Collaborative Research: Water Storage and Routing Within Glaciers via Planar Voids, a New Model of Glacier Hydrology

合作研究：通过平面空隙的冰川内水储存和路径，冰川水文学的新模型

• 批准号: 0454789
• 负责人: Joel Harper
• 金额: $ 20.64万
• 依托单位: University of Montana
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-03-01 至 2010-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0454789&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Water; Storage; Routing

As the climate warms, meltwater hydrology and water's influence on glacier motion will be an increasingly important aspect of thermal and dynamic processes of large ice masses. With influence on sea level, ocean circulation, and the general climate system, the sliding stability of ice sheets has strong bearing on globally important processes and, thus, warrants full understanding. Unfortunately, in situ investigations of the mechanical linkages between water input and enhanced motion are difficult on thick ice sheets. This problem motivates interest in the hydrology and dynamics of smaller mountain glaciers, where the manageable scale can be utilized to investigate key glaciological processes. We cannot expect to ever fully understand basal motion without advancing our knowledge of the hydrological processes in operation within and beneath glaciers. Understanding of these processes will greatly aid our ability to interpret time/space variability in glacier motion, and ultimately, our ability to predict future changes to glaciers or reconstruct climate history under given glacial scenarios. With these goals in mind, the Principal Investigators will focus on advancing our knowledge of a critical link between hydrological processes and basal sliding: mechanisms of englacial water storage and routing of surface water to the bed. Recent work at Bench Glacier and work at the polythermal Storglaciaren have revealed an englacial network of planar void spaces. Because these are very different glaciers, it is probable that void spaces are a ubiquitous englacial feature. Water has been observed flowing through the voids by both groups. Englacial water flow through a fracture network is a hydrological model in stark contrast to the currently accepted model of an arborescent network of semi-circular conduits (Rothlisberger conduits). The Principal Investigators will test the hypothesis: planar voids are an important part of the englacial hydrological system, capable of storing and routing water from the surface to the bed and perhaps, along the bed. This work will have strong implications for their ability to model and predict the routing of water from a glacier surface to its bed. This work will be conducted at Bench Glacier, Alaska, where there is a known englacial void network. They will test their hypothesis using a series of borehole experiments and geophysical imaging techniques. Many of the geophysical experiments will utilize data acquisition and processing methodologies that have not previously been applied to glaciers. Hence, this work will advance our understanding of both glaciological processes and shallow geophysical imaging.

随着气候的温暖，融化水文学和水对冰川运动的影响将成为大型冰块热和动态过程的一个越来越重要的方面。 随着对海平面，海洋循环和一般气候系统的影响，冰盖的滑动稳定性对全球重要的过程有很强的影响，因此需要充分理解。 不幸的是，在厚冰盖上，很难对水输入和增强运动之间的机械连接的原位研究。 这个问题激发了人们对较小山地冰川的水文学和动态的兴趣，在这些山冰川中，可以利用可管理的规模来研究关键的冰川过程。 我们不能期望在不促进冰川内部和下方的水文过程的情况下了解基础运动。 对这些过程的理解将极大地帮助我们解释冰川运动中时间/空间变异性的能力，最终，我们预测给定冰川情景下的气候历史的未来变化或重建气候历史的能力。 考虑到这些目标，首席研究人员将专注于促进我们对水文过程与基础滑动之间的关键联系的了解：英语储水的机制以及将地表水路由到床上。 在板凳冰川的最新工作以及在多热雄杆菌的工作揭示了平面空间的熟悉网络。 因为这些是非常不同的冰川，所以空间很可能是无处不在的英语特征。 两组都已经观察到水通过空隙。 通过裂缝网络的工程水流是与当前接受的半圆形导管（Rothlisbergergerger dopitiits）的新树木网络相比的水文模型。 主要研究人员将检验假设：平面空隙是英语水文系统的重要组成部分，能够将水从表面储存和路由水从表面到床，也许是沿床。这项工作将对它们建模和预测水从冰川表面到床的路线的能力有很大的影响。 这项工作将在阿拉斯加的长凳冰川进行，那里有一个已知的Eng -Racial空隙网络。 他们将使用一系列钻孔实验和地球物理成像技术检验其假设。 许多地球物理实验将利用以前尚未应用于冰川的数据采集和处理方法。 因此，这项工作将提高我们对冰川过程和浅地地球物理成像的理解。