An englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier: Blood Falls, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Taylor Glacier hosts an active englacial hydrologic system that feeds Blood Falls, a supraglacial outflow of iron-rich subglacial brine at the terminus, despite mean annual air temperatures of −17°C and limited surface melt. Taylor Glacier is an outlet glacier of the East Antarctic ice sheet that te...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143017000168/type/journal_article |
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| author | JESSICA A. BADGELEY ERIN C. PETTIT CHRISTINA G. CARR SLAWEK TULACZYK JILL A. MIKUCKI W. BERRY LYONS |
| author_facet | JESSICA A. BADGELEY ERIN C. PETTIT CHRISTINA G. CARR SLAWEK TULACZYK JILL A. MIKUCKI W. BERRY LYONS |
| author_sort | JESSICA A. BADGELEY |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Taylor Glacier hosts an active englacial hydrologic system that feeds Blood Falls, a supraglacial outflow of iron-rich subglacial brine at the terminus, despite mean annual air temperatures of −17°C and limited surface melt. Taylor Glacier is an outlet glacier of the East Antarctic ice sheet that terminates in Lake Bonney, McMurdo Dry Valleys. To image and map the brine feeding Blood Falls, we used radio echo sounding to delineate a subhorizontal zone of englacial brine upstream from Blood Falls and elongated in the ice flow direction. We estimate volumetric brine content in excess of 13% within 2 m of the central axis of this zone, and likely much higher at its center. Brine content decreases, but remains detectable, up to 45 m away along some transects. Hence, we infer a network of subparallel basal crevasses allowing injection of pressurized subglacial brine into the ice. Subglacial brine is routed towards Blood Falls by hydraulic potential gradients associated with deeply incised supraglacial valleys. The brine remains liquid within the subglacial and englacial environments through latent heat of freezing coupled with elevated salt content. Our findings suggest that cold glaciers could support freshwater hydrologic systems through localized warming by latent heat alone. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:42:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd333f16254645f5a2ec94cda8d7d1f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:42:07Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd333f16254645f5a2ec94cda8d7d1f42023-03-09T12:40:23ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522017-06-016338740010.1017/jog.2017.16An englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier: Blood Falls, McMurdo Dry Valleys, AntarcticaJESSICA A. BADGELEY0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3307-1588ERIN C. PETTIT1CHRISTINA G. CARR2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9273-8584SLAWEK TULACZYK3JILL A. MIKUCKI4W. BERRY LYONS5Department of Geology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA, now at University of WashingtonDepartment of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USADepartment of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USADepartment of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USAByrd Polar Research Center and Department of Geological Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USATaylor Glacier hosts an active englacial hydrologic system that feeds Blood Falls, a supraglacial outflow of iron-rich subglacial brine at the terminus, despite mean annual air temperatures of −17°C and limited surface melt. Taylor Glacier is an outlet glacier of the East Antarctic ice sheet that terminates in Lake Bonney, McMurdo Dry Valleys. To image and map the brine feeding Blood Falls, we used radio echo sounding to delineate a subhorizontal zone of englacial brine upstream from Blood Falls and elongated in the ice flow direction. We estimate volumetric brine content in excess of 13% within 2 m of the central axis of this zone, and likely much higher at its center. Brine content decreases, but remains detectable, up to 45 m away along some transects. Hence, we infer a network of subparallel basal crevasses allowing injection of pressurized subglacial brine into the ice. Subglacial brine is routed towards Blood Falls by hydraulic potential gradients associated with deeply incised supraglacial valleys. The brine remains liquid within the subglacial and englacial environments through latent heat of freezing coupled with elevated salt content. Our findings suggest that cold glaciers could support freshwater hydrologic systems through localized warming by latent heat alone.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143017000168/type/journal_articleAntarctic glaciologyglacier hydrologyradio echo sounding |
| spellingShingle | JESSICA A. BADGELEY ERIN C. PETTIT CHRISTINA G. CARR SLAWEK TULACZYK JILL A. MIKUCKI W. BERRY LYONS An englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier: Blood Falls, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica Journal of Glaciology Antarctic glaciology glacier hydrology radio echo sounding |
| title | An englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier: Blood Falls, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
| title_full | An englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier: Blood Falls, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
| title_fullStr | An englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier: Blood Falls, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
| title_full_unstemmed | An englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier: Blood Falls, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
| title_short | An englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier: Blood Falls, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
| title_sort | englacial hydrologic system of brine within a cold glacier blood falls mcmurdo dry valleys antarctica |
| topic | Antarctic glaciology glacier hydrology radio echo sounding |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143017000168/type/journal_article |
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