Landscape modification by meltwater channels at margins of cold‐based glaciers, Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Abstract

Atkins, C. B. & Dickinson, W. W. 2007 (January): Landscape modification by meltwater channels at margins of cold‐based glaciers, Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Boreas, Vol. 36, pp. 47–55. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.This article describes distinctive lateral meltwater channels at the margins of low‐elevation cold‐based glaciers in the Dry Valleys. The channels significantly modify the ground surface and indicate that cold‐based glaciers can be active geomorphic agents. Summer meltwater from the glacier surface flows over ice‐aprons and erodes into the frozen ground creating channels up to 3 m deep and 10 m wide adjacent to unmodified ground that is protected beneath the glacier itself. Rapid fluvial excavation in the channels leads to undercutting and collapse of channel walls, which is capable of overturning large boulders. During glacial retreat, a succession of channels is incised into newly exposed ground creating a distinctive series of nested lateral channels and ridges. These represent the most obvious and persistent geomorphological signature of cold‐based glacier activity in the region. Cold‐based glaciers may advance and retreat over the same area many times without necessarily destroying older features, thereby creating a complex series of channels, deposits and remnant surfaces with a disordered chronology. Recognizing the role of cold‐based glaciers and their meltwater channels on landscape evolution is critical for interpreting the timing and style of glacial events in the Antarctic.