Continuous monitoring of glacier dynamics

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Mountain glacier are one of the most significant sources of potential sea level rise over the next century, and represent freshwater resources that are crucial to agriculture in many parts of the world. The response of a glacier to climate change is mitigated by its dynamics - by how fast ice is flows from the higher reaches of the glacier, where snow accumulates, to lower altitudes, where snow melts. The rate at which a glacier moves can change over time as meltwater reaches the bed, providing lubrication and allowing faster slip at the base of the glacier. The processes by which this occurs have not been fully quantified, and the proposed research will target the mechanics of glacier sliding as well as the relationship between sliding and surface meltwater production. The research will use a novel design for a GPS antenna tripod and power system to allow continuous monitoring of glacier velocities during fall, winter and spring, when human access to glaciers is difficult and progress requries automated instrumentation. In addition, the research will help install subglacial instrumentation in order to identify how changing basal conditions correlate with surface velocity variations. This will allow us to paint a much more complete picture of the relationship between glacier dynamics and mass balance, and to unravel fundamental relationships between glacier dynamics and the hydraulics of meltwater that reaches the glacier bed.