Air Compression as a Mechanism for the Underdamped Slug Test Response in Fractured Glacier Ice
Artificial perturbations of borehole water levels, known as slug tests, are a useful means of characterizing the glacier hydrologic system. Slug tests were performed on Bench Glacier, Alaska, in 21 boreholes over three field seasons during the transition from a winter to a summer drainage mode. Fift...
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ftunivwyomingfig:oai:figshare.com:article/13678057 2023-05-15T16:20:27+02:00 Air Compression as a Mechanism for the Underdamped Slug Test Response in Fractured Glacier Ice T. W. Meierbachtoll J. T. Harper Neil Humphrey J. Shaha J. H. Bradford 2008-11-14T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1029/2007jf000908 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Air_Compression_as_a_Mechanism_for_the_Underdamped_Slug_Test_Response_in_Fractured_Glacier_Ice/13678057 unknown doi:10.1029/2007jf000908 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Air_Compression_as_a_Mechanism_for_the_Underdamped_Slug_Test_Response_in_Fractured_Glacier_Ice/13678057 CC BY 4.0 CC-BY Geology Text Journal contribution 2008 ftunivwyomingfig https://doi.org/10.1029/2007jf000908 2023-02-04T11:07:24Z Artificial perturbations of borehole water levels, known as slug tests, are a useful means of characterizing the glacier hydrologic system. Slug tests were performed on Bench Glacier, Alaska, in 21 boreholes over three field seasons during the transition from a winter to a summer drainage mode. Fifty-four slug tests were conducted, with water level monitoring in up to five boreholes adjacent to the slugged borehole. Seven of the slug tests were performed in conjunction with dye dispersion tests to identify water pathways within the slugged borehole following perturbation. Nearly 60% of monitored adjacent boreholes showed a hydraulic connection to the slugged borehole via the glacier bed. The nature and degree of connectivity was temporally variable, suggesting that the drainage network at the bed was highly dynamic on a daily timescale and spatial scale of tens of meters. The variability of slug test responses over time and space limit the feasibility of six alternative explanations for the oscillatory water level behavior characteristic of the underdamped response. We propose a seventh, that is, that coherent air packages are a reasonable means of producing the compliance needed to generate the underdamped slug test responses on Bench Glacier, and that these air packages may exist within the glacier at the tips of subglacially propagated fractures. Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper glacier Alaska WyoScholar - University of Wyoming research repository Journal of Geophysical Research 113 F4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
WyoScholar - University of Wyoming research repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwyomingfig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Geology |
spellingShingle |
Geology T. W. Meierbachtoll J. T. Harper Neil Humphrey J. Shaha J. H. Bradford Air Compression as a Mechanism for the Underdamped Slug Test Response in Fractured Glacier Ice |
topic_facet |
Geology |
description |
Artificial perturbations of borehole water levels, known as slug tests, are a useful means of characterizing the glacier hydrologic system. Slug tests were performed on Bench Glacier, Alaska, in 21 boreholes over three field seasons during the transition from a winter to a summer drainage mode. Fifty-four slug tests were conducted, with water level monitoring in up to five boreholes adjacent to the slugged borehole. Seven of the slug tests were performed in conjunction with dye dispersion tests to identify water pathways within the slugged borehole following perturbation. Nearly 60% of monitored adjacent boreholes showed a hydraulic connection to the slugged borehole via the glacier bed. The nature and degree of connectivity was temporally variable, suggesting that the drainage network at the bed was highly dynamic on a daily timescale and spatial scale of tens of meters. The variability of slug test responses over time and space limit the feasibility of six alternative explanations for the oscillatory water level behavior characteristic of the underdamped response. We propose a seventh, that is, that coherent air packages are a reasonable means of producing the compliance needed to generate the underdamped slug test responses on Bench Glacier, and that these air packages may exist within the glacier at the tips of subglacially propagated fractures. |
format |
Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
author |
T. W. Meierbachtoll J. T. Harper Neil Humphrey J. Shaha J. H. Bradford |
author_facet |
T. W. Meierbachtoll J. T. Harper Neil Humphrey J. Shaha J. H. Bradford |
author_sort |
T. W. Meierbachtoll |
title |
Air Compression as a Mechanism for the Underdamped Slug Test Response in Fractured Glacier Ice |
title_short |
Air Compression as a Mechanism for the Underdamped Slug Test Response in Fractured Glacier Ice |
title_full |
Air Compression as a Mechanism for the Underdamped Slug Test Response in Fractured Glacier Ice |
title_fullStr |
Air Compression as a Mechanism for the Underdamped Slug Test Response in Fractured Glacier Ice |
title_full_unstemmed |
Air Compression as a Mechanism for the Underdamped Slug Test Response in Fractured Glacier Ice |
title_sort |
air compression as a mechanism for the underdamped slug test response in fractured glacier ice |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2007jf000908 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Air_Compression_as_a_Mechanism_for_the_Underdamped_Slug_Test_Response_in_Fractured_Glacier_Ice/13678057 |
genre |
glacier Alaska |
genre_facet |
glacier Alaska |
op_relation |
doi:10.1029/2007jf000908 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Air_Compression_as_a_Mechanism_for_the_Underdamped_Slug_Test_Response_in_Fractured_Glacier_Ice/13678057 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2007jf000908 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
113 |
container_issue |
F4 |
_version_ |
1766008376663212032 |