Drainage systems on cold-based glaciers are often thought to be simple systems that can be approximated from the supraglacial components of temperate glaciers. Most studies concerning cold-based glacier drainage systems have only considered one facet of the system, with little regard for how the system components interact. Studying each component independently of the whole system constrains our ability to model drainage system function and development. This in turn restricts our potential to predict how drainage systems of cold glaciers may respond to environmental change. The overarching aim of this thesis was to understand drainage system development of a cold-based glacier, and to assess whether our current understanding of supraglacial hydrological systems is consistent with the drainage systems that form on cold-based glaciers. This thesis evaluated the drainage system of the Wright Lower Glacier, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, during the 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07 ablation seasons. The study incorporated field, laboratory and numerical analyses, which resulted in a deeper understanding of the spatial and temporal variability of meltwater generation, drainage pathways, water stores and bulk discharge from the glacier. The findings showed that melt variability was driven by sediment and topographic variations, and that water storage in the form of cryoconite holes, intergranular flow, supraglacial ponds and refreezing dictated meltwater transmission to the glacier outlet. These results indicated that the structure, function and variability of the drainage system were inherently more complex than previous studies on supraglacial drainage systems had suggested. These new insights were combined together to construct a new conceptual model of the drainage system structure of a cold-based glacier. However, before the conceptual model can be used to produce a numerical model of drainage system function or development on cold-based glaciers, several issues need to be addressed. These include: refined methods for quantifying meltwater generation in cold, arid environments; methods to measure water storage on and under the glacier surface; further understanding of the development of permeable ice; and a better technique to quantify cryoconite hole connectivity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/243352 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | MacDonell, Shelley, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. Department of Geography |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Shelley MacDonell |
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