High Basal Water Pressure Research Articles

Coupled modelling of subglacial hydrology and calving-front melting at Store Glacier, West Greenland

Abstract. We investigate the subglacial hydrology of Store Glacier in West Greenland, using the open-source, full-Stokes model Elmer/Ice in a novel 3D application that includes a distributed water sheet, as well as discrete channelised drainage, and a 1D model to simulate submarine plumes at the calving front. At first, we produce a baseline winter scenario with no surface meltwater. We then investigate the hydrological system during summer, focussing specifically on 2012 and 2017, which provide examples of high and low surface-meltwater inputs, respectively. We show that the common assumption of zero winter freshwater flux is invalid, and we find channels over 1 m2 in area occurring up to 5 km inland in winter. We also find that the production of water from friction and geothermal heat is sufficiently high to drive year-round plume activity, with ice-front melting averaging 0.15 m d−1. When the model is forced with seasonally averaged surface melt from summer, we show a hydrological system with significant distributed sheet activity extending 65 and 45 km inland in 2012 and 2017, respectively; while channels with a cross-sectional area higher than 1 m2 form as far as 55 and 30 km inland. Using daily values for the surface melt as forcing, we find only a weak relationship between the input of surface meltwater and the intensity of plume melting at the calving front, whereas there is a strong correlation between surface-meltwater peaks and basal water pressures. The former shows that storage of water on multiple timescales within the subglacial drainage system plays an important role in modulating subglacial discharge. The latter shows that high melt inputs can drive high basal water pressures even when the channelised network grows larger. This has implications for the future velocity and mass loss of Store Glacier, and the consequent sea-level rise, in a warming world.

Overdeepened glacial basins as archives for the Quaternary landscape evolution of the Alps

The Alps and the Alpine foreland have been shaped by repeated glaciations during Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles. Extent, timing and impact on landscape evolution of these glaciations are, however, poorly constrained due to the fragmentary character of terrestrial archives. In this context, the sedimentary infills of subglacially eroded, ‘overdeepened’, basins may serve as important archives to complement the Quaternary stratigraphy over several glacial-interglacial cycles. In this thesis, the infills of deep subglacial basins in the Lower Glatt valley (N Switzerland) are explored to better constrain the Middle- to Late Pleistocene environmental change. Five drill cores gave direct insight into to the up to ~200 m thick valley fill at the study site and allowed for detailed analysis of sedimentary facies, age and architecture of the basin fills. A first focus is set on the sedimentology of coarse-grained diamicts with sorted interbeds overlying bedrock in the trough center, which mark the onset of deposition in many glacial bedrock troughs. Evidence from macro- and microsedimentology suggests that these sediments are emplaced subglacially and reflect deposition, reworking and deformation in response to repeated coupling and decoupling of the ice-bed interface promoted by high basal water pressures. Overlying these subglacial sediments, large volumes of sandy glacio-deltaic, fine-grained glacio-lacustrine and lacustrine sediments document sedimentation during glacier retreat from the basins. On these thick valley fill sequences the applicability and reliability of luminescence dating is investigated in a second step on the basis of experiments with several different luminescence signals, protocols and experiments to assess the signal stability. The valley fill of the Lower Glatt valley is then grouped into nine depositional cycles (Formations A-I), which are related to the Birrfeld Glaciation (~MIS2), the Beringen Glaciation (~MIS6), and up to three earlier Middle Pleistocene glaciations, tentatively correlated to the Hagenholz, Habsburg, and Mohlin Glaciations, according to the regional glaciation history. The complex bedrock geometry and valley fill architecture are shown to be the result of multiple erosion and infilling cycles and reflect the interplay of subglacial erosion, glacial to lacustrine infilling of overdeepened basins, and fluvial down-cutting and aggradation in the non-overdeepened valley fill. Evidence suggests that in the study area deep bedrock incision, and/or partial re-excavation, occurred mainly during the Beringen and Hagenholz Glaciation, while older structures may have existed. Together with the observation of minor, ‘inlaid’ glacial basins, dynamic changes in the magnitude and focus of subglacial erosion over time are documented.

Elsterian ice sheet dynamics in a topographically varied area (southern part of the Racibórz–Oświęcim Basin and its vicinity, southern Poland)

During the Elsterian Glaciation, the Scandinavian Ice Sheet, before reaching its maximum extent, advanced over the mountainous foreland of Southern Poland, which was characterized by a substrate of increasingly varied relief. One such area was the hilly Rybnik Plateau of the southern part of the Raciborz–Oświecim Basin, located directly north of the Ostrava Basin and Moravian Gate, where the ice sheet advanced far south and formed a large lobe. In this study, till from the Łaziska site, located in southern part of the Rybnik Plateau, was analysed and interpreted. The till was deposited at the top of an W–E oriented ridge composed of Neogene clays. The study indicates that a high basal water pressure occurred at the base of the ice sheet, favouring a basal mechanism of ice sheet movement. Till fabric and kinematic structures indicate that ice flowed easily from the west over the ridge, parallel to its axis. Reconstructed patterns of ice flow direction reflect an ice sheet that was characterized by a strong spatially varied dynamics. The Odra Valley was the main corridor of fast flowing ice to the Ostrava Basin, from where ice was distributed radially in different directions. The second corridor of actively flowing ice was probably located in the Ruda palaeovalley to the north of the Rybnik Plateau. In the central part of the Rybnik Plateau, ice flow was restricted. This less dynamic ice sheet behaviour resulted mostly from the much higher location of the area. This study indicates that the large morphological and lithological variations of the ice sheet substrate induced varied frictional resistance, producing a spatially varied stress field within the ice sheet. This generated active zones of streaming ice adjacent to more passive zones. Potential switching between neighbouring active zones transporting ice towards the ice sheet margin is postulated.

Subglacial emplacement of tills and meltwater deposits at the base of overdeepened bedrock troughs

AbstractThe sedimentary infills of subglacially eroded bedrock troughs in the Alps are underexplored archives for the timing, extent and character of Pleistocene glaciations but may contain excellent records of the Quaternary landscape evolution over several glacial–interglacial cycles. The onset of sedimentation in these bedrock troughs is often reflected by diamicts and gravels directly overlying bedrock in the deepest basin segments. Subglacial or proglacial depositional environments have been proposed for these coarse‐grained basal units but their characteristics and origin remain controversial. This article presents results from drill cores that recovered a coarse‐grained basal unit in a major buried bedrock‐trough system in the Lower Glatt Valley, northern Switzerland. The excellent core recovery allowed a detailed study combining macroscopic, microscopic and geochemical methods and gives unprecedented insights into the transition from erosion to deposition in overdeepened bedrock troughs. These results show that the basal infill comprises diamicts, interpreted as subglacial tills, separated by thin sorted interbeds, originating from subglacial cavity deposition. The stacking of these units is interpreted to represent repeated switching between a coupled and decoupled ice–bed‐interface indicating an ever‐transforming mosaic of subglacial bed conditions. Decoupling in response to high basal water pressures is probably promoted by the confined subglacial hydraulic conditions resulting from the bedrock acting as aquitards, the narrow reverse sloping outlet and a large catchment area. While stratigraphic and lithological evidence suggests that erosion and the onset of basal sedimentation occurred during the same glaciation, different scenarios for the relative timing of infilling in relation to formation and glaciation of the bedrock trough are discussed. Overlying deltaic and glaciolacustrine sediments suggest deposition during subsequent deglaciation of the bedrock trough. The basal sediment characteristics are in agreement with previous reports in hydrogeological and seismic exploration and suggest the occurrence of similar basal successions in other subglacially overdeepened basins in the Alps and elsewhere.

Subglacial conditions and Scandinavian Ice Sheet dynamics at the coarse-grained substratum of the fore-mountain area of southern Poland

Abstract The fore-mountain areas of southern Poland are locally composed of the coarse-grained sediments of alluvial fans, which created unusual conditions under the advancing Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the Elsterian glaciation. This highly permeable substratum potentially enabled rapid outflow of meltwater from the ice sheet base, thereby reducing the water pressure and strongly influencing the ice sheet dynamics. The subglacial conditions and the relationship between the ice sheet behaviour and its coarse-grained substratum were studied at the foreland of the western Carpathian Mountains. The sedimentological and structural analysis of the till and related sediments that were deposited above the alluvial gravel of the fore-mountain fans are presented. The study indicates that despite the high permeability of the coarse-grained substratum, it did not slow the ice sheet movement. Conversely, the ice sheet moved mainly due to basal slip and locally shallow deformations. This was a consequence of very high basal water pressure, which resulted largely from the presence of permafrost that restricted subglacial groundwater outflow. In addition, the ice sheet substratum was inclined opposite to the direction of its movement, increasing the pressure of the subglacial water. Numerous subhorizontal sandy laminae within the till indicate that the meltwater from the ice sheet base was drained by a water film along the ice/bed interface. The water escape structures within the till and subtill sediments indicate the occasional instability of the ice sheet hydrological system and suggest that the meltwater was periodically stored in the ice sheet base. Temporal changes occurring in the ice sheet hydrological system might indicate variations in the ice sheet behaviour; i.e. phases of relatively fast ice flow and phases of ice stagnation. The latter were probably correlated with the freezing of the ice margin to its base. The study shows how the coarse-grained substratum could potentially influence ice sheet behaviour and provides a broader look on the factors controlling the dynamics of the Pleistocene ice sheets, which soft-sediment substrata in many areas were texturally varied.

Decadal slowdown of a land-terminating sector of the Greenland Ice Sheet despite warming.

Ice flow along land-terminating margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) varies considerably in response to fluctuating inputs of surface meltwater to the bed of the ice sheet. Such inputs lubricate the ice-bed interface, transiently speeding up the flow of ice. Greater melting results in faster ice motion during summer, but slower motion over the subsequent winter, owing to the evolution of an efficient drainage system that enables water to drain from regions of the ice-sheet bed that have a high basal water pressure. However, the impact of hydrodynamic coupling on ice motion over decadal timescales remains poorly constrained. Here we show that annual ice motion across an 8,000-km(2) land-terminating region of the west GIS margin, extending to 1,100 m above sea level, was 12% slower in 2007-14 compared with 1985-94, despite a 50% increase in surface meltwater production. Our findings suggest that, over these three decades, hydrodynamic coupling in this section of the ablation zone resulted in a net slowdown of ice motion (not a speed-up, as previously postulated). Increases in meltwater production from projected climate warming may therefore further reduce the motion of land-terminating margins of the GIS. Our findings suggest that these sectors of the ice sheet are more resilient to the dynamic impacts of enhanced meltwater production than previously thought.

Feedbacks between coupled subglacial hydrology and glacier dynamics

On most glaciers and ice sheet outlets the majority of motion is due to basal slip, a combination of basal sliding and bed deformation. The importance of basal water in controlling sliding is well established, with increased sliding generally related to high basal water pressure, but the details of the interactions between the ice and water systems has not received much study when there is coupling between the systems. Here we use coupled subglacial hydrology and ice dynamics models within the Community Ice Sheet Model to investigate feedbacks between the ice and water systems. The dominant feedback we find is negative: sliding over bedrock bumps opens additional cavity space, which lowers water pressure and, in turn, sliding. We also find two small positive feedbacks: basal melt increases through frictional heat during sliding, which raises water pressure, and strain softening of basal ice during localized speedup causes cavities to close more quickly and maintain higher water pressures. Our coupled modeling demonstrates that a sustained input of surface water to a distributed drainage system can lead to a speedup event that decays even in the absence of channelization, due to increased capacity of the system through opening of cavities, which is enhanced through the sliding-opening feedback. We find that the negative feedback resulting from sliding-opening is robust across a wide range of parameter values. However, our modeling also argues that subglacial channelization is required to terminate speedup events over timescales that are commensurate with observations of late summer slowdown on mountain glaciers.

Winter motion mediates dynamic response of the Greenland Ice Sheet to warmer summers

AbstractWe present ice velocities from a land‐terminating transect extending >115 km into the western Greenland Ice Sheet during three contrasting melt years (2009–2011) to determine whether enhanced melting accelerates dynamic mass loss. We find no significant correlation between surface melt and annual ice flow. There is however a positive correlation between melt and summer ice displacement, but a negative correlation with winter displacement. This response is consistent with hydro‐dynamic coupling; enhanced summer ice flow results from longer periods of increasing surface melting and greater duration ice surface to bed connections, while reduced winter motion is explicable by drainage of high basal water pressure regions by larger more extensive subglacial channels. Despite mean interannual surface melt variability of up to 70%, mean annual ice velocities changed by <7.5%. Increased summer melting thereby preconditions the ice‐bed interface for reduced winter motion resulting in limited dynamic sensitivity to interannual variations in surface melting.

An assessment of surge-induced crevassing and the formation of crevasse squeeze ridges

[1] Evidence for extensive crevassing is preserved on the deglaciated forelands of many surging glaciers as crevasse squeeze ridges (CSRs). At some point these crevasses make direct connection with the bed in order to become sediment filled, and full-depth connections have been inferred from turbid water up-wellings in crevasses and the formation of concertina eskers. The dynamics of seven surging glaciers are assessed, using a linear elastic fracture mechanics approach, to determine the likely directions of fracture and controlling parameters for Mode I crevasses. Extensional surface strain rates are insufficient to promote top-down full-depth penetration. For small crevasse spacing (<5 m), surface strain rates are sufficient for top-down crevassing to depths of 4–12 m, explaining the extensive surface crevassing associated with glacier surging. As has been shown in other settings, top-down, full-depth crevassing is only possible when water is added and approaches 97% of the crevasse depth. The provision of sufficient meltwater to facilitate this is problematic due to the extensive surface crevassing, unless water can move along connected crevasses to a dominant water capturing crevasse. For ice thicknesses greater than ∼200 m, basal water pressures in excess of 80–90% of flotation are required for full-depth, bottom-up crevassing. Field evidence suggests that this is the default for surging glaciers and that, on occasion, water pressures may even become artesian. CSRs, found across many surging glacier forelands and ice margins, most likely result from the infilling of basal crevasses, driven for the most part, bottom-up, by high basal water pressures.

An unusual jökulhlaup resulting from subglacial volcanism, Sólheimajökull, Iceland

Jökulhlaups (glacial outburst floods) are frequent in glaciated terrain. Jökulhlaups exhibiting a sudden rise to peak discharge have not been subject to detailed investigation. A volcanically-generated flood burst from Sólheimajökull, Iceland in July 1999. This paper accounts for the causes, characteristics and impacts of this flood. Pre- and post-flood fieldwork was carried out at Sólheimajökull allowing the reconstruction of mean flow velocities and peak discharge. Flood onset was rapid, rising to a peak discharge of 4.4 x 10 3 m 3s −1 (± 1.2 x 10 3 m 3s −1) within one hour. High basal water pressures resulted in floodwater bursting through the glacier surface. Ice rip-up clasts containing glacial diamict provided evidence of floodwater contact with the glacier bed. Within the glacier, jökulhlaup sedimentation occurred within hydrofractures and conduits generating complex hydrofracture fills and esker ridges. In the proglacial zone, regions of flow expansion associated with rapid reductions in sediment transport capacity controlled the locations of major jökulhlaup sedimentation. A large fan composed of material of up to boulder size was deposited at the glacier snout. Two ice-marginal basins filled and drained during the jökulhlaup. One of the basins, Jökulsárgil, emptied rapidly during the flood, via ice-dam flotation, accentuating peak jökulhlaup discharge. High rates of downstream peak discharge attenuation during the July 1999 jökulhlaup provides an analogy with flash flood hydrographs in semi-arid regions and the catastrophic failure of man-made dams. The July 1999 jökulhlaup was initially triggered by the subglacial volcanic eruption, but the characteristics of the flood were accentuated by within-event meltwater storage and release. This unusual jökulhlaup provides an important addition to our understanding of the spectrum of distinctive jökulhlaup characteristics.

Modeling the subglacial hydrology of the late Pleistocene Lake Michigan Lobe, Laurentide Ice Sheet

The fast ice flow characteristic of the low-gradient Lake Michigan Lobe of the southern Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glaciation likely resulted from some combination of subglacial sediment deformation and sliding at the ice-bed interface. Both mechanisms require high basal water pressure relative to overlying ice pressure. To evaluate the basal water pressures of the Lake Michigan Lobe, we used the groundwater model MODFLOW to simulate groundwater flow along a 1040-km-long flow line corresponding to the flow path taken by the ice lobe. Our simulations show that groundwater flow directions and velocities were substantially different than modern conditions. Simulations also indicate that subglacial aquifers were not capable of evacuating the estimated basal meltwater, but that excess water draining through a basal drainage system such as one that may underlie Ice Stream B, West Antarctic Ice Sheet, would prevent basal water pressure from exceeding the ice-overburden pressure. The buried Mahomet bedrock-valley system near the distal end of the Lake Michigan Lobe could have drained enough subglacial water to substantially lower basal water pressure and thus affect the dynamics of the lobe. By draining basal meltwater away from the Lake Michigan Lobe, the buried Mahomet bedrock-valley system may have attenuated the effect of permafrost on basal water pressure. During the Last Glacial Maximum, groundwater-flow patterns and velocities were altered or reversed relative to present conditions.

Basal-crevasse-fill origin of laminated debris bands at Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.

AbstractThe numerous debris bands in the terminus region of Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., were formed by injection of turbid meltwaters into basal crevasses. The debris bands are millimeter(s)-thick layers of silt-rich ice cross-cutting older, debris-poor englacial ice. The sediment grain-size distribution of the debris bands closely resembles the suspended load of basal waters, and of basal and proglacial ice grown from basal waters, but does not resemble supraglacial debris, till or the bedload of subglacial streams. Most debris bands contain anthropogenic tritium (3H) in concentrations similar to those of basal meltwater and ice formed from that meltwater, but cross-cut englacial ice lacking tritium. Stable-isotopic ratios (δ18O and δD) of debris-band ice are consistent with freezing from basal waters, but are distinct from those in englacial ice. Ice petrofabric data along one debris band lack evidence of active shearing. High basal water pressures and locally extensional ice flow associated with overdeepened subglacial basins favor basal crevasse formation.

Mechanical and hydrologic basis for the rapid motion of a large tidewater glacier: 2. Interpretation

The data presented in part 1 of this paper (Meier et al., this issue) are here used to assess the role of water input/output, water storage, and basal water pressure in the rapid movement of Columbia Glacier, Alaska. Consistently high basal water pressures, mostly in the range from 300 kPa below to 100 kPa above the ice overburden pressure, are responsible in an overall way for the high glacier flow velocities (3.5–9 m d−1), which are due mainly to rapid basal sliding caused by the high water pressure. Diurnal fluctuation in basal water pressure is accompanied by fluctuation in sliding velocity in what appears to be a direct causal relation at the upglacier observation site. The water pressure fluctuation tracks the time‐integrated water input (less a steady withdrawal), as expected for the diurnally fluctuating storage of water in the glacier far from the terminus. At the downglacier site, the situation is more complex. Diurnal peaks in water level, which are directly related to intraglacial water storage as well as to basal water pressure, are shifted forward in time by 4 hours, probably as a result of the effect of diurnal fluctuation in water output from the glacier, which affects the local water storage fluctuations near the terminus. Because of the forward shift in the basal water pressure peaks, which at the downglacier site lead the velocity peaks by 6 hours, a mechanical connection between water pressure and sliding there would have to involve a 6‐hour (quarter period) delay. However, the nearly identical nature of the diurnal fluctuations in velocity at the two sites argues for a single, consistent control mechanism at both sites. The velocity variations in nondiurnal “speed‐up events” caused by extra input of water on the longer timescale of several days are only obscurely if at all correlated with variations in basal water pressure but correlate well with water storage in the glacier. It appears that small variations in water pressure (≤100 kPa) sufficient to produce the observed velocity variations (15–30%) are mostly masked by pressure fluctuations caused by spontaneous local reorganizations of the basal water conduit system on a spatial scale much smaller than the longitudinal coupling length over which basal water pressure is effectively averaged in determining the sliding velocity. At the achieved level of observation the clearest (though not complication free) control variable for the sliding velocity variations is basal water storage by cavitation at the glacier bed.

A 3 Year Record of Seasonal Variations in Surface Velocity, StorglaciÄren, Sweden

AbstractBetween 3 June 1982 and 8 July 1985, a stake net consisting of up to 32 stakes covering the greater part of Storglaciären was surveyed 70 times, yielding roughly 2000 separate determinations of vertical and horizontal velocity. The time interval between surveys averaged about 1 week during the summer and 2 months during the winter.Horizontal velocities were normally highest during periods of high daily temperature or heavy rain early in the melt season. Comparable or sometimes higher temperatures or rainfalls later in the season usually had less effect, though minor velocity peaks were often present in August and early September. During periods for which bore-hole water-level measurements are available, velocity peaks generally coincided with periods of high basal water pressure, but not all periods of high water pressure resulted in velocity peaks. Despite increasing basal water pressures, velocity decreased gradually during the winter.Vertical velocities also vary seasonally. Beneath the upper part of the ablation area the glacier bed is overdeepened. Vertical velocities here are ˜3 mm/d higher during the summer. Down-glacier from the overdeepening, vertical velocities are ˜1 mm/d lower during the summer. These and other characteristics of the vertical velocity pattern are best explained by appealing to: (1) a decrease in strain-rate with depth, and (2) seasonal variations in this depth-dependence.Five periods of high velocity lasting from 3 to 11d were studied in detail. In an area where the bed is overdeepened, force-balance calculations suggest that basal drag decreased between 16 and 40% during these high-velocity events. This resulted in a decrease in compressive strain-rate at the up-glacier end of the overdeepening, an increase at the down-glacier end, and a slight increase in lateral shear strain-rates. Down-glacier from the overdeepening, basal drag increased during two events owing to an increased push from up-glacier and pull from down-glacier. Lateral shear strain-rates increased sharply here.

Drainage of the Austre Okstindbreen Ice-dammed Lake, Okstindan, Norway

AbstractObservations of the discharge, electrical conductivity, cationic content, and isotopic composition of glacier-river water indicate that drainage of the lake dammed at the margin of the glacier Austre Okstindbreen, Okstindan, Norway, is preceded by disruption of the glacier’s drainage system(s). Annual studies over a period of 12 years have demonstrated that intense storm precipitation, changes of ablation conditions, and the stage of development of drainage systems all may play a role in triggering drainage of the ice-dammed lake. Water temperature may influence the course of the outburst. The lake has drained on at least ten occasions in the last 12 years. Three of the events (1979, 1985, and 1986) occurred early in the summer, whilst melting of the winter’s snow cover was contributing substantially to glacier-river discharge: high basal water pressure and rapid sliding may have facilitated disruption of drainage conditions within the glacier. In 1982, the lake drained during a severe storm, in 1977 and 1984 shortly after a period of heavy rainfall. During the 1977 and 1984 events, water under pressure burst up through the glacier surface. The lake basin remained partly filled throughout one summer (1980): in-flow of water was balanced by out-flow into the glacier.

Drainage of the Austre Okstindbreen Ice-dammed Lake, Okstindan, Norway

Abstract Observations of the discharge, electrical conductivity, cationic content, and isotopic composition of glacier-river water indicate that drainage of the lake dammed at the margin of the glacier Austre Okstindbreen, Okstindan, Norway, is preceded by disruption of the glacier’s drainage system(s). Annual studies over a period of 12 years have demonstrated that intense storm precipitation, changes of ablation conditions, and the stage of development of drainage systems all may play a role in triggering drainage of the ice-dammed lake. Water temperature may influence the course of the outburst. The lake has drained on at least ten occasions in the last 12 years. Three of the events (1979, 1985, and 1986) occurred early in the summer, whilst melting of the winter’s snow cover was contributing substantially to glacier-river discharge: high basal water pressure and rapid sliding may have facilitated disruption of drainage conditions within the glacier. In 1982, the lake drained during a severe storm, in 1977 and 1984 shortly after a period of heavy rainfall. During the 1977 and 1984 events, water under pressure burst up through the glacier surface. The lake basin remained partly filled throughout one summer (1980): in-flow of water was balanced by out-flow into the glacier.

Waves of Accelerated Motion in a Glacier Approaching Surge: the Mini-Surges of Variegated Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.

AbstractPeriods of dramatically accelerated motion, in which the flow velocity increases suddenly from about 55 cm/d to a peak of 100–300cm/d and then decreases gradually over the course of a day, occurred repeatedly during June and July 1978–81 in Variegated Glacier (Alaska), a surging-type glacier that surged in 1982–83. These “mini-surges” appear to be related mechanistically to the main surge. The flow-velocity peak propagates down-glacier as a wave at a speed of about 0.3 km/h, over a reach of about 6 km in length. It is accompanied by a propagating pressure wave in the basal water system of the glacier, in which, after a preliminary drop, the pressure rises rapidly to a level greater than the ice-overburden pressure at the glacier bed, and then drops gradually over a period of 1–2 d, usually reaching a new low for the summer. The peak velocity is accompanied by a peak of high seismic activity due to widespread fresh crevassing. It is also accompanied by a rapid uplift of the glacier surface, amounting to 6–11 cm, which then relaxes over a period of 1–2 d. Maximum uplift rate coincides with the peak in flow velocity; the peak in accumulated uplift lags behind the velocity peak by 2 h. The uplift is mainly due to basal cavitation driven by the high basal water pressure, although the strain wave associated with the mini-surge motion can also contribute. Basal cavitation is probably responsible for the pulse of high turbidity that appears in the terminal outflow stream in association with each mini-surge. In the down-glacier reach, where the mini-surge waves are attenuating, the observed strain wave corresponds to what is expected for the propagating pulse in flow velocity, but in the reach of maximum mini-surge motion the strain wave has a form quite different, possibly related to special features in the mini-surge initiation process from that point up-stream. The flow acceleration in the mini-surges is due to enhanced basal sliding caused by the high basal water pressure and the consequent reduction of bed friction. A preliminary velocity increase shortly before the pressure wave arrives is caused by the forward shove that the main accelerated mass exerts on the ice ahead of it, and the resulting preliminary basal cavitation causes the drop in water pressure shortly before the pressure wave arrives. The mini-surge wave propagation is controlled by the propagation of the water-pressure wave in the basal water-conduit system. The propagation characteristics result from a longitudinal gradient (up-glacier increase) in hydraulic conductivity of the basal water system in response to the up-glacier increase of the basal water pressure in the mini-surge wave. The mini-surge waves are initiated in a succession of areas situated generally progressively up-glacier during the course of the summer season. In these areas, presumably, melt water that has accumulated in subglacial (?) reservoirs is released suddenly into the basal water system immediately below, generating a pressure rise that propagates down-stream from there. Relationships of the mini-surges to the main surge are seen in the role of high basal water pressure in causing the rapid glacier motion in both phenomena, in the pulse-propagation features of both, and in the high outflow turbidity associated with both. The mini-surges of Variegated Glacier have a strong resemblance to movement and uplift events observed in Unteraargletscher and Findelengletscher, Switzerland. This bears on the question whether the mini-surges are a particular characteristic of surge-type glaciers prior to surge.

Waves of Accelerated Motion in a Glacier Approaching Surge: the Mini-Surges of Variegated Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A.

AbstractPeriods of dramatically accelerated motion, in which the flow velocity increases suddenly from about 55 cm/d to a peak of 100–300cm/d and then decreases gradually over the course of a day, occurred repeatedly during June and July 1978–81 in Variegated Glacier (Alaska), a surging-type glacier that surged in 1982–83. These “mini-surges” appear to be related mechanistically to the main surge. The flow-velocity peak propagates down-glacier as a wave at a speed of about 0.3 km/h, over a reach of about 6 km in length. It is accompanied by a propagating pressure wave in the basal water system of the glacier, in which, after a preliminary drop, the pressure rises rapidly to a level greater than the ice-overburden pressure at the glacier bed, and then drops gradually over a period of 1–2 d, usually reaching a new low for the summer. The peak velocity is accompanied by a peak of high seismic activity due to widespread fresh crevassing. It is also accompanied by a rapid uplift of the glacier surface, amounting to 6–11 cm, which then relaxes over a period of 1–2 d. Maximum uplift rate coincides with the peak in flow velocity; the peak in accumulated uplift lags behind the velocity peak by 2 h. The uplift is mainly due to basal cavitation driven by the high basal water pressure, although the strain wave associated with the mini-surge motion can also contribute. Basal cavitation is probably responsible for the pulse of high turbidity that appears in the terminal outflow stream in association with each mini-surge. In the down-glacier reach, where the mini-surge waves are attenuating, the observed strain wave corresponds to what is expected for the propagating pulse in flow velocity, but in the reach of maximum mini-surge motion the strain wave has a form quite different, possibly related to special features in the mini-surge initiation process from that point up-stream. The flow acceleration in the mini-surges is due to enhanced basal sliding caused by the high basal water pressure and the consequent reduction of bed friction. A preliminary velocity increase shortly before the pressure wave arrives is caused by the forward shove that the main accelerated mass exerts on the ice ahead of it, and the resulting preliminary basal cavitation causes the drop in water pressure shortly before the pressure wave arrives. The mini-surge wave propagation is controlled by the propagation of the water-pressure wave in the basal water-conduit system. The propagation characteristics result from a longitudinal gradient (up-glacier increase) in hydraulic conductivity of the basal water system in response to the up-glacier increase of the basal water pressure in the mini-surge wave. The mini-surge waves are initiated in a succession of areas situated generally progressively up-glacier during the course of the summer season. In these areas, presumably, melt water that has accumulated in subglacial (?) reservoirs is released suddenly into the basal water system immediately below, generating a pressure rise that propagates down-stream from there. Relationships of the mini-surges to the main surge are seen in the role of high basal water pressure in causing the rapid glacier motion in both phenomena, in the pulse-propagation features of both, and in the high outflow turbidity associated with both. The mini-surges of Variegated Glacier have a strong resemblance to movement and uplift events observed in Unteraargletscher and Findelengletscher, Switzerland. This bears on the question whether the mini-surges are a particular characteristic of surge-type glaciers prior to surge.