Evolution and morphodynamics of proglacial environments

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Melting glaciers are often cited as one of the most striking visual indications of a warming world, and for good reason: glacier melt will drive major changes in timing and magnitude of flows in glacier-fed rivers, impacting fisheries habitat, freshwater availability for irrigation and drinking water, and global sea levels. While Canada supports a robust program of glaciology research, there is substantially less effort dedicated to understanding how contemporary glacier change is impacting the surrounding landscapes. This is not surprising - glacial lakes and the surrounding terrain are difficult to study for a variety of reasons. Their remoteness raises logistical concerns, for example how to deploy instruments in lakes where boats can't be driven to. Exciting developments in sensor technology, autonomous systems, and remote sensing, now allow us to study these landscapes as never before, and even allow us to ask completely new and exciting questions. The proposed research tackles a series of interrelated questions in understanding glacial lake dynamics, all ultimately motivated by a desire to mitigate the hazards posed by these often-ephemeral lakes, and to understand how lakes affect glacier mass loss. We will study these systems at a range of scales, from global to local. First, we will evaluate the drivers of glacial lake evolution on a global scale by examining climate histories, glacier dynamics, and other factors. Second, we will quantify glacier calving and lake circulation with detailed, site investigations. Last, we will examine how glacier-fed turbidity currents interact with lakebed topography, and how they are recorded in the sedimentary record.