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ISOTOPIC AND IONIC VARIATIONS IN GLACIER RIVER WATER DURING THREE CONTRASTING ABLATION SEASONS
Author(s) -
THEAKSTONE WILFRED H.,
KNUDSEN N. TVIS
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1085(199604)10:4<523::aid-hyp390>3.0.co;2-8
Subject(s) - meltwater , glacier , glacier ice accumulation , baseflow , snow , snowmelt , geology , ablation zone , accumulation zone , precipitation , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , drainage basin , atmospheric sciences , cryosphere , geomorphology , ice stream , climatology , streamflow , meteorology , geography , sea ice , cartography , geotechnical engineering
The significance of the baseflow component of glacier river discharge in summer varies with geographical location, altitude, glacier geometry and glacier size. Baseflow is maintained by meltwater generated above the transient equilibrium line and by water released from temporary storage on, in or beneath the glacier. At the Norwegian glacier Austre Okstindbreen, where precipitation is generally high throughout the year and the summers are cool and wet, observations in three successive, but contrasting, years have shown that Na + ion concentrations in the glacier river water are influenced strongly by the amount of snowmelt. This itself depends on the preceding winter conditions, which determine the amount of accumulation, and on the current summer's weather. The efficiency of the glacier's drainage systems depends on the general progress of summer ablation. The speed with which the systems develop influences ion provision from subglacial sources. Ca 2+ ion concentrations are largely determined by subglacial conditions. Oxygen isotope variations in glacier river water reflect the relative contributions made to total discharge by snow meltwater and other sources; the composition of the snow cover, which is a function of winter temperatures, has a strong influence. Ice meltwater has low isotopic variability, but the isotopic composition of rainfall varies markedly. A simple model of mixing of englacial and subglacial waters, each of a constant composition, cannot be applied to a high‐latitude glacier of the size and altitudinal range of Austre Okstindbreen.