The formation of glacier dirt cones

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Ryan M. Strickland, Matthew D. Covington
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2025
• Subjects: debris covered glacier; debris transport; dirt cones; hillslope diffusion; melt model; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; Cones The; Cones, The; The Cones; glacier; glaciers; Journal of Glaciology; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2025.32; https://doaj.org/article/a1def9ebed2e48f999e34fd9d76b986f

Glacier dirt cones are meter-scale cones of ice covered with sediment and rock. The cones develop through a process known as differential melt, whereby ice underlying thick debris melts more slowly than bare ice. We report observations of dirt cones on the Kuskulana Glacier, Alaska and develop a mod...