NERC STUDENTSHIP LINKED TO THE Arctic Ice and
Environmental Variability Project (ARCICE)
UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW, UK.
START DATE: APRIL 1999.
Hydrology and ice dynamics in a High Arctic glacier
Supervised by Dr Peter Nienow
An improved understanding of the glacier hydrology and ice
dynamics of High Arctic glaciers is critical if the potential
importance of the contribution of runoff from these glaciers in
response to climate change is to be fully realised. Currently, due
to a lack of suitable field data, both the extent to which water
drains subglacially and the structure and stability of subglacial
drainage systems in High Arctic glaciers is not known. Similarly,
the dynamics of High Arctic glaciers are poorly understood and
in particular, it is not clear whether ice-motion shows seasonal
variability nor whether it responds to changes in subglacial
hydrology due to the impact of hydrology on rates of basal
motion. Since the profile of an ice mass is critical in controlling
it's mass balance and ice dynamics critically affect the profile of
a given ice mass, it is essential that we have a better
understanding of the controls on the dynamics of Arctic glaciers.
The aim of this project will be to determine whether velocity
variations in a High Arctic glacier result from changes in the
configuration of the subglacial drainage system. More specifically,
the research aims to determine;
a) whether the structure of the subglacial drainage system in a
High Arctic glacier evolves spatially during the course of the
melt season and if so, what are the mechanisms responsible for
this evolution, and
b) whether temporal and spatial variations in seasonal motion
correspond to a structural evolution within the subglacial
drainage system.
The study will be undertaken at John Evans Glacier, a large
valley glacier on the east coast of Ellesmere Island in the Queen
Elizabeth Islands, Canada (80N, 74W). The student will be
involved in data collection (summer 1999 and 2000) which is
required to determine;
i) the subglacial drainage system structure
(using dye tracing techniques);
ii) proglacial meltwater discharge;
iii) basal water pressure; and
iv) ice motion (using both standardand GPS survey techniques).
Motion characteristics will be compared with the hydrological results to
determine whether and how basal hydrology exerts control on variations in
ice motion.
The studentship is linked to a research project entitled "Ice
dynamics and runoff in High Arctic glaciers and response to
climate change"‚ which is funded by NERC through the Arctic
Ice and Environmental Variability Project (ARCICE). The work
will be undertaken in collaboration with Prof. Martin Sharp
(Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada) and Dr. Alun Hubbard
(Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada).
Applications (CV plus names of two referees) to Dr. Peter
Nienow, Department of Geography and Topographic Science,
University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ. For further
information, contact Dr. Peter Nienow by telephone (0141-330-
3634), e-mail (pnienow [at] geog.gla.ac.uk) or fax (0141-330-
4894).
Closing date for applications, 22 February 1999.
Earliest start date, April 1999 but could be flexible until October
1999.
Dr Peter Nienow,
Dept. of Geography and Topographic Science,
University of Glasgow,
Glasgow,
G12 8QQ.
Tel (Direct): 0141-330-3634
Tel (Dept Office): 0141-339-4782
Fax: 0141-330-4894