Glacier mass balances (1993–2001), Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

• Published in: Journal of glaciology Vol. 52; no. 178; pp. 451 - 462
• Main Authors: Fountain, Andrew G., Nylen, Thomas H., MacClune, Karen L., Dana, Gayle L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.01.2006; International Glaciological Society
• Subjects: Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Snow. Ice. Glaciers; Taylor Valley; Taylor Glacier; Antarctica; Victoria Land; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica, Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica, Victoria Land, McMurdo Dry Valley; Antarctica, Victoria Land, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Taylor Valley; altitude; annual variations; trend-surface analysis; mass balance; Glacier variation; polar regions; Glacier balance; Observation data; Alpine glacier; seasonal variations
• ISSN: 0022-1430; 1727-5652
• DOI: 10.3189/172756506781828511

Mass balances were measured on four glaciers in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, from 1993 to 2001. We used a piecewise linear regression, which provided an objective assessment of error, to estimate the mass balance with elevation. Missing measurements were estimated from linear regressions between points and showed a significant improvement over other methods. Unlike temperate glaciers the accumulation zone of these polar glaciers accumulates mass in summer and winter and the ablation zone loses mass in both seasons. A strong spatial trend of smaller mass-balance values with distance inland (r 2 = 0.80) reflects a climatic gradient to warmer air temperatures, faster wind speeds and less precipitation. Annual and seasonal mass-balance values range only several tens of millimeters in magnitude and no temporal trend is evident. The glaciers of Taylor Valley, and probably the entire McMurdo Dry Valleys, are in equilibrium with the current climate, and contrast with glacier trends elsewhere on the Antarctic Peninsula and in temperate latitudes.