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• 1. [Article] Water Flow through Temperate Glaciers

  Understanding water movement through a glacier is fundamental to several critical issues in glaciology, including glacier dynamics, glacier-induced floods, and the prediction of runoff from glacierized ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Water Flow through Temperate Glaciers Author: Fountain, Andrew G., Walder, Joseph S. Year: 1998 Understanding water movement through a glacier is fundamental to several critical issues in glaciology, including glacier dynamics, glacier-induced floods, and the prediction of runoff from glacierized drainage basins. To this end we have synthesized a conceptual model of water movement through a temperate glacier from the surface to the outlet stream. Processes that regulate the rate and distribution of water input at the glacier surface and that regulate water movement from the surface to the bed play important but commonly neglected roles in glacier hydrology. Where a glacier is covered by a layer of porous, permeable firn (the accumulation zone), the flux of water to the glacier interior varies slowly because the firn temporarily stores water and thereby smooths out variations in the supply rate. In the firn-free ablation zone, in contrast, the flux of water into the glacier depends directly on the rate of surface melt or rainfall and therefore varies greatly in time. Water moves from the surface to the bed through an upward branching arborescent network consisting of both steeply inclined conduits, formed by the enlargement of intergranular veins, and gently inclined conduits, spawned by water flow along the bottoms of near-surface fractures (crevasses). Englacial drainage conduits deliver water to the glacier bed at a limited number of points, probably a long distance downglacier of where water enters the glacier. Englacial conduits supplied from the accumulation zone are quasi steady state features that convey the slowly varying water flux delivered via the firn. Their size adjusts so that they are usually full of water and flow is pressurized. In contrast, water flow in englacial conduits supplied from the ablation area is pressurized only near times of peak daily flow or during rainstorms; flow is otherwise in an open-channel configuration. The subglacial drainage system typically consists of several elements that are distinct both morphologically and hydrologically. An upglacier branching, arborescent network of channels incised into the basal ice conveys water rapidly. Much of the water flux to the bed probably enters directly into the arborescent channel network, which covers only a small fraction of the glacier bed. More extensive spatially is a nonarborescent network, which commonly includes cavities (gaps between the glacier sole and bed), channels incised into the bed, and a layer of permeable sediment. The nonarborescent network conveys water slowly and is usually poorly connected to the arborescent system. The arborescent channel network largely collapses during winter but reforms in the spring as the first flush of meltwater to the bed destabilizes the cavities within the nonarborescent network. The volume of water stored by a glacier varies diurnally and seasonally. Small, temperate alpine glaciers seem to attain a maximum seasonal water storage of approximately 200 mm of water averaged over the area of the glacier bed, with daily fluctuations of as much as 20-30 mm. The likely storage capacity of subglacial cavities is insufficient to account for estimated stored water volumes, so most water storage may actually occur englacially. Stored water may also be released abruptly and catastrophically in the form of outburst floods. Title: Water Flow through Temperate Glaciers Author: Fountain, Andrew G., Walder, Joseph S. Year: 1998 Understanding water movement through a glacier is fundamental to several critical issues in glaciology, including glacier dynamics, glacier-induced floods, and the prediction of runoff from glacierized drainage basins. To this end we have synthesized a conceptual model of water movement through a temperate glacier from the surface to the outlet stream. Processes that regulate the rate and distribution of water input at the glacier surface and that regulate water movement from the surface to the bed play important but commonly neglected roles in glacier hydrology. Where a glacier is covered by a layer of porous, permeable firn (the accumulation zone), the flux of water to the glacier interior varies slowly because the firn temporarily stores water and thereby smooths out variations in the supply rate. In the firn-free ablation zone, in contrast, the flux of water into the glacier depends directly on the rate of surface melt or rainfall and therefore varies greatly in time. Water moves from the surface to the bed through an upward branching arborescent network consisting of both steeply inclined conduits, formed by the enlargement of intergranular veins, and gently inclined conduits, spawned by water flow along the bottoms of near-surface fractures (crevasses). Englacial drainage conduits deliver water to the glacier bed at a limited number of points, probably a long distance downglacier of where water enters the glacier. Englacial conduits supplied from the accumulation zone are quasi steady state features that convey the slowly varying water flux delivered via the firn. Their size adjusts so that they are usually full of water and flow is pressurized. In contrast, water flow in englacial conduits supplied from the ablation area is pressurized only near times of peak daily flow or during rainstorms; flow is otherwise in an open-channel configuration. The subglacial drainage system typically consists of several elements that are distinct both morphologically and hydrologically. An upglacier branching, arborescent network of channels incised into the basal ice conveys water rapidly. Much of the water flux to the bed probably enters directly into the arborescent channel network, which covers only a small fraction of the glacier bed. More extensive spatially is a nonarborescent network, which commonly includes cavities (gaps between the glacier sole and bed), channels incised into the bed, and a layer of permeable sediment. The nonarborescent network conveys water slowly and is usually poorly connected to the arborescent system. The arborescent channel network largely collapses during winter but reforms in the spring as the first flush of meltwater to the bed destabilizes the cavities within the nonarborescent network. The volume of water stored by a glacier varies diurnally and seasonally. Small, temperate alpine glaciers seem to attain a maximum seasonal water storage of approximately 200 mm of water averaged over the area of the glacier bed, with daily fluctuations of as much as 20-30 mm. The likely storage capacity of subglacial cavities is insufficient to account for estimated stored water volumes, so most water storage may actually occur englacially. Stored water may also be released abruptly and catastrophically in the form of outburst floods. Close

• 2. [Article] A Dynamic Physical Model for Soil Temperature and Water in Taylor Valley, Antarctica

  We developed a simulation model for terrestrial sites including sensible heat exchange between the atmosphere and ground surface, inter- and intra-layer heat conduction by rock and soil, and shortwave ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: A Dynamic Physical Model for Soil Temperature and Water in Taylor Valley, Antarctica Author: Hunt, H. W., Fountain, Andrew G., Doran, Peter T., Basagic, Hassan J. Year: 2010 We developed a simulation model for terrestrial sites including sensible heat exchange between the atmosphere and ground surface, inter- and intra-layer heat conduction by rock and soil, and shortwave and longwave radiation. Water fluxes included snowmelt, freezing/thawing of soil water, soil capillary flow, and vapour flows among atmosphere, soil, and snow. The model accounted for 96-99% of variation in soil temperature data. No long-term temporal trends in soil temperature were apparent. Soil water vapour concentration in thawed surface soil in summer often was higher than in frozen deeper soils, leading to downward vapour fluxes. Katabatic winds caused a reversal of the usual winter pattern of upward vapour fluxes. The model exhibited a steady state depth distribution of soil water due to vapour flows and in the absence of capillary flows below the top 0.5 cm soil layer. Beginning with a completely saturated soil profile, soil water was lost rapidly, and within a few hundred years approached a steady state characterized by dry soil (,0.5% gravimetric) down to one metre depth and saturated soil below that. In contrast, it took 42,000 years to approach steady state beginning from a completely dry initial condition. Title: A Dynamic Physical Model for Soil Temperature and Water in Taylor Valley, Antarctica Author: Hunt, H. W., Fountain, Andrew G., Doran, Peter T., Basagic, Hassan J. Year: 2010 We developed a simulation model for terrestrial sites including sensible heat exchange between the atmosphere and ground surface, inter- and intra-layer heat conduction by rock and soil, and shortwave and longwave radiation. Water fluxes included snowmelt, freezing/thawing of soil water, soil capillary flow, and vapour flows among atmosphere, soil, and snow. The model accounted for 96-99% of variation in soil temperature data. No long-term temporal trends in soil temperature were apparent. Soil water vapour concentration in thawed surface soil in summer often was higher than in frozen deeper soils, leading to downward vapour fluxes. Katabatic winds caused a reversal of the usual winter pattern of upward vapour fluxes. The model exhibited a steady state depth distribution of soil water due to vapour flows and in the absence of capillary flows below the top 0.5 cm soil layer. Beginning with a completely saturated soil profile, soil water was lost rapidly, and within a few hundred years approached a steady state characterized by dry soil (,0.5% gravimetric) down to one metre depth and saturated soil below that. In contrast, it took 42,000 years to approach steady state beginning from a completely dry initial condition. Close

• 3. [Article] Integrated hydrologic and hydrochemical observations of Hidden Creek Lake jökulhlaups, Kennicott Glacier, Alaska

  Hidden Creek Lake (HCL), an ice-marginal lake impounded by Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell Mountains, Alaska, fills annually to ~20 to 30 x ~10⁶ m³ and then drains subglacially within 2 to 3 days. During the ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Integrated hydrologic and hydrochemical observations of Hidden Creek Lake jökulhlaups, Kennicott Glacier, Alaska Author: Anderson, Suzanne P., Walder, Joseph S., Anderson, Robert S., Kraal, Erin R., Cunico, Michelle, Fountain, Andrew G., Trabant, Dennis C. Year: 2003 Hidden Creek Lake (HCL), an ice-marginal lake impounded by Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell Mountains, Alaska, fills annually to ~20 to 30 x ~10⁶ m³ and then drains subglacially within 2 to 3 days. During the 1999 and 2000 jökulhlaups, we carried out a series of planned observations around the lake and in the Kennicott River, which drains the glacier. Approximately 20% of the lake volume was contained within a subglacial water ‘‘wedge’’ beneath the ice dam. The entire volume of the lake drains through the wedge; hydraulic head loss through this constriction may be responsible for the fairly symmetrical shape of the HCL outflow hydrographs, deduced from lake level records, basin hypsometry, and collapse of the ice dam. The flood hydrographs in the Kennicott River are similar in shape to the outflow hydrographs, and within error, lake volume matched the river flood volume in both years. Up to 12 x 10⁶ m³ of water was temporarily stored within the glacier during the 2000 jökulhlaup. During the 2000 jökulhlaup the background flow in the Kennicott River shifted to a dilute chemical composition. As the HCL jökulhlaup progressed, Donoho Falls Lake filled with water whose chemistry was closer to that of the background flow in Kennicott River than to HCL water. Comparison of these chemical signals with typical summer variations in Kennicott River chemistry suggests that the jökulhlaup created high subglacial water pressure that impeded normal drainage of solute-rich water from a distributed drainage system into a conduit system at the glacier bed and even caused flow direction locally to reverse. Title: Integrated hydrologic and hydrochemical observations of Hidden Creek Lake jökulhlaups, Kennicott Glacier, Alaska Author: Anderson, Suzanne P., Walder, Joseph S., Anderson, Robert S., Kraal, Erin R., Cunico, Michelle, Fountain, Andrew G., Trabant, Dennis C. Year: 2003 Hidden Creek Lake (HCL), an ice-marginal lake impounded by Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell Mountains, Alaska, fills annually to ~20 to 30 x ~10⁶ m³ and then drains subglacially within 2 to 3 days. During the 1999 and 2000 jökulhlaups, we carried out a series of planned observations around the lake and in the Kennicott River, which drains the glacier. Approximately 20% of the lake volume was contained within a subglacial water ‘‘wedge’’ beneath the ice dam. The entire volume of the lake drains through the wedge; hydraulic head loss through this constriction may be responsible for the fairly symmetrical shape of the HCL outflow hydrographs, deduced from lake level records, basin hypsometry, and collapse of the ice dam. The flood hydrographs in the Kennicott River are similar in shape to the outflow hydrographs, and within error, lake volume matched the river flood volume in both years. Up to 12 x 10⁶ m³ of water was temporarily stored within the glacier during the 2000 jökulhlaup. During the 2000 jökulhlaup the background flow in the Kennicott River shifted to a dilute chemical composition. As the HCL jökulhlaup progressed, Donoho Falls Lake filled with water whose chemistry was closer to that of the background flow in Kennicott River than to HCL water. Comparison of these chemical signals with typical summer variations in Kennicott River chemistry suggests that the jökulhlaup created high subglacial water pressure that impeded normal drainage of solute-rich water from a distributed drainage system into a conduit system at the glacier bed and even caused flow direction locally to reverse. Close

• 4. [Article] A Stable Isotopic Investigation of a Polar Desert Hydrologic System, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

  The hydrologic system of the coastal McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, is defined by snow accumulation, glacier melt, stream flow, and retention in closed-basin, ice-covered lakes. During the austral summers ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: A Stable Isotopic Investigation of a Polar Desert Hydrologic System, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica Author: Gooseff, Michael N., Lyons, W. Berry, McKnight, Diane M., Vaughn, Bruce H., Fountain, Andrew G., Dowling, Carolyn Year: 2006 The hydrologic system of the coastal McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, is defined by snow accumulation, glacier melt, stream flow, and retention in closed-basin, ice-covered lakes. During the austral summers from 1993-1996 and 1999-2000 to 2002-2003, fresh snow, snow pits, glacier ice, stream water, and lake waters were sampled for the stable isotopes deuterium (D) and 18O in order to resolve sources of meltwater and the interactions among the various hydrologic reservoirs in the dry valleys. This data set provides a survey of the distribution of natural water isotope abundances within the well-defined dry valley hydrologic system in Taylor Valley, which extends 20 km inland from McMurdo Sound. The three major Taylor Valley lakes are not connected to one another hydrologically, and their levels are maintained by glacial meltwater inflow and perennial ice-cover sublimation. At the valley scale, glacial ice, snow, stream, and lake waters become more depleted in delta D with increasing distance from McMurdo Sound (further inland). Snow pack in glacial accumulation zones is heterogeneous, likely a result of varying storm sources (continental versus coastal), and, in general, snow pits, fresh snow samples, and glacier ice are more depleted than stream waters. Within the lake basins, glacial ice source waters are depleted by as much as 111ppm delta D and 20 ppm delta 18O compared to lake waters. These results demonstrate the importance of in-stream fractionation at the valley scale. In-stream fractionation occurs through direct evaporation from the channel and hyporheic exchange with isotopically enriched waters in the near-stream subsurface during transport from the glacial source to lake. Furthermore, the results show that lake waters directly reflect their glacial ice sources, despite fractionation during stream transport. Inter-annual comparisons of lake profiles suggest that lake waters are directly influenced by the isotopic composition and amount of stream flow during a season. Title: A Stable Isotopic Investigation of a Polar Desert Hydrologic System, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica Author: Gooseff, Michael N., Lyons, W. Berry, McKnight, Diane M., Vaughn, Bruce H., Fountain, Andrew G., Dowling, Carolyn Year: 2006 The hydrologic system of the coastal McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, is defined by snow accumulation, glacier melt, stream flow, and retention in closed-basin, ice-covered lakes. During the austral summers from 1993-1996 and 1999-2000 to 2002-2003, fresh snow, snow pits, glacier ice, stream water, and lake waters were sampled for the stable isotopes deuterium (D) and 18O in order to resolve sources of meltwater and the interactions among the various hydrologic reservoirs in the dry valleys. This data set provides a survey of the distribution of natural water isotope abundances within the well-defined dry valley hydrologic system in Taylor Valley, which extends 20 km inland from McMurdo Sound. The three major Taylor Valley lakes are not connected to one another hydrologically, and their levels are maintained by glacial meltwater inflow and perennial ice-cover sublimation. At the valley scale, glacial ice, snow, stream, and lake waters become more depleted in delta D with increasing distance from McMurdo Sound (further inland). Snow pack in glacial accumulation zones is heterogeneous, likely a result of varying storm sources (continental versus coastal), and, in general, snow pits, fresh snow samples, and glacier ice are more depleted than stream waters. Within the lake basins, glacial ice source waters are depleted by as much as 111ppm delta D and 20 ppm delta 18O compared to lake waters. These results demonstrate the importance of in-stream fractionation at the valley scale. In-stream fractionation occurs through direct evaporation from the channel and hyporheic exchange with isotopically enriched waters in the near-stream subsurface during transport from the glacial source to lake. Furthermore, the results show that lake waters directly reflect their glacial ice sources, despite fractionation during stream transport. Inter-annual comparisons of lake profiles suggest that lake waters are directly influenced by the isotopic composition and amount of stream flow during a season. Close

• 5. [Article] Patterns and Processes of Salt Efflorescences in the McMurdo region, Antarctica

  Evaporite salts are abundant around the McMurdo region, Antarctica (~78°S) due to very low precipitation, low relative humidity, and limited overland flow. Hygroscopic salts in the McMurdo Dry Valleys ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Patterns and Processes of Salt Efflorescences in the McMurdo region, Antarctica Author: Bisson, Kelsey M., Welch, Kathleen A., Welch, Susan A., Sheets, Julia Meyer, Lyons, W. Berry, Levy, Joseph S., Fountain, Andrew G. Year: 2015 Evaporite salts are abundant around the McMurdo region, Antarctica (~78°S) due to very low precipitation, low relative humidity, and limited overland flow. Hygroscopic salts in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) are preferentially formed in locations where liquid water is present in the austral summer, including along ephemeral streams, ice-covered lake boundaries, or shallow groundwater tracks. In this study, we collected salts from the Miers, Garwood, and Taylor Valleys on the Antarctic continent, as well as around McMurdo Station on Ross Island in close proximity to water sources with the goal of understanding salt geochemistry in relationship to the hydrology of the area. Halite is ubiquitous; sodium is the major cation (ranging from 70%–90% of cations by meq kg-1 sediment) and chloride is the major anion (>50%) in nearly all samples. However, a wide variety of salt phases and morphologies are tentatively identified through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) work. We present new data that identifies trona (Na3(CO3)(HCO3)·2H2O), tentative gaylussite (Na2Ca(CO3)2·5H2O), and tentative glauberite (Na2Ca(SO4)2) in the MDV, of which the later one has not been documented previously. Our work allows for the evaluation of processes that influence brine evolution on a local scale, consequently informing assumptions underlying large-scale processes (such as paleoclimate) in the MDV. Hydrological modeling conducted in FREZCHEM and PHREEQC suggests that a model based on aerosol deposition alone in low elevations on the valley floor inadequately characterizes salt distributions found on the surfaces of the soil because it does not account for other hydrologic inputs/outputs. Implications for the salt distributions include their use as tracers for paleolake levels, geochemical tracers of ephemeral water tracks or “wet patches” in the soil, indicators of chemical weathering products, and potential delineators of ecological communities. Title: Patterns and Processes of Salt Efflorescences in the McMurdo region, Antarctica Author: Bisson, Kelsey M., Welch, Kathleen A., Welch, Susan A., Sheets, Julia Meyer, Lyons, W. Berry, Levy, Joseph S., Fountain, Andrew G. Year: 2015 Evaporite salts are abundant around the McMurdo region, Antarctica (~78°S) due to very low precipitation, low relative humidity, and limited overland flow. Hygroscopic salts in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) are preferentially formed in locations where liquid water is present in the austral summer, including along ephemeral streams, ice-covered lake boundaries, or shallow groundwater tracks. In this study, we collected salts from the Miers, Garwood, and Taylor Valleys on the Antarctic continent, as well as around McMurdo Station on Ross Island in close proximity to water sources with the goal of understanding salt geochemistry in relationship to the hydrology of the area. Halite is ubiquitous; sodium is the major cation (ranging from 70%–90% of cations by meq kg-1 sediment) and chloride is the major anion (>50%) in nearly all samples. However, a wide variety of salt phases and morphologies are tentatively identified through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) work. We present new data that identifies trona (Na3(CO3)(HCO3)·2H2O), tentative gaylussite (Na2Ca(CO3)2·5H2O), and tentative glauberite (Na2Ca(SO4)2) in the MDV, of which the later one has not been documented previously. Our work allows for the evaluation of processes that influence brine evolution on a local scale, consequently informing assumptions underlying large-scale processes (such as paleoclimate) in the MDV. Hydrological modeling conducted in FREZCHEM and PHREEQC suggests that a model based on aerosol deposition alone in low elevations on the valley floor inadequately characterizes salt distributions found on the surfaces of the soil because it does not account for other hydrologic inputs/outputs. Implications for the salt distributions include their use as tracers for paleolake levels, geochemical tracers of ephemeral water tracks or “wet patches” in the soil, indicators of chemical weathering products, and potential delineators of ecological communities. Close