Subglacial water flow inferred from stream measurements at South Cascade Glacier, Washington, U.S.A.

Abstract

Abstract The subglacial drainage system of South Cascade Glacier is inferred by examining how discharges of water, solutes and artificial tracers in streams draining the glacier respond to meltwater and precipitation on the glacier surface. Results indicate that the glacier is divided into three (two large and one small) drainage basins, each drained by a single stream. The positions of drainage divides on the glacier surface do not always lie directly over those at the base of the glacier. Comparisons of water discharge and cation load in each of the two main streams indicate that subglacial hydraulic processes differ between drainage basins. One stream drains from a conduit that is isolated in its lower reach from the surrounding subglacial region and receives water routed englacially from the surface. The upper reach of the conduit also receives water routed englacially from the surface as well as from a distributed subglacial flow system. The other main stream drains from a conduit coupled to a debris layer beneath the glacier. Observations of the layer in natural ice tunnels indicate that the water may flow within a thin layer of debris. A one-dimensional model of flow through the debris layer can explain both the base-flow and diurnal variations of the second main stream.