Drainage Systems Associated with Snow Melt, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Abstract

This paper re-examines the geomorphological role of meltwater derived from snow patches in the light of observations made during the break up of snow cover on Byers Peninsula in 1976. The object is to draw attention to the erosive capacity of snow melt and the fact that channels created by this action can show similar morphological characteristics to those commonly ascribed to a fluvioglacial origin. These include the crossing of local topographic divides and commencement in the middle of slopes.