Collaborative Research: Ice and Rock Processes in Cirques

环状冰川对气候变化很敏感，为研究冰川力学的基本方面提供了独特的机会。这些冰川的侵蚀和相邻山坡的耦合响应控制了高山造山带分裂区的基岩地形的长期演变，并对主要的排水网络做出了贡献。该项目将在北美科迪勒拉山脉西部的两个圆环获取冰流、小气候、岩石地形和沉积物通量的新测量数据。数据将用数值和概念模型进行解释，以约束冰川的力平衡、分区和基础运动分布，确定岩石通量的主要控制因素，并为长期调查建立环形顶壁地形测量的基线。该项目是朝着实现对漩涡中冰川流动和应力机制的一般理解，以及在漩涡的岩体通量与地形、岩性和气候变量之间建立基于过程的运输关系迈出的一步。

Cirque glaciers are sensitive to climate change and offer unique opportunitiesfor studying fundamental aspects of glacial mechanics. Erosion by these glaciers and the coupled response of adjacent hillslopes govern the long-term evolution ofbedrock topography in the divide regions of alpine orogens and contributesediment into major drainage networks. This project will acquire newmeasurements of ice flow, microclimate, rock topography, and sediment flux attwo cirques in the western North American Cordillera. Data will be interpretedwith numerical and conceptual models to constrain the force balance partitioningand basal motion distribution of the glaciers, to identify the primary controlson rock flux, and to establish a baseline of topographic measurement on cirqueheadwalls for longer-term investigations. The project is a step toward achievinga general understanding of flow and stress regimes of glaciers in cirques, andtoward building process-based transport relationships between rock mass flux fromcirques and topographic, lithologic, and climatic variables.