Anticipating rates of deglaciation in Alaska: Controls on the mass loss and morphology of the debris covered terminus of Kennicott Glacier, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park

冰川环境中的景观由于冰川的缩小而迅速变化。阿拉斯加的许多冰川都被一层岩石和沉积物覆盖，但很少有直接测量这些碎片覆盖的冰川如何衰变和影响冰川衰退。碎片覆盖预计会抑制冰川融化，但在喜马拉雅山的研究表明，许多碎片覆盖严重的冰川舌变薄，腐烂的速度与类似的无碎片冰川一样快。这种比预期更快的冰川变化的潜在机制还没有得到很好的理解。在阿拉斯加的观测非常有限，那里的许多冰川都被碎片覆盖。更好地了解这些冰川是必要的，以开发更好的模型，预测他们将如何融化，并影响景观在future.The项目的总体目标是调查的作用，碎片覆盖在调节冰川表面和冰川质量变化的下降肯尼科特冰川在阿拉斯加。研究人员将描述碎片覆盖的特征，并使用实地观察和遥感技术观察肯尼科特冰川碎片覆盖的下游的动态变化模式和速率，以量化碎片覆盖对整个冰川年度质量变化的影响。他们将收集现场数据，包括气象和质量平衡观测，以限制详细和更大空间尺度上的建模。目标是开发一个模型，可以参数化厚碎片下的融化抑制和冰崖上的融化增强，使其适合在区域范围内应用。该项目将为几名学生提供培训，并为参加该地点成功暑期学校的冰川学研究生国际班提供实地研究范例。它还允许这项工作被冰川学以外的几个当地教育项目使用。兰格尔-圣伊莱亚斯国家公园的游客将可获得有关该地点冰川变化的信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Landscapes in glacial environments change rapidly due to shrinking glaciers. Many glaciers in Alaska are covered by a layer of rocks and sediment, but there are very few direct measurements of how these debris-covered glaciers decay and affect glacier decline. The debris cover is expected to suppress glacier melting, but studies in the Himalayas have shown that many heavily debris-covered glacier tongues thin and decay just as fast as similar debris-free glaciers. The underlying mechanisms for this more rapid than expected glacier change are not well understood. Very limited observations exist in Alaska, where many glaciers are heavily debris-covered. A better understanding of these glaciers is necessary to develop better models predicting how they will melt and affect landscapes in the future.The overall goal of this project is to investigate the role of debris cover in modulating glacier surface and glacier mass change on the declining Kennicott Glacier in Alaska. The researchers will characterize the debris cover and observe the pattern and rate of dynamic change of the debris-covered lower reaches of Kennicott Glacier using field observations and remote sensing, to quantify the effect of debris cover on the annual mass change of the entire glacier. They will collect field data including meteorological and mass balance observations to constrain modeling on both detailed and larger spatial scales. The goal is to develop a model that can parameterize both melt suppression under thick debris and melt enhancement across ice cliffs, making it suitable for application on a regional scale. The project will provide training for several students, and field study examples for an international class of glaciology graduate students attending a successful summer school at this site. It also allows the work to be used by several local educational programs outside glaciology. What is learned about changing glaciers at this site will be available to visitors of Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.