Seasonal changes in the morphology of the subglacial drainage system, Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland

Auteurs :
NIENOW, P.
SHARP, M.
WILLIS, I.

Description :
Dye tracing techniques were used to investigate the glacier-wide pattern of change in the englacial/subglacial drainage system of Haut Glacier d'Arolla during the ablation seasons of 1990 and 1991. In both years, the tracer injection programme began as soon as runoff was detected at the glacier surface. Analysis of breakthrough curve characteristics indicate that over the course of a melt season, a system of major channels developed by headward growth at the expense of a hydraulically inefficient distributed system. Damping of diurnal melt inputs by storage in the firn aquifer accounts for the slowing of channel growth in the upper glacier.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Earth surface processes and landforms, issn : 0197-9337, 1998, vol. 23, n°. 9, p. 825-843, Collation : Illustration, Références bibliographiques : 32 ref.

Date :
1998

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Chichester, Wiley