Continuous monitoring of glacier dynamics

山地冰川是下个世纪海平面可能上升的最重要来源之一，代表着对世界许多地方的农业至关重要的淡水资源。冰川对气候变化的反应是由它的动力学来减缓的——由冰从冰川高处（积雪积聚的地方）向较低海拔（积雪融化的地方）流动的速度来减缓。随着融水到达河床，冰川移动的速度会随着时间的推移而改变，融水提供了润滑，并允许冰川底部更快地滑动。发生这种情况的过程尚未完全量化，拟议的研究将针对冰川滑动的力学以及滑动与地表融水产生之间的关系。这项研究将使用一种新颖的GPS天线三脚架和动力系统设计，以便在秋季、冬季和春季人类难以接近冰川、需要自动化仪器的时候连续监测冰川的速度。此外，这项研究将有助于安装冰下仪器，以确定变化的基础条件如何与表面速度变化相关联。这将使我们能够更全面地描绘冰川动力学和物质平衡之间的关系，并揭示冰川动力学和到达冰川床的融水的水力学之间的基本关系。

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.