Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier

Cryoconite holes are water-filled depressions that form on glacier surfaces when uneven distributions of sediment cause differential melting to occur. Cryoconite holes are important features of cold glacier systems, as they enhance meltwater generation, enable the development of complex drainage net...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	MACDONELL,SHELLEY A, FITZSIMONS,SEAN J
Lenguaje:	English
Publicado:	Sociedad de Biología de Chile 2012
Materias:	biogeochemistry drainage system glacier hydrology meltwater solute
Acceso en línea:	http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-078X2012000400003
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:scielo:S0716-078X2012000400003
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:scielo:S0716-078X20120004000032013-07-26Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacierMACDONELL,SHELLEY AFITZSIMONS,SEAN J biogeochemistry drainage system glacier hydrology meltwater solute Cryoconite holes are water-filled depressions that form on glacier surfaces when uneven distributions of sediment cause differential melting to occur. Cryoconite holes are important features of cold glacier systems, as they enhance meltwater generation, enable the development of complex drainage networks and facilitate the growth of microbial communities on the glacier surface. This paper describes the development of a cryoconite hole hydrological network on an Antarctic glacier, and explores the implications for nutrient storage and delivery within the glacier system. Field measurements included measuring the internal dimensions and repeat mapping of cryoconite holes across the glacier surface, and laboratory analysis included cation and anion analysis on clean ice and cryoconite hole samples. Results showed the distribution of cryoconite holes was determined by surface topography and local ablation rates. Planar surfaces are characterised by the highest density of cryoconite holes. Cryoconite holes are rare within supraglacial channels and surfaces with high ablation rates. The negative correlation between cryoconite hole density and ablation rate means that the glacier surface need to be relatively stable in order for the cryoconite hole to develop and persist. Furthermore, cryoconite holes are likely to contribute up to 1/3 of the meltwater generated on planar surfaces, however not all of this water is stored in the holes. Water may be drained via channels, cracks and intergranular drainage, however the relative importance of each is not yet known. As cryconite holes are relatively nutrient rich compared with clean glacier ice, the nature of connections between cryoconite holes are important for determining nutrient delivery both across the glacier, and to the proglacial region.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessSociedad de Biología de ChileRevista chilena de historia natural v.85 n.4 20122012-12-01text/htmlhttp://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-078X2012000400003en10.4067/S0716-078X2012000400003
institution	Scielo Chile
collection	Scielo Chile
language	English
topic	biogeochemistry drainage system glacier hydrology meltwater solute
spellingShingle	biogeochemistry drainage system glacier hydrology meltwater solute MACDONELL,SHELLEY A FITZSIMONS,SEAN J Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier
description	Cryoconite holes are water-filled depressions that form on glacier surfaces when uneven distributions of sediment cause differential melting to occur. Cryoconite holes are important features of cold glacier systems, as they enhance meltwater generation, enable the development of complex drainage networks and facilitate the growth of microbial communities on the glacier surface. This paper describes the development of a cryoconite hole hydrological network on an Antarctic glacier, and explores the implications for nutrient storage and delivery within the glacier system. Field measurements included measuring the internal dimensions and repeat mapping of cryoconite holes across the glacier surface, and laboratory analysis included cation and anion analysis on clean ice and cryoconite hole samples. Results showed the distribution of cryoconite holes was determined by surface topography and local ablation rates. Planar surfaces are characterised by the highest density of cryoconite holes. Cryoconite holes are rare within supraglacial channels and surfaces with high ablation rates. The negative correlation between cryoconite hole density and ablation rate means that the glacier surface need to be relatively stable in order for the cryoconite hole to develop and persist. Furthermore, cryoconite holes are likely to contribute up to 1/3 of the meltwater generated on planar surfaces, however not all of this water is stored in the holes. Water may be drained via channels, cracks and intergranular drainage, however the relative importance of each is not yet known. As cryconite holes are relatively nutrient rich compared with clean glacier ice, the nature of connections between cryoconite holes are important for determining nutrient delivery both across the glacier, and to the proglacial region.
author	MACDONELL,SHELLEY A FITZSIMONS,SEAN J
author_facet	MACDONELL,SHELLEY A FITZSIMONS,SEAN J
author_sort	MACDONELL,SHELLEY A
title	Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier
title_short	Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier
title_full	Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier
title_fullStr	Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier
title_full_unstemmed	Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier
title_sort	observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an antarctic glacier
publisher	Sociedad de Biología de Chile
publishDate	2012
url	http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-078X2012000400003
work_keys_str_mv	AT macdonellshelleya observationsofcryoconiteholesystemprocessesonanantarcticglacier AT fitzsimonsseanj observationsofcryoconiteholesystemprocessesonanantarcticglacier
_version_	1718439671520821248

Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier

Ejemplares similares