'' f1 ^^| Geographisches |^ Institut | "| Universitat NHRI Science Report No. 4 VJ Zurich GLACIER MASS-BALANCE MEASUREMENTS A manual for field and office work o^ O^c G. 0strem and M. Brugman NVE NORWEGIAN WATER RESOURCES AND • <j<L • EnvironmenEnvironi t Environnemant ENERGY ADMINISTRATION •^rB Canada Canada PREFACE During the International Hydrological Decade (1965-1975) it was proposed that the hydrology of selected glaciers should be included in National IHD programs, in addition to various other aspects of hydrology. In Scandinavia it was agreed that Denmark should concentrate on low-land hydrology, including ground water; Sweden should emphasize forested basins, including bogs; and Norwegian hydrologists should study alpine hydrology, including glaciers. Representative, basins were then selected in each country, according to this inter-Scandinavian agreement. In Norway, the selected alpine basins did not comprise glaciers, so some of the already observed glaciers were included in the IHD program. In Canada, the Geographical Branch, within the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, initiated mass-balance studies on selected glaciers along an east-west profile from the National Hydrology Research Institute Rockies to the Coast Mountains. Inland Waters Directorate Canada, and later Norway, felt that glacier field crews and office technicians Conservation and Protection needed written instructions for their work. This would save time at the start of the Environment Canada EHD program, because new activities were planned at several glaciers almost simultaneously. 11 Innovation Boulevard Therefore, a "cookbook" was prepared in Ottawa by Gunnar 0strem and Alan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Stanley. This first "Manual for Field Work" was printed in the spring of 1966 for Canada S7N 3H5 use during the following field season. Final revisions to the text were made at a field seminar at South Cascade Glacier in March 1966, in cooperation with glaciologists from the U.S. Geological Survey in Tacoma. The authors soon felt a need for revising and extending the manual, so in © Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1991 1969 a "Manual for Field and Office Work" was printed in Oslo. It was stated that: Field procedures followed by the personnel at the Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and Resources and the Norwegian Water Resources and Electricity Board are described in this manual. NHRl Science Report No. 4 Originally such field procedures were developed in various countries but - although aiming at the same objective - they differed slightly Cat. En 36-513/4E from country to country and even within the same country, so that direct comparison of results proved very difficult. ISSN 0838-9052 ISBN 0-0662-19000-9 The 1969 manual was used by Canadians and Norwegians for several years. Due to demand, it was reprinted in Ottawa in the 1960s, without further updating. The green cover was replaced with a standard reprint cover used by the Inland Waters Branch (Reprint Series No.66). Since then, the manual was so widely used (e.g., field training courses) that by 1980 the supply of printed copies was exhausted. Even the demand for the old version of the manual remained high. Instead of once again reprinting the 1969 version, the authors (0strem and Stanley) decided a revision of the manual was required to bring the book up-to-date, while preserving its unique clarity and simplicity. The purpose is primarily to provide an updated version that can be given to personnel at our Institutions Preface i PREFACE During the International Hydrological Decade (1965-1975) it was proposed that the hydrology of selected glaciers should be included in National IHD programs, in addition to various other aspects of hydrology. In Scandinavia it was agreed that Denmark should concentrate on low-land hydrology, including ground water; Sweden should emphasize forested basins, including bogs; and Norwegian hydrologists should study alpine hydrology, including glaciers. Representative, basins were then selected in each country, according to this inter-Scandinavian agreement. In Norway, the selected alpine basins did not comprise glaciers, so some of the already observed glaciers were included in the IHD program. In Canada, the Geographical Branch, within the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, initiated mass-balance studies on selected glaciers along an east-west profile from the National Hydrology Research Institute Rockies to the Coast Mountains. Inland Waters Directorate Canada, and later Norway, felt that glacier field crews and office technicians Conservation and Protection needed written instructions for their work. This would save time at the start of the Environment Canada EHD program, because new activities were planned at several glaciers almost simultaneously. 11 Innovation Boulevard Therefore, a "cookbook" was prepared in Ottawa by Gunnar 0strem and Alan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Stanley. This first "Manual for Field Work" was printed in the spring of 1966 for Canada S7N 3H5 use during the following field season. Final revisions to the text were made at a field seminar at South Cascade Glacier in March 1966, in cooperation with glaciologists from the U.S. Geological Survey in Tacoma. The authors soon felt a need for revising and extending the manual, so in © Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1991 1969 a "Manual for Field and Office Work" was printed in Oslo. It was stated that: Field procedures followed by the personnel at the Canadian Department of Energy, Mines and Resources and the Norwegian Water Resources and Electricity Board are described in this manual. NHRl Science Report No. 4 Originally such field procedures were developed in various countries but - although aiming at the same objective - they differed slightly Cat. En 36-513/4E from country to country and even within the same country, so that direct comparison of results proved very difficult. ISSN 0838-9052 ISBN 0-0662-19000-9 The 1969 manual was used by Canadians and Norwegians for several years. Due to demand, it was reprinted in Ottawa in the 1960s, without further updating. The green cover was replaced with a standard reprint cover used by the Inland Waters Branch (Reprint Series No.66). Since then, the manual was so widely used (e.g., field training courses) that by 1980 the supply of printed copies was exhausted. Even the demand for the old version of the manual remained high. Instead of once again reprinting the 1969 version, the authors (0strem and Stanley) decided a revision of the manual was required to bring the book up-to-date, while preserving its unique clarity and simplicity. The purpose is primarily to provide an updated version that can be given to personnel at our Institutions Preface i (National Hydrology Research Institute [NHRI] and Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration [NVE]) as a guide in their daily work. The aim remains the same as it was in 1966 and 1969. The manual is for field officers, technicians, summer assistants, contractors and others who are dealing with mass balance studies, mainly on temperate glaciers in Canada and Norway. The reader is assumed to have only a limited background in glaciology. Due to the fact that some presently-observed glaciers in Norway and Canada are classified as "sub-polar" (e.g., Svalbard, Yukon, and the Canadian High Arctic), a small section is devoted to special problems connected with "cold glaciers". Detailed information on techniques used on "subpolar" glaciers are included in the appendices. By using identical or similar field methods and by reporting results in a consistent manner, mass-balance data should be more digestible for our "users", and the methodologies become more understandable for scientists studying, for example, glacier variations and relationship to global change. This manual represents a consolidation of Norwegian and Canadian methodologies. In this respect, good use was made of the discussions at the Workshop on Glacier Mass Balance Standards, held in Seattle on November 28-29, 1990. We have not included a section on safety, or how to travel on a glacier (with or without skis), because such information is well presented in the relevant literature, e.g., LaChapelle (1961), Manning (1962), Mamier (1963), Peria and Martinelli (1976) or similar guide-books for mountaineers. Dr. Alan Stanley did not wish to continue as a co-author, so Dr. Mindy Brugman (of the same institute) was invited to be his successor, because she is presently more actively involved in Canadian glacier studies. This book is a joint venture between our two government organizations. Several individuals were of great help in preparing the new edition. Simon Ommanney's efforts in editing the text are greatly appreciated and he significantly improved the quality of the text. Philip Gregory and Tracey Scheller prepared the graphics for printing. Hjalmar Laudon also helped prepare the final document together with Karen Ulmer and Karen Morin. We are most indebted to these people for their special efforts and to all others who made it possible to produce this book. Gunnar 0strem Hydrology Department Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration, Oslo Melinda Brugman National Hydrology Research Institute Environment Canada, Saskatoon ii Glacier Mass-Balance Measurements TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ............................................... i LIST OF FIGURES ........................................ viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .................................. 1 1.1. General ........................................