containing multiple rock glaciers, and from a stream in a watershed where rock glaciers are absent. Precipitation was also collected, and data loggers for water temperature and electric conductivity were deployed. Water samples were analyzed for stable isotopes with cavity ring-down spectroscopy and hydrochemistry with ICP-MS. Our data show that water discharging from rock glaciers in the Uinta Mountains exhibits a shift from a snowmelt source to an internal ice source over the course of the melt season that is consistent from year to year. We also found that the chemistry of rock glacier water in the two study areas is notably different in ways that can be linked back to their contrasting bedrock types. Finally, in the La Sal Mountains, the properties of water along the main stream in a rock-glacierized basin resemble the properties of water discharging from rock glaciers, and strongly contrast with the water in a catchment lacking rock glaciers. ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jeffrey S. Munroe Alexander L. Handwerger |
author_facet |
Jeffrey S. Munroe Alexander L. Handwerger |
author_sort |
Jeffrey S. Munroe |
title |
Examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of Utah, United States |
title_short |
Examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of Utah, United States |
title_full |
Examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of Utah, United States |
title_fullStr |
Examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of Utah, United States |
title_full_unstemmed |
Examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of Utah, United States |
title_sort |
examining the variability of rock glacier meltwater in space and time in high-elevation environments of utah, united states |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1129314 https://doaj.org/article/1002e06b6b544b39939b3073f6c4376e |
genre |
Ice permafrost |
genre_facet |
Ice permafrost |
op_source |
Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 11 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1129314/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2023.1129314 https://doaj.org/article/1002e06b6b544b39939b3073f6c4376e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1129314 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
container_volume |
11 |
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1767961326435434496 |