Articles | Volume 12, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-727-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-727-2024
Research article
 | 
13 May 2024
Research article |  | 13 May 2024

Stream hydrology controls on ice cliff evolution and survival on debris-covered glaciers

Eric Petersen, Regine Hock, and Michael G. Loso

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Cited articles

Anderson, L. S. and Anderson, R. S.: Modeling debris-covered glaciers: response to steady debris deposition, The Cryosphere, 10, 1105–1124, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1105-2016, 2016. a
Anderson, L. S., Armstrong, W. H., Anderson, R. S., and Buri, P.: Debris cover and the thinning of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska: in situ measurements, automated ice cliff delineation and distributed melt estimates, The Cryosphere, 15, 265–282, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-265-2021, 2021a. a, b, c, d, e, f
Anderson, L. S., Armstrong, W. H., Anderson, R. S., Scherler, D., and Petersen, E.: The Causes of Debris-Covered Glacier Thinning: Evidence for the Importance of Ice Dynamics From Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, Front. Earth Sci., 9, 680995, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.680995, 2021b. a, b, c, d
Anderson, R. S.: A model of ablation-dominated medial moraines and the generation of debris-mantled glacier snouts, J. Glaciol., 46, 459–469, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756500781833025, 2000. a
Bartholomaus, T. C., Anderson, R. S., and Anderson, S. P.: Growth and collapse of the distributed subglacial hydrologic system of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, USA, and its effects on basal motion, J. Glaciol., 57, 985–1002, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214311798843269, 2011. a
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Short summary
Ice cliffs are melt hot spots that increase melt rates on debris-covered glaciers which otherwise see a reduction in melt rates. In this study, we show how surface runoff streams contribute to the generation, evolution, and survival of ice cliffs by carving into the glacier and transporting rocky debris. On Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, 33 % of ice cliffs are actively influenced by streams, while nearly half are within 10 m of streams.
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