CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Gerwing, K.; Hesje, P.; Scott, I.; and Tutsch, M.
Date : 1999
Title : A description of the morphological process governing supraglacial streams at Boundary and Athabasca Glaciers in the Columbia Icefield, Jasper National Park, Canada.
Publication : Program and Abstracts. 42nd Annual Meeting of the Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers, Okanagan University College, Kelowna, British Columbia, March 11 to 13, 1999
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
When meltwater is channelled along the surface of a glacier and directs waterflow downstream, the resulting morphological feature is called a supraglacial stream. Several controlling factors contribute to the morphological processes that create, maintain, and/or eliminate supraglacial streams. The effects of slope, discharge, shape, and bed topography on the sinuosity and channel formation of supraglacial streams found on Boundary Glacier and Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Icefield of Jasper National Park are examined. A review of other published material identifies other components such as glacier structure, glacial foliation, temperature, and precipitation as formative factors involved in the supraglacial stream process. Based on field data and literature, it has been established that the aforementioned controlling factors are related to the formation of meandering sinuous channels. However, the morphological process governing the formation and seasonal persistence of supraglacial streams remains complex in that it integrates many diverse environmental variables within a dynamic glacial environment.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology