Effect of glaciers on annual run-off, Johan Dahl Land, south Greenland

• Main Authors: Braithwaite, R. J., Olesen, O. B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 1988
• Subjects: Greenland; glacier; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/8d1d4ed5-175f-42a1-a9b7-04e507e2d9ba

Run-off data for two basins one of which contains glaciers, are compared with precipitation at a nearby weather station and with ablation measured in the glacier basin. Seasonal variations of run-off for the two basins are broadly similar while run-off from the glacier basin has smaller year-to-year variations. A simple statistical model shows that this is the result of a negative correlation between ablation and precipitation, which has the effect of reducing run-off variations in basins with a moderate amount of glacier for highly glacierized basins. The model also predicts an increasing run-off with ablation correlation and a decreasing run-off with precipitation correlation as the amount of glacier cover increases. -from Authors