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Dendritic subglacial drainage systems in cold glaciers formed by cut-and-closure processes

  • Naegeli, Kathrin Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Switzerland - Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland - Arctic Geology, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen, Norway
  • Lovell, Harold School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, UK - Arctic Geology, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen, Norway
  • Zemp, Michael Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • Benn, Douglas I. Arctic Geology, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen, Norway - School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews, UK
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    2014
Published in:
  • Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography. - 2014, vol. 96, no. 4, p. 591–608
cold glaciers
englacial subglacial conduit
glacier hydrology
glacio speleology
icings
Svalbard
English The routing and storage of meltwater and the configuration of drainage systems in glaciers exert a profound influence on glacier behaviour. However, little is known about the hydrological systems of cold glaciers, which form a significant proportion of the total glacier population in the climate sensitive region of the High Arctic. Using glacio-speleological techniques, we obtained direct access to explore and survey three conduit systems and one moulin within the tongue area of Tellbreen, a small cold-based valley glacier in central Spitsbergen. More than 600 m of conduits were surveyed and mapped in plan, profile and cross-section view to analyse the configuration of the drainage system. The investigations revealed that cold-based glaciers can exhibit a dendritic drainage network with supra-, en- and subglacial components formed most likely by cut-and-closure processes as well as surface-to-bed drainage via moulins. Furthermore, we observed that water is stored within the glacier and released gradually via subglacial conduits during the winter months, forming a large and active icing in the proglacial area. The presence of supra-, en- and subglacial components, the surface-to-bed moulin and the dendritic subglacial drainage network suggest that existing models and understanding of the hydrology of cold glaciers needs to be re-evaluated, mostly concerning the different possible pathways and processes that form the hydrological system.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Géosciences
Language
  • English
Classification
Hydrology
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/304135
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