Seasonal Surface-Velocity Variations on a Sub-Polar Glacier in West Greenland

Abstract

AbstractEight stakes situated in the ablation and the accumulation areas of a sub-polar glacier in West Greenland were surveyed at intervals of 10 days during the summers of 1982 and 1983, The horizontal velocity in both the ablation and the accumulation areas increased distinctly during the short summer season. This indicates that melt water reaches the bed and that the glacier is sliding. It is proposed that melt water produced in the ablation area is forced up-glacier through a subglacial water system. The vertical displacement of stakes showed variations indicating an apparent uplift of the glacier during the summer. However, this is interpreted as the result of seasonal variation in atmospheric refraction.