Suspended sediment yield and transfer processes in a small High-Arctic glacier basin, Svalbard

Abstract

Observations of suspended sediment concentration and discharge at two sites on the proglacial river network draining from a predominantly cold‐based, High‐Arctic glacier (Austre Brøggerbreen) are described. Analysis of these observations illustrates: (i) the relatively low suspended sediment yield from this basin in comparison with many other glacier basins reported in the open literature; (ii) sustained and possibly increasing availability of suspended sediment to the fluvial system as the ablation season progresses; and (iii) the role of the proglacial sandur as both a sediment source and sink. Field observations coupled with the results of the data analysis are used to make inferences concerning the changing nature and relative importance of sediment sources within the basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modern glacimarine processes and potential future behaviour of Kronebreen and Kongsvegen polythermal tidewater glaciers, Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

“…Bedrock strata underlying the complex include Devonian sandstone, conglomerate and localized marble, Carboniferous-Permian red sandstone, shale, coal and Proterozoic phyllite, carbonates and schists (Hjelle 1993). The length of the melt season for the Kronebreen-Kongsvegen complex is not directly known; however, the melt season for nearby terrestrial glaciers is documented at 60 days (Hodson et al 1998). …”

Suspended sediment from the Gangotri Glacier: Quantification, variability and associations with discharge and air temperature

“…The year-to-year variability in sediment yield may be due to several factors, including variation in prevailing weather conditions, glacier dynamics and thermal regime and variation in discharge and type of subglacial drainage system (Collins, 1990;Hallet et al, 1996;Hodson et al, 1998;Singh et al, 2003). Moreover, sometimes the sediment produced in a year may not be flushed out concurrently; and, therefore, influences the sediment transport of subsequent years (Singh and Singh, 2001).…”

The Geochemistry of Supraglacial Streams of Canada Glacier, Taylor Valley (Antarctica), and their Evolution into Proglacial Waters

“…Yet, only in the past decade has there been detailed work undertaken in glacier-dominated systems (Anderson et al, 1997(Anderson et al, , 2000Hodgkins et al, 1997Hodson et al, 1998Hodson et al, , 2000Hodson et al, , 2002Tranter et al, 1993Tranter et al, , 1994Tranter et al, , 2002. The movement of meltwater through snowpack and/or glacier ice can modifiy the 'primary' geochemical signature of precipitation (Lyons et al, 1998;Tranter et al, 1993Tranter et al, , 1994Tranter et al, , 1996a.…”

“…Only a few papers deal with supraglacial streams on polar glaciers, and all of those have focused on the Arctic Hodgkins et al, 1997;Hodson et al, 1998). Previous work has demonstrated that the geochemistry of Canada Glacier proglacial streams is very different from glacier surface geochemistry (Lyons et al, 2003).…”