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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/5589| Title: | Restudy of Red Rock Ice Cliff, Nunatarssuaq, Greenland |
| Authors: | Ohio State University. Institute of Polar Studies. Goldthwait, Richard Parker, 1911- |
| Keywords: | Glacial features Glaciers Glaciology Land ice Glacier ice Glacier oscillation Glacier ablation Vegetation Plants Botany Glacier melting Nunatarssuaq, Greenland Red Rock Ice Cliff, Greenland |
| Publisher: | Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Technical report (Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.)) ; 224. |
| Description: | Technical Report Abstract: A follow-up study of Red Rock Ice Cliff was undertaken in summer 1965 to time test findings of more comprehensive studies in 1955 and 1956. Work was limited to mapping the ice cliff face and a portion of the ice drainage basin above it and to studying the effects upon vegetation. A total ice loss of 500,000 m^3/year was calculated for the small 2.2 km^2 ice drainage basin whose surface dropped 5 m in a decade. Five regions, totaling 6% of the 1 km^2 mapped, dropped by 8 m or more. Ice loss-from the ice cliff decreased from about 2% to less than 1% due largely to a 30% reduction in the area of exposed cliff. The overall position of the cliff remained unchanged. There was less difference in cliff face detail in the two July maps ten years apart than in the several maps over one season. From a comparison of the positions of a long aluminum pipe near the cliff edge which survived in place from 1955 to 1965 it appears that motion has slowed to one-half the 1955-56 speed. Botanical studies indicate that principal changes reflect more snow drifts near the ice cliff and deeper flooding in Red Rock Lake which implies more snow and no drainage. Several hypotheses and deductions for ice cliff growth and decay are presented. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/5589 |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRREL-Technical-Report-224.pdf | 2.5 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |