Exceptional ablation arising from rainfall- induced slushflows: Brewster Glacier, New Zealand
✍ Scribed by C. C. Smart; I. F. Owens; W. Lawson; A. L. Morris
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 133 KB
- Volume
- 14
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6087
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
An exceptional ablation event resulted in the destruction of a network of glacier survey stakes on the Brewster Glacier, New Zealand. Up to 5 m of surface lowering occurred over 26 days, releasing at least 1 . 6 Â 10 6 m 3 of water. The episode is attributed to saturation of the snowpack by rainfall and consequent slush¯ows. Slush¯ows permit surface lowering at rates greater than expected from the surface energy balance on snow. Resulting slush¯ow events may signi®cantly in¯uence glacier mass balance, and may constitute a hazard. Little is known of their physical characteristics, but some descriptive background is provided.