Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length
Observations from along the length of Bench Glacier, Alaska, USA, show that the subglacial water-pressure field undergoes a multiphase transition from a winter mode to a summer mode. Data were collected at the glacier surface, the outlet stream, and in a network of 47 boreholes spanning the length o...
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2005
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ftunivmontana:oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:geosci_pubs-1029 2023-07-16T03:58:33+02:00 Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length Harper, Joel T. Humphrey, Neil Pfeffer, W. Tad Fudge, T. J. O'Neel, Shad 2005-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarworks.umt.edu/geosci_pubs/29 https://doi.org/10.3189/172756405781813573 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/geosci_pubs/article/1029/viewcontent/Evolution_of_subglacial_water_pressure_along_a_glacier_s_length.pdf unknown ScholarWorks at University of Montana https://scholarworks.umt.edu/geosci_pubs/29 doi:10.3189/172756405781813573 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/geosci_pubs/article/1029/viewcontent/Evolution_of_subglacial_water_pressure_along_a_glacier_s_length.pdf © 2005 International Glaciology Society Geosciences Faculty Publications glaciology Bench Glacier subglacial water-pressure Earth Sciences text 2005 ftunivmontana https://doi.org/10.3189/172756405781813573 2023-06-27T22:19:01Z Observations from along the length of Bench Glacier, Alaska, USA, show that the subglacial water-pressure field undergoes a multiphase transition from a winter mode to a summer mode. Data were collected at the glacier surface, the outlet stream, and in a network of 47 boreholes spanning the length of the 7 km long glacier. The winter pressure field was near overburden, with low-magnitude (centimeter to meter scale) and long-period (days to weeks) variations. During a spring speed-up event, boreholes showed synchronous variations and a slight pressure drop from prior winter values. Diurnal pressure variations followed the speed-up, with their onset associated with a glacier-wide pressure drop and flood at the terminus stream. Diurnal variations with swings of up to 80% of overburden pressure were typical of mid-summer. Several characteristics of our observations contradict common conceptions about the seasonal development of the subglacial drainage system and the linkages between subglacial hydrology and basal sliding: (1) increased water pressure did not accompany high sliding rates; (2) the drainage system showed activity characteristic of the spring season long before abundant water was available on the glacier surface; (3) the onset of both spring activity and diurnal variations of the drainage system did not show a spatial progression along the length of the glacier. Text glacier Long Glacier Alaska University of Montana: ScholarWorks Long Glacier ENVELOPE(-96.717,-96.717,-72.500,-72.500) Annals of Glaciology 40 31 36 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Montana: ScholarWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftunivmontana |
language |
unknown |
topic |
glaciology Bench Glacier subglacial water-pressure Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
glaciology Bench Glacier subglacial water-pressure Earth Sciences Harper, Joel T. Humphrey, Neil Pfeffer, W. Tad Fudge, T. J. O'Neel, Shad Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length |
topic_facet |
glaciology Bench Glacier subglacial water-pressure Earth Sciences |
description |
Observations from along the length of Bench Glacier, Alaska, USA, show that the subglacial water-pressure field undergoes a multiphase transition from a winter mode to a summer mode. Data were collected at the glacier surface, the outlet stream, and in a network of 47 boreholes spanning the length of the 7 km long glacier. The winter pressure field was near overburden, with low-magnitude (centimeter to meter scale) and long-period (days to weeks) variations. During a spring speed-up event, boreholes showed synchronous variations and a slight pressure drop from prior winter values. Diurnal pressure variations followed the speed-up, with their onset associated with a glacier-wide pressure drop and flood at the terminus stream. Diurnal variations with swings of up to 80% of overburden pressure were typical of mid-summer. Several characteristics of our observations contradict common conceptions about the seasonal development of the subglacial drainage system and the linkages between subglacial hydrology and basal sliding: (1) increased water pressure did not accompany high sliding rates; (2) the drainage system showed activity characteristic of the spring season long before abundant water was available on the glacier surface; (3) the onset of both spring activity and diurnal variations of the drainage system did not show a spatial progression along the length of the glacier. |
format |
Text |
author |
Harper, Joel T. Humphrey, Neil Pfeffer, W. Tad Fudge, T. J. O'Neel, Shad |
author_facet |
Harper, Joel T. Humphrey, Neil Pfeffer, W. Tad Fudge, T. J. O'Neel, Shad |
author_sort |
Harper, Joel T. |
title |
Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length |
title_short |
Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length |
title_full |
Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length |
title_fullStr |
Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length |
title_sort |
evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length |
publisher |
ScholarWorks at University of Montana |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/geosci_pubs/29 https://doi.org/10.3189/172756405781813573 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/geosci_pubs/article/1029/viewcontent/Evolution_of_subglacial_water_pressure_along_a_glacier_s_length.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-96.717,-96.717,-72.500,-72.500) |
geographic |
Long Glacier |
geographic_facet |
Long Glacier |
genre |
glacier Long Glacier Alaska |
genre_facet |
glacier Long Glacier Alaska |
op_source |
Geosciences Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/geosci_pubs/29 doi:10.3189/172756405781813573 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/geosci_pubs/article/1029/viewcontent/Evolution_of_subglacial_water_pressure_along_a_glacier_s_length.pdf |
op_rights |
© 2005 International Glaciology Society |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756405781813573 |
container_title |
Annals of Glaciology |
container_volume |
40 |
container_start_page |
31 |
op_container_end_page |
36 |
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1771545699533455360 |