Abstract:Waters were sampled from 17 boreholes at Haut Glacier d'Arolla during the 1993 and 1994 ablation seasons. Three types of concentrated subglacial water were identified, based on the relative proportions of Ca 2C , HCO 3 and SO 4 2 to Si. Type A waters are the most solute rich and have the lowest relative proportion of Si. They are believed to form in hydrologically inefficient areas of a distributed drainage system. Most solute is obtained from coupled sulphide oxidation and carbonate dissolution (SO-CD). It is possible that there is a subglacial source of O 2 , perhaps from gas bubbles released during regelation, because the high SO 4 2 levels found (up to 1200 µeq/L) are greater than could be achieved if sulphides are oxidized by oxygen in saturated water at 0°C (c. 414 µeq/L). A more likely alternative is that sulphide is oxidized by Fe 3C in anoxic environments. If this is the case, exchange reactions involving Fe III and Fe II from silicates are possible. These have the potential to generate relatively high concentrations of HCO 3 with respect to SO 4 2 . Formation of secondary weathering products, such as clays, may explain the low Si concentrations of Type A waters. Type B waters were the most frequently sampled subglacial water. They are believed to be representative of waters flowing in more efficient parts of a distributed drainage system. Residence time and reaction kinetics help determine the solute composition of these waters. The initial water-rock reactions are carbonate and silicate hydrolysis, and there is exchange of divalent cations from solution for monovalent cations held on surface exchange sites. Hydrolysis is followed by SO-CD. The SO 4 2 concentrations usually are <414 µeq/L, although some range up to 580 µeq/L, which suggests that elements of the distributed drainage system may become anoxic. Type C waters were the most dilute, yet they were very turbid. Their chemical composition is characterized by low SO 4 2 : HCO 3 ratios and high pH. Type C waters were usually artefacts of the borehole chemical weathering environment. True Type C waters are believed to flow through sulphide-poor basal debris, particularly in the channel marginal zone. The composition of bulk runoff was most similar to diluted Type B waters at high discharge, and was similar to a mixture of Type B and C waters at lower discharge. These observations suggest that some supraglacial meltwaters input to the bed are stored temporarily in the channel marginal zone during rising discharge and are released during declining flow.Little of the subglacial chemical weathering we infer is associated with the sequestration of atmospheric CO 2 . The progression of reactions is from carbonate and silicate hydrolysis, through sulphide oxidation by first oxygen and then Fe III , which drives further carbonate and silicate weathering. A crude estimate of the ratio of carbonate to silicate weathering following hydrolysis is 4 : 1. We speculate that microbial oxidation of organic carbon also may occur. Both sulphide oxidation and ...

Late-summer subglacial water pressures have been measured in a dense array of boreholes in the ablation area of Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. Interpolated surfaces of minimum diurnal water pressure and diurnal water-pressure variation suggest the presence of a subglacial channel within a more widespread, distributed drainage system. The channel flows along the centre of a variable pressure axis (VPA), some tens of metres wide, that is characterized by low minimum diurnal water pressures (frequently atmospheric) and high diurnal water-pressure variations. These characteristics are transitional over a lateral distance of c. 70 m to higher and more stable subglacial water pressures in the adjacent distributed system. Water-pressure variations recorded in boreholes located close to the centre of the VPA reflect the delivery of surface-derived meltwater to the glacier bed and result in a diurnally reversing, transverse hydraulic gradient that drives water out from the channel into the distributed system during the afternoon and back to the channel overnight. Subglacial observations suggest that such flow occurs through a vertically confined sediment layer. Borehole turbidity records indicate that the resulting diurnal water flows are responsible for the mobilization and transport of fine debris in suspension. Analysis of the propagation velocity and amplitude attenuation cf the diurnal pressure waves suggests that the hydraulic conductivity of the sediment layer decreases exponentially with distance from the channel, falling from c. 10−4 m s−1 at the channel boundary to c. 10−7 m s−1 70 m away. These apparent hydraulic conductivities are consistent with Darcian flow through clean sand and typical glacial till, respectively.We suggest that fine material is systematically flushed from basal sediments located adjacent to large, melt-season drainage channels beneath warm-based glaciers. This process may have important implications for patterns of glacier erosion, hydro-chemistry and dynamics.

The diversity of highly active bacterial communities in cryoconite holes on three Arctic glaciers in Svalbard was investigated using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of the 16S rRNA locus. Construction and sequencing of clone libraries allowed several members of these communities to be identified, with Proteobacteria being the dominant one, followed by Cyanobacteria and Bacteroidetes. T-RFLP data revealed significantly different communities in holes on the (cold) valley glacier Austre Brøggerbreen relative to two adjacent (polythermal) valley glaciers, Midtre Lové nbreen and Vestre Brøggerbreen. These population compositions correlate with differences in organic matter content, temperature and the metabolic activity of microbial communities concerned. No within-glacier spatial patterns were observed in the communities identified over the 2-year period and with the 1 km-spaced sampling. We infer that surface hydrology is an important factor in the development of cryoconite bacterial communities.

Late-summer subglacial water pressures have been measured in a dense array of boreholes in the ablation area of Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. Interpolated surfaces of minimum diurnal water pressure and diurnal water-pressure variation suggest the presence of a subglacial channel within a more widespread, distributed drainage system. The channel flows along the centre of avariable pressure axis(VPA), some tens of metres wide, that is characterized by low minimum diurnal water pressures (frequently atmospheric) and high diurnal water-pressure variations. These characteristics are transitional over a lateral distance of c. 70 m to higher and more stable subglacial water pressures in the adjacent distributed system. Water-pressure variations recorded in boreholes located close to the centre of the VPA reflect the delivery of surface-derived meltwater to the glacier bed and result in a diurnally reversing, transverse hydraulic gradient that drives water out from the channel into the distributed system during the afternoon and back to the channel overnight. Subglacial observations suggest that such flow occurs through a vertically confined sediment layer. Borehole turbidity records indicate that the resulting diurnal water flows are responsible for the mobilization and transport of fine debris in suspension. Analysis of the propagation velocity and amplitude attenuation cf the diurnal pressure waves suggests that the hydraulic conductivity of the sediment layer decreases exponentially with distance from the channel, falling from c. 10−4m s−1at the channel boundary to c. 10−7m s−170 m away. These apparent hydraulic conductivities are consistent with Darcian flow through clean sand and typical glacial till, respectively.We suggest that fine material is systematically flushed from basal sediments located adjacent to large, melt-season drainage channels beneath warm-based glaciers. This process may have important implications for patterns of glacier erosion, hydro-chemistry and dynamics.

[1] Most polythermal glaciers in Svalbard, other than those of surge type, have receded steadily since the early 20th century. Midre Lovénbreen, a slow-moving, 4-km-long valley glacier terminating on land, is a typical example, and its internal structures reflect changing dynamics over this period. The three-dimensional structural style of this glacier and the sequential development of structures have been determined from surface mapping, ground-penetrating radar, and numerical flow modeling. In order of formation the structures observed today at the glacier surface are (1) primary stratification that has become folded about flow-parallel axes; (2) axial plane longitudinal foliation associated with this folding; (3) several sets of intersecting crevasse traces; (4) arcuate upglacier-dipping fractures developed as part of a thrust complex near the snout; and (5) longitudinal splaying fractures in the snout area. The long-term evolution and dynamic significance of these structures can be ascertained from historical ground and aerial photographs. Modeling indicates that stratification and foliation continue to evolve today as a result of internal deformation, especially in zones of converging flow, where simple shear is most pronounced, but within the tongue are carried passively toward the snout. Crevasse traces appear to be no longer actively forming but are interpreted as relict structures when the ice was more dynamic and mostly wet based. The interpretation of arcuate fractures near the snout as thrusts is supported by the matching orientations of modeled strain ellipses, which illustrate the importance of longitudinal compression.

The effect of the formation of a major subglacial drainage channel on the behaviour of the subglacial drainage system of Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, was investigated using measurements of borehole water level and the electrical conductivity and turbidity of basal meltwaters. Electrical conductivity profiles were also measured within borehole water columns to identify the water sources driving water level changes, and to determine patterns of water circulation in boreholes. Prior to channel formation, boreholes showed idiosyncratic and poorly coordinated behaviour. Diurnal water level fluctuations were small and driven by supraglacial/englacial water inputs, even when boreholes were connected to a subglacial drainage system. This system appeared to consist of hydraulically impermeable patches interspersed with storage spaces, and transmitted a very low water flux. Drainage reorganization, which occurred around 31 July, 1993, in response to rapidly rising meltwater and rainfall inputs, seems to have involved the creation of a connection between an incipient channel and a well‐established channelized system located further down‐glacier. Once a major channel existed within the area of the borehole array, borehole water level fluctuations were forced by discharge‐related changes in channel water pressure, although a diversity of responses was observed. These included (i) synchronous, (ii) damped and lagged, (iii) inverse, and (iv) alternating inverse/lagged responses. Synchronous responses occurred in boreholes connected directly to the channel, while damped and lagged responses occurred in boreholes connected to it by a more resistive drainage system. Pressure variations within the channel resulted in diurnal transfer of mechanical support for the ice overburden between connected and unconnected areas of the bed, producing inverse and alternating patterns of water level response. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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We present surface velocity measurements from a high-elevation site located 140 km from the western margin of the Greenland ice sheet, and~50 km into its accumulation area. Annual velocity increased each year from 51.78 ± 0.01 m yr À1 in 2009 to 52.92 ± 0.01 m yr À1 in 2012-a net increase of 2.2%. These data also reveal a strong seasonal velocity cycle of up to 8.1% above the winter mean, driven by seasonal melt and supraglacial lake drainage. recently argued that ice motion in the ablation area is mediated by reduced winter flow following the development of efficient subglacial drainage during warmer, faster, summers. Our data extend this analysis and reveal a year-on-year increase in annual velocity above the equilibrium line altitude, where despite surface melt increasing, it is still sufficiently low to hinder the development of efficient drainage under thick ice.