Changes in geometry and subglacial drainage derived from digital elevation models: Unteraargletscher, Switzerland, 1927-97
Metadata only
Date
2005Type
- Conference Paper
Abstract
Digital elevation models of the bed and surface of Unteraargletscher, Switzerland, are used to reconstruct the theoretical pattern of basal water drainage for the years 1927, 1947, 1961 and 1997, during which period the glacier was thinning and receding. The theoretical drainage pattern for 1997 compares well, in a broad sense, with the locations of active moulins and the hydraulic connection status of boreholes drilled to the glacier bed. Changes in the basal water-flow pattern over the period 1927–97 that are revealed by the theoretical reconstructions of the subglacial drainage system structure are likely to have resulted from changes in glacier geometry. Concurrent with the retreat and thinning of the glacier, the height of medial moraines increased, probably due to the insulating effect of the debris cover reducing the melt of the underlying ice. This increase of moraine heights has led to the formation of hydraulic barriers at the glacier bed such that water flow has become channelized beneath the ice along drainage axes that parallel the course of the medial moraines on the glacier surface. Show more
Publication status
publishedExternal links
Editor
Book title
Papers from the International Symposium on Ice and Water Interactions: Processes across the Phase Boundary: held in Portland, Oregon, USA, 26-30 July 2004Journal / series
Annals of GlaciologyVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
International Glaciological SocietyEvent
Organisational unit
03504 - Minor, Hans-Erwin
More
Show all metadata