| Title | Dynamics and mass balance of Taylor Glacier, Antarctica; 1, Geometry and surface velocities |
| Author | Kavanaugh, J.L.; Cuffey, K.M.; Morse, D.L.; Conway, H.; Rignot, E. |
| Author Affil | Kavanaugh, J.L., University of Alberta, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Other: University of California Berkeley; University of Texas at Austin; University of Washington; University of California Irvine |
| Source | Journal of Geophysical Research, 114(F4), Citation F04010. Publisher: American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, United States. ISSN: 0148-0227 |
| Publication Date | 2009 |
| Notes | In English. Includes 2 appendices. 37 refs. GeoRef Acc. No: 296943. CRREL Acc. No: 64002042 |
| Index Terms | erosion; glacial erosion; glacial geology; ice cover; ice cover thickness; glacier flow; ice sheets; models; velocity; Antarctica--East Antarctic ice sheet; Antarctica--McMurdo dry valleys; Taylor Glacier; Antarctic ice sheet; Antarctica; digital terrain models; East Antarctic ice sheet; elevation; ice movement; McMurdo dry valleys; Victoria Land |
| Abstract | Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, exemplifies a little-studied type of outlet glacier, one that flows slowly through a region of rugged topography and dry climate. This glacier, in addition, connects the East Antarctic Ice Sheet with the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a region much studied for geomorphology, paleoclimate, and ecology. Here we report extensive new measurements of surface velocities, ice thicknesses, and surface elevations, acquired with InSAR, GPS, and GPR. The latter two were used to construct elevation models of the glacier's surface and bed. Ice velocities in 2002-2004 closely matched those in 2000 and the mid- 1970s, indicating negligible interannual variations of flow. Comparing velocities with bed elevations shows that, along much of the glacier, flow concentrates in a narrow axis of relatively fast flowing ice that overlies a bedrock trough. The flow of the glacier over major undulations in its bed can be regarded as a "cascade"; it speeds up over bedrock highs and through valley narrows and slows down over deep basins and in wide spots. This pattern is an expected consequence of mass conservation for a glacier near steady state. Neither theory nor data from this Taylor Glacier study support the alternative view, recently proposed, that an outlet glacier of this type trickles slowly over bedrock highs and flows fastest over deep basins. |
| URL | http://hdl.handle.net/10.1029/2009JF001309 |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 87433 |