Hydromechanical behaviour of a surge-type glacier; Trapridge Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada

Subglacial hydrological and mechanical processes play a critical role in determining the flow characteristics and stability of glaciers and ice sheets, but our understanding of these processes remains incomplete. Instrument and modelling studies of conditions beneath Trapridge Glacier, a small surge-type glacier in the St. Elias mountains, Yukon, yield additional insight into subglacial hydromechanical behaviour. High-pressure pulses in the subglacial drainage system are indicated by sudden offsets in measured pressure and result from damage to the pressure sensor measurement diaphragm. Laboratory and modelling studies confirm that pressures significantly above the transducer rating produce offsets comparable to those observed in field records. Instrument records suggest that high-pressure pulses are generated by abrupt glacier motion that compresses or dilates the subglacial hydraulic system. Analysis of instrument records taken during summer 1995 reveals that a series of hydromechanical events occurred following the establishment of a subglacial drainage system. Pressure fluctuations in this drainage system weakened a basal region that was acting as a pinning point, resulting…

Publisher

Government of Yukon

Resources

2

Catalogue metadata updated

2026-09-09