Debris cover and the thinning of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska: in situ measurements, automated ice cliff delineation and distributed melt estimates

Anderson, Leif S.; Armstrong, William H.; Anderson, Robert S.; Buri, Pascal

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-265-2021

Articles | Volume 15, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-265-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-265-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 15, issue 1

Research article

|

19 Jan 2021

Research article |

| 19 Jan 2021

Debris cover and the thinning of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska: in situ measurements, automated ice cliff delineation and distributed melt estimates

Leif S. Anderson, William H. Armstrong, Robert S. Anderson, and Pascal Buri

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-265-2021-supplement

Data sets

Measurements and datasets from the debris-covered tongue of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska (Version 1.0.0) Leif S. Anderson, William H. Armstrong, Robert S. Anderson, and Pascal Buri https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4118672

Short summary

Many glaciers are thinning rapidly beneath debris cover (loose rock) that reduces melt, including Kennicott Glacier in Alaska. This contradiction has been explained by melt hotspots, such as ice cliffs, scattered within the debris cover. However, at Kennicott Glacier declining ice flow explains the rapid thinning. Through this study, Kennicott Glacier is now the first glacier in Alaska, and the largest glacier globally, where melt across its debris-covered tongue has been rigorously quantified.