NSF Award
1821002
Meltwater reaching the base of a glacier behaves like a lubricant, resulting in fast downslope movement. In hot years, studies have shown that glaciers move relatively slow, as meltwater infiltrating the glacier form large subglacial rivers, that deprive the basal surface of meltwater. However, it is difficult to make long-term predictions of glacier behavior from existing, short datasets, because we know the way a glacier responds to meltwater reaching the bed can change. This research will develop a unique long-term dataset to investigate how the speed and pattern of water-mediated glacier motion changes as a glacier?s shape and plumbing system adjust to a changing climate. The work will allow better prediction of future glacier change and enhance understanding of how glaciers shape landscapes over geologic time. We will train undergraduate and graduate students in field and laboratory research practices, preparing them for careers in science. We will partner with a documentary filmmaker and Jasper National Park (Alberta, Canada), which hosts our field site, to develop educational materials that will show park visitors the importance of glaciers and scientific research to human society.<br/><br/>Understanding centennial scale changes in basal motion is essential for predicting how the world?s glaciers will respond to climate warming, with implications for sea level rise and downstream habitat quality and water resources. The investigators will revisit Athabasca glacier to offer a detailed picture of how the glacier basal motion has evolved as the glacier has thinned and retreated since seminal glaciology research conducted there in the 1960s. We will collect borehole inclinometry and water pressure, glacier surface velocity, radar-based ice thickness, and hydrometeorological data, among other field-based and remotely sensed observations. We will use a numerical glacier flow model to interpret these data. Our focus will allow us to extend insight gained at Athabasca Glacier to the rest of the world?s warm-bedded glaciers.<br/><br/>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.
