On the Water Channels of the Internal Drainage System of the Hintereisferner, Ötztal Alps, Austria

Abstract

Studies that had been started in 1971 were continued in the summer of 1972 in order to gather information on the intraglacial run-off system in the ablation region of Hintereisferner, In a long-term test of 30 h, the daily fluctuations of the inflow into a moulin and the discharge at the glacier mouth were measured. A number of injections of dye tracers were made to measure the curve of concentration versus time. Finally, a test was made to compare with last year's results, in which the inflow was marked with dye at three different points on the glacier. From the long-term measurements, the daily fluctuations of the average velocity of flow in the intraglacial run-off system and the dispersion coefficient were determined. The results confirm the experiments of last year, showing that the melt water reaches the glacier bed taking the shortest possible route without passing through cavities within the glacier, flowing mostly in an open channel.