Subglacial Cavitation Phenomena Under the Glacier D’Argentière, Mont Blanc, France

Abstract

The works undertaken on the Glacier d’Argentière in order to divert the subglacial stream, have allowed access to several natural cavities which correspond to places where the glacier loses contact with its rock bed. These cavities show a certain number of original phenomena both on the rock bed and also on the ice arch. Studies of the basal ice layer reveal peculiar characteristics which distinguish it from the rest of the ice mass: lamination, interstratification of ice containing sand with pure ice, crystallographic composition, and specific chemical composition. The sliding speeds of the glacier are variable, and an increase in the friction below these cavitations is at the origin of a form of regressive glacial cavitation. The subglacial cavities are grouped together in a network transverse to the direction of glacier flow; they are interconnected by channels which are more or less open which allow proper thermal exchanges to be established and favour sliding.