Heat balance and ablation of an Arctic glacier

Abstract

On the Britannia Gletscher in Dronning Louise Land a study is made of the heat balance at the glacier surface during the ablation season. From micro-meteorological observations in a 4-metre air layer bounded by the glacier surface, the mechanisms of heat supply, expressed as a percentage of the total heat, are: radiation 69; convection 29; condensation 2. The heat is used in: melting 54; evaporation 34; conduction into the ice 12. These values are compared with observations on other glaciers. A statistical analysis is made of the profiles of wind speed and temperature above the glacier surface. From a comparison of observations in meteorological screens and ablation, recorded throughout the summer of 1953, and the use of approximate coefficients of transfer of heat and water vapour, it is found that there is little agreement between calculated and observed values of ablation.