Glaciological Studies at Wilkes Station, Budd Coast, Antarctica
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This dissertation has been 64—1247 microfilmed exactly as received CAMERON, Richard Leo, 1930- GLAClOLOGICAL STUDIES AT WILKES STATION, BUDD COAST, ANTARCTICA. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1963 G eology University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan GLACIOLOGICAL STUDIES AT WIUKES STATION, BUDD COAST, ANTARCTICA DISSERTATION Presented In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy In the Graduate School of Rie Ohio State University by Richard Leo Cameron, B.Sc The Ohio State University 1963 Approved by ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The glaclologlcal field work was accomplished with the able assistance of Dr. Olav I^ken, now of Queens Univer sity, Kingston, Ontario and Mr. John Molholm. The work was financed by money granted to the Arctic Institute of North America by the National Academy of Sciences. The late Dr. Carl Eklund, Chief of the Polar Branch of the Army Research Office and Senior Scientist at Wilkes Station, was an inspiring leader and a close friend who vigorously backed the glaclologlcal program and maintained an active interest in the results of this work. The U.S. Navy supported the International Geophysical Year efforts in the Antarctic and their support at Wilkes Station was excellent. At Wilkes the scientific work progressed smoothly because of the unfailing support of seventeen Navy men commanded by Lt. Donald Burnett. Dr. Eklund and Lt. Burnett are to be credited with making Wilkes Station the No. 1 IGY station in Antarctica. The glaclologlcal data were redded at The Ohio State University under a grant (y/r.10/285) from the National Foundation and have been published by The Ohio State Univer sity Research Foundation (Cameron, L/ken, and Molholm, 1959)* 11 Analysis of these data has been accomplished under National Science Foundation grants 0-8992 and 0-14799 and a grant from the National Aoademy of Sciences. NT. John Hollln and his assistants Caspar Cronk and Richard Robertson succeeded the Wilkes glaclologlcal team and worked In the area from February 1958 until January 1959. They kindly continued some of the observations and have allowed the Incorporation of their data In this dissertation. Drs. R. P. Ooldthwait, C. B. B. Bull and H. J. Plncus of the Department of Oeology have critically read the manu script and have made valuable suggestions. My wife Dorothy Loew Cameron, tolerated the long 16-month separation for the field work, and encouraged me In my studies and In the writing of the dissertation. I acknowledge her patience, understanding, and love. Ill CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................... il LIST OF TABLES ....................................... vll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS............................. Ix INTRODUCTION....................................... 1 GENERAL GEOLOGY ........... -.................. 5 CLIMATE ............................... 9 Introduction ....... ................ ... 9 Temperature..................................... 12 G e n e r a l ....................................... 12 Annual temperature variation .................. 17 Climate classification....................... 20 Lapse r a t e ................................... 23 Temperature and wind direction ......... 24 Abrupt changes in temperature . .............. 27 Melting conditions ........................... 29 P r e s s u r e ....................................... 31 W i n d ........................................... 33 G e n e r a l ............. 33 Wind direction— frequency and speed ............ 41 Katabatic winds ............................... 44 Drifting and blowing s n o w ..................... 43 Cyclonic Circulation ........................... 47 Precipitation ................................... 48 Conclusions..................................... 31 ACCUMULATION OF S N O W ............................... 32 Introduction ................................... 32 Stake Measurements ................. 33 Snow d e n s i t y ................................. 33 Sullivan T r a i l ......... 33 S-2 T r a i l ..................................... 35 S-2 aocumulation-movement s t a k e s .............. 59 S-2 Weather Bureau stakes ..................... 62 iv CONTENTS— continued Page Variation of annualaccumulation ............... 62 S u m m a r y ....................................... 65 Pit S t u d i e s ................. 65 G e n e r a l ....................................... 65 Shallow p i t s .................................. 67 o IS/q Io study at S - 2 ......... 71 Deep pit at S - 2 ................................ 73 Conclusions............... 77 ICE AND FIRN TEMPERATURES .......................... 79 Introduction.................................... 79 Ice and F l m Temperature from the Coast to 96 km I n l a n d ....................... 80 Introduction .................................. 80 Temperatures above the saturation line ........ 81 Temperatures In the saturation z o n e ............ 84 F l m Temperatures at S-2 88 Measurement and results .................. 88 Conclusions................................... 89 Temperature Gradients ............................ 89 Ice Temperatures at S - l .......................... 94 Introduction ................................. 94 Stability of the s u r f a c e .................... 94 Density of the I c e .......................... 95 Instrumentation and measurement.............. 96 Correction of measured temperature .......... 97 R e s u l t s ................. 101 General ........................... 101 Temperature curves .......................... 101 Mean temperatures.............................. 104 Velocity of a travelling temperature wave . 106 Decrease of wave amplitude with depth ..... 109 Interpretation ................................ 109 G e n e r a l ........................................109 Thermal dlffuslvlty and thermal conductivity . 113 Discussion .............................. 113 Conclusions......................... 118 v CONTENTS— continued Page ICE MOVEMENT .......................................... 120 Introduction . • • . ............... 120 Vanderford 0lacier ........................ 121 Introduction ................... 121 Method of measurement............................ 124 Movement ................................ 125 Volume of Ice discharge.......................... 130 Waves on the glacier sur f a c e .................... 132 Strain Net at S - 2 .................................. 136 Measurement of the stake net .................. 136 Strain of stake n e t .............................. 136 Ice Abutting the Windmill I s l a n d s .................. 142 Cape Folger . .................................... 143 Conclusions.................. 144 R E G I M E . 146 THE FORMER EXTENT ON THE ICE S H E E T .................... 151 Expansion of the Ice S h e e t ............... 151 The Vanderford Submarine Valley .................... 153 Extent of the Ice C o v e r ....................... l6l APPENDIXES I. METEOROLOGICAL DATA . ........................ 167 II. SNOW ACCUMULATION D A T A ........................ 194 III. ICE MOVEMENT DATA ................... 208 REFERENCES................................... 216 AUTOBIOGRAPHY ......... 221 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Summary of temperatures at Wilkes Base (°C) . 14 2. Summary of temperatures at S-l (°C)...... 13 3. Summary of temperatures at S-2 (°C) ........... 16 4. Lapse rate at Wilkes Station ........ 24 3* Wind direction and mean temperature (-°C) at Base and S - 2 ............................ 23 6. Melt days at Base and S - l ............. 30 7. Wind at Wilkes Base and S-2, predominant direc tion, mean monthly speed, and highest hourly s p e e d ........................................ 37 8. Mean wind speeds for Intervals during the period 17 December to 20 December 1957 .............. 39 9. Wind direction and mean wind speed at Wilkes Base and S-2 . 41 10. Number of days with precipitation at Wilkes Base and S - 2 ........................... 31 11. Density measurements of surface s n o w ......... 34 12. Snow accumulation on Sullivan Trail (4 February 1957 - 19 November 1 9 5 7 ) ............. 55 13. Snow accumulation on S-2 Trail (18 October 1957 - 17 October 1 9 5 9 ) ............................ 59 14. Snow accumulation at S-2 movement stakes (20 March 1957 - 10-17 January 1 9 5 9 ) ......... 60 15. Accumulation determined from shallow pits .... 70 16. Summary of annual accumulation studies ........ 78 17. Ten-meter temperature of flrn and I c e ......... 82 vll LIST OF TABLES— continued Table Page 18. Lapse rates In East A n t a r c t i c a ................ 84 19. Differences between mean annual air temperature and 10-meter temperature .................... 85 20. F l m temperatures at S - 2 ...................... 89 21. Temperature gradients of the 10-28 m depth Interval along S-2 T r a i l .................... 91 22. Corrected temperatures (-°C) at various depths In Ice at S - l .............................. 98 23. Summary of Ice temperatures at S-l 103 24. Difference of mean temperatures at selected depths in Ice at S-l between 1957-1958 and 1958-1959 ....... 106 2 5 . Date of maximum temperature at selected depth In Ice at S - l ..................... 107 26. Values of thermal dlffuslvlty and thermal con ductivity for glacial Ice at S - l .............. 114 2 7 . Thermal properties of pure Ice as determined by laboratory experiments ..................... 115 28. Vanderford Glacier stake displacement .......... 127 2 9 . Average elevation of movement stakes on Vanderford Glacier ....................... 131 30. Horizontal angles between