Surface energy balance and meltwater production for a Dry Valley glacier, Taylor Valley, Antarctica

Abstract

The surface energy balance was calculated to estimate sublimation and melt on the surface and terminus of Canada Glacier, Taylor Valley, Antarctica, during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 austral summers. Our results indicate that sublimation accounted for roughly 80% of the observed 1994-95 summer ablation and 40% of the observed 1995-96 summer ablation on the surface of the glacier. Sublimation on the terminus cliffs appears to be less significant than sublimation on the glacier surface, probably accounting for at most 10-15% of the measured ablation. Based on these results, both surface and terminus cliff melt were calculated and compared with gauged flow in the glacial streams. We found that while the terminus cliffs represent only 2% of the total ablation zone, they account for 10-40% of the total meltwater runoff. Given our current instrumentation, we can estimate meltwater discharge from the glacier with an accuracy of ±20%.