CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Boyce, I.I.
Date : 1993
Title : Flutes related to till deformation beneath Saskatchewan Glacier, Alberta, Canada
Publication : Unpublished M.Sc. thesis. University of Toronto, Toronto
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
The origin of subglacially-formed flutes, exposed by the recent retreat of Saskatchewan Glacier, has been investigated with regard to their form and sedimentology. Data indicate that flutes result from the intrusion of a shallow deformable till layer into linear ice cavities formed leeward of boulder obstacles or at the open bases of longitudinal crevasses. Till deformation is associated with high basal pore water pressures resulting from the presence of a low permeability lodgement till layer beneath the ice margin which prevents underdrainage of the ice base. Boulder-initiated flutes are parallel-sided forms with constant height and width proportional to the dimensions of leading boulders. The spatial distribution of these flutes is dependent on the positions of large boulders lodged on the bed. In contrast, other flutes formed as molds of crevasse bases (crevasse-related flutes) have irregular profiles and curving crestlines; their spatial distribution reflects the radial pattern of longitudinal crevasses in the spreading ice margin.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology