Collaborative Research: Ice-Core Analysis and Physical Glaciology of the Galena Creek Rock Glacier, Wyoming

我们提议对怀俄明州西北部Absaroka山脉Galena Creek的岩石冰川进行全面研究，以确定岩石冰川作为冰芯古气候记录来源的潜力。Galena Creek岩石冰川是最容易接近和最充分研究的冰川技术之一，以确定Galena Creek岩石冰川的质量平衡、流动特征、内部成分和化学成分。岩石冰川是北极和高山地区普遍存在的特征，但它们在很大程度上被冰川学家忽视了，部分原因是人们普遍认为它们本质上是冰固化的距骨。我们之前已经证明，方铅纳溪岩石冰川含有残留的冰川冰，可以通过冰芯钻探来回收。我们的项目利用了两位冰川地质学家（NP和DC）的综合专业知识，他们广泛研究了岩石冰川，一位冰芯地球化学家（ES）和两位冰川学家（WP和NH）。地球物理工作将包括钻几个钻孔（40-60米深），用于变形测量、地表速度测量和冰芯检索。将分析冰芯的稳定同位素(（18O和(D)）、电导率和视觉地层学。这项工作的预期结果包括：1)提高对岩石冰川气候背景的理解；2)评估一个新的、潜在的强大冰芯古气候数据来源。

9614424 Steig We propose a comprehensive study of a rock glacier at Galena Creek in the Absaroka Mountains, northwestern Wyoming, to determine the potential of rock glaciers as sources for ice-core paleoclimate records. The Galena Creek rock glacier is one of the most easily-accessible and well-studied glaciological techniques to the Galena Creek rock glacier to determine mass balance, flow characteristics, and internal composition and chemistry. Rock glaciers are ubiquitous features in arctic and alpine regions, yet they have been largely ignored by glaciologists, in part because of the widely-held belief that they are essentially ice-cemented talus. We have demonstrated previously that the Galena Creek rock glacier contains remnant glacier ice that can be retrieved by ice-core drilling. Our project draws on the combined expertise of two glacial-geologists (NP and DC) who have worked extensively with rock glaciers, an ice-core geochemist (ES), and two glaciologists (WP and NH). Geophysics work will include drilling of several boreholes (40-60 meters depth) for deformation measurements, measurement of surface velocities, and retrieval of ice cores. Ice cores will be analyzed for stable isotopes ((18O and (D), electrical conductivity, and visual stratigraphy. Expected results of this work include 1) improved understanding of the climatic context of rock glaciers and 2) evaluation of a new and potentially powerful source of ice-core paleoclimate data.