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Meltwater routing through ice masses exerts a fundamental control over glacier dynamics and mass balance, and proglacial hydrology. However, despite recent advances in mapping drainage systems in cold, Arctic glaciers, direct observations of englacial channels and their flow conditions remain sparse. Here, using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) surveys of the main englacial channel of cold‐based Austre Brøggerbreen (Svalbard), we map and compare an entrance moulin reach (122 m long) and exit portal reach (273 m long). Analysis of channel planforms, longitudinal profiles, cross‐sections and morphological features reveals evidence of spatial variations in water flow conditions and channel incision mechanisms, and the presence of vadose, epiphreatic and phreatic conditions. The entrance reach, located at the base of a perennial moulin, was characterized by vadose, uniform, channel lowering at annual timescales, evidenced by longitudinal grooves, whereas the exit portal reach showed both epiphreatic and vadose conditions, along with upstream knickpoint migration at intra‐annual timescales. Fine‐scale features, including grooves and scallops, were readily quantified from the TLS point cloud, highlighting the capacity of the technique to inform palaeoflow conditions, and reveal how pulses of meltwater from rainfall events may adjust englacial conduit behaviour. With forecasts of increasing Arctic precipitation in the coming decades, and a progressively greater proportion of glaciers comprising cold ice, augmenting the current knowledge of englacial channel morphology is essential to constrain future glacier hydrological system change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supraglacial lake drainage events influence Greenland Ice Sheet dynamics on hourly to interannual timescales. However, direct observations are rare, and, to date, no in situ studies exist from fast-flowing sectors of the ice sheet. Here, we present observations of a rapid lake drainage event at Store Glacier, west Greenland, in 2018. The drainage event transported 4.8 x 106 m³ of meltwater to the glacier bed in ~5 h, reducing the lake to a third of its original volume. During drainage, the local ice surface rose by 0.55 m, and surface velocity increased from 2.0 m⋅d-1 to 5.3 m⋅d-1. Dynamic responses were greatest ~4 km downstream from the lake, which we interpret as an area of transient water storage constrained by basal topography. Drainage initiated, without any precursory trigger, when the lake expanded and reactivated a preexisting fracture that had been responsible for a drainage event 1 y earlier. Since formation, this fracture had advected ~500 m from the lake's deepest point, meaning the lake did not fully drain. Partial drainage events have previously been assumed to occur slowly via lake overtopping, with a comparatively small dynamic influence. In contrast, our findings show that partial drainage events can be caused by hydrofracture, producing new hydrological connections that continue to concentrate the supply of surface meltwater to the bed of the ice sheet throughout the melt season. Our findings therefore indicate that the quantity and resultant dynamic influence of rapid lake drainages are likely being underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract While the supraglacial hydrology of debris-covered glaciers is relatively well studied, almost nothing is known about how water is transported beneath the glacier surface. Here, we report the results of sixteen fluorescent dye tracing experiments conducted in April–May 2018 over the lowermost 7 km of the high-elevation, debris-covered Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, to characterise the glacier's surface and subsurface drainage system. Dye breakthroughs indicated a likely highly sinuous and channelised subsurface hydrological system draining water from the upper part of the ablation area. This flowpath was distinct from the linked chain of supraglacial ponds present along much of the glacier's lower ablation area, through which water flow was extremely slow (∼0.003 m s−1), likely reflecting the study's timing during the pre-monsoon period. Subsurface drainage pathways emerged at the glacier surface close to the terminus, and flowed into small near-surface englacial reservoirs that typically delayed meltwater transit by several hours. We observed rapid pathway changes resulting from surface collapse, indicating a further distinctive aspect of the drainage of debris-covered glaciers. We conclude that the surface and subsurface drainage of Khumbu Glacier is both distinctive and dynamic, and argue that further investigation is needed to refine the characterisation and test its regional applicability to better understand future Himalayan debris-covered glacier meltwater delivery to downstream areas. Highlights • Dye tracing used to investigate hydrology of debris-covered Khumbu Glacier, Nepal. • A subsurface drainage system exists, and is likely highly sinuous and channelised. • The subsurface drainage system does not link to the chain of supraglacial ponds. • Flow through the pond chain is slow and comprises a small part of total discharge. • Rapid pathway changes are observed, resulting from variable surface lowering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and describes a glaciological and geomorphological map of Glacier Noir and Glacier Blanc, French Alps. Glacier Noir is a debris-covered glacier and is adjacent to Glacier Blanc, a clean-ice (debris-free) glacier. The glaciological and geomorphological evolution of Glacier Blanc is well known, but the evolution of Glacier Noir is poorly understood, as is the case for many debris-covered glaciers globally, despite their importance in a number of mountain ranges around the world (e.g. European and Southern Alps, the Himalayas and the Rockies). The accompanying map was created by manually digitising aerial ortho-images and historical georeferenced photographs from 1952 to 2013. The main glacial and geomorphological features of both glaciers were mapped, including debris cover, crevasses, moraines, hummocky terrain and scree areas. Hydrological features (supra- and pro-glacial streams and meltwater ponds) were also mapped. The map illustrates the key differences between Glacier Noir and Glacier Blanc, and is important for understanding future glaciological and geomorphological changes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the study conducted by Douglas Mair and colleagues on the diurnal fluctuations in glacier ice deformation in Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland. Researchers measured surface velocity, ice deformation and proglacial stream discharge to determine diurnal patterns of variation. They analysed these data to understand better the relationship between hydraulically induced basal motion and glacier ice deformation over short timescales. Result reveals that the hydraulically induced localized basal slippery spots are created over diurnal cycles, thus causing enhanced basal motion and variable glacier speed-up.

The hydrological characteristics of debris-covered glaciers are known to be fundamentally different from those of clean-ice glaciers, even within the same climatological, geological, and geomorphological setting. Understanding how these characteristics influence the timing and magnitude of meltwater discharge is particularly important for regions where downstream communities rely on this resource for sanitation, irrigation, and hydropower, such as High Mountain Asia. The hydrology of debris-covered glaciers is complex: rugged surface topographies typically route meltwater through compound supraglacial-englacial systems involving both channels and ponds, as well as pathways that remain unknown. Low-gradient tongues that extend several kilometres retard water conveyance and promote englacial storage. Englacial conduits are frequently abandoned and reactivated as water supply changes, new lines of permeability are exploited, and drainage is captured due to high rates of surface and subsurface change. Seasonal influences, such as the monsoon, are superimposed on these distinctive characteristics, reorganising surface and subsurface drainage rapidly from one season to the next. Recent advances in understanding have mostly come from studies aimed at quantifying and describing supraglacial processes; little is known about the subsurface hydrology, particularly the nature (or even existence) of subglacial drainage. In this review, we consider in turn the supraglacial, englacial, subglacial, and proglacial hydrological domains of debris-covered glaciers in High Mountain Asia. We summarise different lines of evidence to establish the current state of knowledge and, in doing so, identify major knowledge gaps. Finally, we use this information to suggest six themes for future hydrological research at High Mountain Asian debris-covered glaciers in order to make timely long-term predictions of changes in the water they supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environs of the Glacier de Tsanfleuron, Switzerland, was used asa study site to investigate the controls on the relative efficiency of solute generation and removal from glacial and proglacial environments. Here, a 1500 m wide glacier forefield consists of a karstic limestone plateau flanked to the north by a till-floored valley. Bedrocks and glacial debris are composed of chemically reactive pure and impure Mesozoic and Tertiary limestones with accessory pyrite. Spot sampling of ice, snow and meltwaters in the late melt season was supplemented by systematic measurements of the main meltstream, including during periods of rainfall, and simple laboratory leaching and weathering experiments. Isotopic parameters were used to investigate water sources. Most meltwater and glacier ice samples lay close to a meteoric water line (DeltaD= 873 Delta18O + 14) defined by waters from small tributary streams. Heavy isotopic excursions of bulk meltwater chemistry were caused by rainfall events, recovering within days to a Delta18O baseline around -12 permil. No regular diurnal variations in Delta18O were apparent. The atmosphere isthe source of Cl- and most Na+, but the bulk of other solutes are generated in the environment. Ion loads of up to 1 meq l-1 are rapidly attained by calcite dissolution. Over periods of weeks to months pyrite oxidation generates sulphate and acidity that drives further calcite dissolution. Low water-rock ratio weathering environments have characteristically high SO42-, Mg2+, Sr2+, and ratios of these species to calcium. Thecharacteristic cation ratios are influenced by non-congruent calcitedissolution. The ratio of sulphate to other species is highest wherewater-rock contact times are highest, although this relationship is complicated by spatial variations in pyrite abundance. Meltstream time series illustrate that 90 per cent of daily ion yields in fine weather a [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet is currently the single largest cryospheric contributor to global sea level rise. The two most significant factors influencing ice loss are the acceleration of fast-flowing, marine-terminating glaciers, and surface run-off, which has increased steadily over the last several decades. Since almost all water from the surface is routed to the bed, hydrological systems at the base of the glacier are inherently conditioned by surface processes. Unpicking the relationships between surface (melt)water input, basal hydrology, and ice velocity is therefore key to understanding the effects of global warming on the contribution of marine-terminating glaciers to global sea level rise.Passive seismology enables the continuous observation of a range of phenomena occurring within and underneath glaciers, such as icequakes, crevassing, and tremors associated with water transport. This technique is therefore ideally suited to studying the effects of variations in surface water input over the duration of a melt season. Over the course of two field campaigns in May and June–July 2018, a network of 12 near-surface and 3 deep borehole geophones was deployed on Store Glacier, a large marine-terminating glacier in West Greenland, as part of the multidisciplinary RESPONDER project. The stations have recorded continuously since early May, capturing a wide range of phenomena including the onset and duration of the surface melting season, regional earthquakes, impulsive microseismic activity, and the drainage of a supraglacial lake. Here, we present findings in the form of spectrograms and the locations of microseismic events recorded by the network. The spectrograms show a clear and sudden transition between relative seismic quiescence and increased mid–high frequency activity on 5 June, corresponding to the onset of significant surface melting. The seismic signatures of meteorological events such as prolonged rainfall are also captured in the spectrograms. This dataset is therefore uniquely suited to investigating links between the input of surface water, microseismicity and basal hydrology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]