Spatial Patterns of Major Ions and Their Relationship to Sediment Concentration in Near Surface Glacier Ice, Taylor Valley Antarctica

Abstract

In polar environments, glacier melt and snowmelt on glacier surfaces can be primary sources of water to downstream systems (McKnight et al., 1999). As such, glaciers can be thought of as the headwaters for these watersheds. In temperate systems, the headwaters are immensely important for the entire watershed (Wohl, 2017). Close connections between the channel and the surrounding contributing area set the initial biogeochemical signature of a stream, which can persist into higher-order streams. In the case of polar glaciers, the ice chemical signature and connections between melt sources and supraglacial streams are critical characteristics that set the initial chemistry of the watershed (