CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Gilbert, R
Date : 1972
Title : Drainings of ice dammed Summit Lake, British Columbia
Publication : Inland Waters Directorate, Water Resources Branch, Scientific Series
Issue : 20
Page(s) : 17 p
Abstract
Drainings of ice-dammed Summit Lake, B.C., occurred in 1961, 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1970. In 1968, tests were carried out on a water balance model for the lake equating inflow and precipitation to volume change in the filling lake, determination of overflow when full, and detection of water leakage under or through the ice dam. The water balance study indicated that if one half of the area of the damming glacier contributed inflow, a leak of 3 to 5 cu m per sec existed in august 1968, three months before the fourth draining. Lake water temperatures were recorded from July to September 1968 and in July 1969. Warmest water (2.6 deg c) was found farthest from the dam in early summer. Temperature decreased at all locations from mid-July. The existence of a small tunnel associated with a continuous leak, and enlarging of this tunnel by melt provides a rational explanation for the catastrophic drainings. Heat generated by potential energy loss during draining is sufficient to account for tunnel enlargement. For the drainings of 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1970, lake water temperatures of 0.2 deg c, 0.9 deg c, 0.15 deg c, and 1.1 deg c, respectively, were required to account completely for tunnel enlargement in the terminal stages.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology