Investigations in glacial hydrology through the use of ground-penetrating radar

To date, most glacial hydrology research has been limited to the use of dye tracer experiments, hydrograph separation, and hydrochemistry. New ground-penetrating radar (GPR) systems have recently been shown to be very effective in imaging detailed hydrological features such as conduits and cavities of glaciers. This research has utilized GPR to investigate the existence and structure of englacial and subglacial conduits and cavities within a glacier in the Canadian Arctic.;The glacier studied, informally named Stagnation Glacier, is located on the south side of Bylot Island, Nunavut Territory. Previous research suggests that the glacier maybe polythermal. An extensive GPR survey was conducted on the lower part of the glacier and was used to model the hydrologic and thermal structure. GPR interpretation indicates the presence of hydrologic networks, zones of warm-ice and sediment accretion. This work provides further evidence that the ablation zone of Stagnation Glacier may be polythermal, and might be capable of forming, if not at least maintaining, extensive hydrologic networks and warm-ice zones.