Projected glacier meltwater and river run‐off changes in the Upper Reach of the Shule River Basin,north‐eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau

Glacier meltwater change in the north‐eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau is greatly important for the projection of the impact of future climate change on local water resource management. Although the glaciated area is only approximately 4% of the Upper Reach of the Shule River Basin (URSRB), the average glacier meltwater contribution to river run‐off was approximately 23.6% during the periods 1971/1972 to 2012/2013. A new glacier melting module coupled with the macroscale hydrologic Variable Infiltration Capacity model (VIC‐CAS) was adopted to simulate and project changes in the glacier meltwater and river run‐off of the URSRB forced by downscaled output of the BCC‐CSM1.1(m), CANESM2, GFDL‐CM3, and IPSL‐CM5A‐MR models. Comparisons between the observed and simulated river run‐offs and glacier area changes during the periods 2000/2001, 2004/2006, 2008/2009, and 2012/2013 suggest that the simulation is reasonable. Due to increases in precipitation, the annual total run‐off is projected to increase by approximately 2.58–2.73 × 10⁸ m³ in the 2050s and 0.28–1.87 × 10⁸ m³ in the 2100s compared with run‐off in the 2010s based on the RCP2.6 (low greenhouse gas emission) and RCP4.5 (moderate greenhouse gas emission) scenarios, respectively. The contribution of glacier meltwater to river run‐off will more likely decrease to approximately 10% and less than 5% during the 2050s and 2100s, respectively.     

Streamflow response to the rapid retreat of a lake‐calving glacier

There has been increasing attention over the last decade to the potential effects of glacier retreat on downstream discharge and aquatic habitat. This study focused on streamflow variability downstream of Bridge Glacier in the southern Coast Mountains of BC between 1979 and 2014, prior to and during a period in which the glacier experienced enhanced calving and rapid retreat across a lake‐filled basin. Here we combined empirical trend detection and a conceptual‐parametric hydrological model to address the following hypotheses: (1) streamflow trends in late summer and early autumn should reflect the opposing influences of climatic warming (which would tend to increase unit‐area meltwater production) and the reduction in glacier area (which would tend to reduce the total volume of meltwater generated), and (2) winter streamflow should increase because of displacement of lake water as ice flows past the grounding line and calves into the lake basin. In relation to the first hypothesis, we found no significant trends in monthly discharge during summer. However, applying regression analysis to account for air temperature and precipitation variations, weak but statistically significant negative trends were detected for August and melt season discharge. The HBV‐EC model was applied using time‐varying glacier cover, as derived from Landsat imagery. Relative to simulations based on constant glacier extent, model results indicated that glacier recession caused a decline in mean monthly streamflow of 9% in August and 11% in September. These declines in late‐summer streamflow are consistent with the results from our empirical analysis. The second hypothesis is supported by the finding of positive trends for December, January, and February discharge. Despite the modelled declines in late‐summer mean monthly streamflow, recorded discharge data exhibited neither positive nor negative trends during the melt season, suggesting that Bridge Glacier may currently be at or close to the point of peak water. Further analysis of the impact of lake‐terminating glaciers on downstream discharge is needed to refine the peak water model. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seasonal changes in ground‐penetrating radar signature observed at a polythermal glacier,Bylot Island,Canada

In recent years, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) has been increasingly used for characterization of subglacial and englacial environments at polythermal glaciers. The geophysical method is able to exploit the dielectric difference between water, air, sediment and ice, allowing delineation of subsurface hydrological, thermal and structural conditions. More recent GPR research has endeavoured to examine temporal change in glaciers, in particular the distribution of the cold ice zone at polythermal glaciers. However, the exact nature of temporal change that can be identified using GPR has not been fully examined. This research presents the results of three GPR surveys conducted over the course of a summer ablation season at a polythermal glacier in the Canadian Arctic. A total of approximately 30 km of GPR profiles were collected in 2002 repeatedly covering the lower 2 km of Stagnation Glacier, Bylot Island (72°58′ N 78°22′ W). Comparison between profiles indicated changes in the radar signature, including increased noise, appearance and disappearance of englacial reflections, and signal attenuation in the latter survey. Further, an area of chaotic returns in up‐glacier locations, which was interpreted to be a wet temperate ice zone, showed marked recession over the course of the ablation season. Combining all the temporal changes that were detected by GPR, results indicate that a polythermal glacier may exhibit strongly seasonal changes in hydrological and thermal characteristics throughout the ice body, including the drainage of 17 000 m³ of temporarily stored intra‐glacial meltwater. It is also proposed that the liquid water content in the temperate ice zone of polythermal glaciers can be described as a fraction of a specific retention capacity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multifractal behaviour of long‐term karstic discharge fluctuations

Karstic watersheds are highly complex hydrogeological systems that are characterized by a multiscale behaviour corresponding to the different pathways of water in these systems. The main issue of karstic spring discharge fluctuations consists in the presence and the identification of characteristic time scales in the discharge time series. To identify and characterize these dynamics, we acquired, for many years at the outlet of two karstic watersheds in South of France, discharge data at 3‐mn, 30‐mn and daily sampling rate. These hydrological records constitute to our knowledge the longest uninterrupted discharge time series available at these sampling rates. The analysis of the hydrological records at different levels of detail leads to a natural scale analysis of these time series in a multifractal framework. From a universal class of multifractal models based on cascade multiplicative processes, the time series first highlights two cut‐off scales around 1 and 16 h that correspond to distinct responses of the aquifer drainage system. Then we provide estimates of the multifractal parameters α and C₁ and the moment of divergence q_D corresponding to the behaviour of karstic systems. These results constitute the first estimates of the multifractal characteristics of karstic spingflows based on 10 years of high‐resolution discharge time series and should lead to several improvements in rainfall‐karstic springflow simulation models. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrochemical appraisal of ice‐ and rock‐glacier meltwater in the hyperarid Agua Negra drainage basin,Andes of Argentina

The Agua Negra drainage system (30 12′S, 69 50′ W), in the Argentine Andes holds several ice‐ and rock‐glaciers, which are distributed from 4200 up to 6300 m a.s.l. The geochemical study of meltwaters reveals that ice‐glaciers deliver a HCO₃^?? Ca²⁺ solution and rock‐glaciers a SO₄^2?? HCO₃^?? Ca²⁺ solution. The site is presumably strongly influenced by sublimation and dry deposition. The main processes supplying solutes to meltwater are sulphide oxidation (i.e. abundant hydrothermal manifestations), and hydrolysis and dissolution of carbonates and silicates. Marine aerosols are the main source of NaCl. The fine‐grained products of glacial comminution play a significant role in the control of dissolved minor and trace elements: transition metals (e.g. Mn, Zr, Cu, and Co) appear to be selectively removed from solution, whereas some LIL (large ion lithophile) elements, such as Sr, Cs, and major cations, are more concentrated in the lowermost reach. Daily concentration variation of dissolved rare earth elements (REE) tends to increase with discharge. Through PHREEQC inverse modelling, it is shown that gypsum dissolution (i.e. sulphide oxidation) is the most important geochemical mechanism delivering solutes to the Agua Negra drainage system, particularly in rock‐glaciers. At the lowermost reach, the chemical signature appears to change depending on the relative significance of different meltwater sources: silicate weathering seems to be more important when meltwater has a longer residence time, and calcite and gypsum dissolution is more conspicuous in recently melted waters. A comparison with a non‐glacierized semiarid drainage of comparable size shows that the glacierized basin has a higher specific denudation, but it is mostly accounted for by relatively soluble phases (i.e. gypsum and calcite). Meltwater chemistry in glacierized arid areas appears strongly influenced by sublimation/evaporation, in contrast with its humid counterparts. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrochemistry of meltwaters draining a polythermal‐based,high‐Arctic glacier,south Svalbard: II. Winter and early Spring

The hydrochemistry of naled and upwelling water sampled from the forefields of Finsterwalderbreen, Svalbard, during spring are used for the first time to infer the hydrology of overwinter meltwaters at a polythermal‐based glacier. Hydrochemical variations in naled are explained in terms of different water sources and their chemical alteration during freezing. Two water sources to naled are identified: surficially routed snowmelt and subglacial water. Naled that results from the freezing of the former is enriched in atmospherically derived ions such as Na⁺ and Cl⁻, and is believed to be formed during winter warm periods. Naled of subglacial origin contains relatively high proportions of crustally derived solute. It reflects the freezing of subglacial meltwaters that continue to issue from a subterranean upwellling during winter. An increasing dominance of SO²⁻₄ Mg²⁺, Na⁺ and Cl⁻ in subglacial naled with increasing distance from the upwelling reflects the progressive freezing of this water body and the associated removal of Ca²⁺ and HCO by calcite precipitation. These spatial trends are accentuated by the leaching of soluble ions from the naled close to its source by subsequent upwelling waters. The chemistry of spring upwelling waters, also of subglacial origin, strongly reflects this process. Meltwater produced by geothermal heating of glacier basal ice is believed to be the principal source of water to the subglacial drainage system during winter. Solute acquisition by this meltwater is limited by a scarcity of proton suppliers. Evolution of this dilute meltwater carries an imprint of ion exchange processes. Some stored subglacial water from the end of the previous ablation season may supplement the basal meltwater component in early winter. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interannual variability in glacier contribution to runoff from a high‐elevation Andean catchment: understanding the role of debris cover in glacier hydrology

We present a field‐data rich modelling analysis to reconstruct the climatic forcing, glacier response, and runoff generation from a high‐elevation catchment in central Chile over the period 2000–2015 to provide insights into the differing contributions of debris‐covered and debris‐free glaciers under current and future changing climatic conditions. Model simulations with the physically based glacio‐hydrological model TOPKAPI‐ETH reveal a period of neutral or slightly positive mass balance between 2000 and 2010, followed by a transition to increasingly large annual mass losses, associated with a recent mega drought. Mass losses commence earlier, and are more severe, for a heavily debris‐covered glacier, most likely due to its strong dependence on snow avalanche accumulation, which has declined in recent years. Catchment runoff shows a marked decreasing trend over the study period, but with high interannual variability directly linked to winter snow accumulation, and high contribution from ice melt in dry periods and drought conditions. The study demonstrates the importance of incorporating local‐scale processes such as snow avalanche accumulation and spatially variable debris thickness, in understanding the responses of different glacier types to climate change. We highlight the increased dependency of runoff from high Andean catchments on the diminishing resource of glacier ice during dry years.     

Quantitative evaluation of different hydrological modelling approaches in a partly glacierized Swiss watershed

Mountain water resources management often requires hydrological models that need to handle both snow and ice melt. In this study, we compared two different model types for a partly glacierized watershed in central Switzerland: (1) an energy‐balance model primarily designed for snow simulations; and (2) a temperature‐index model developed for glacier simulations. The models were forced with data extrapolated from long‐term measurement records to mimic the typical input data situation for climate change assessments. By using different methods to distribute precipitation, we also assessed how various snow cover patterns influenced the modelled runoff. The energy‐balance model provided accurate discharge estimations during periods dominated by snow melt, but dropped in performance during the glacier ablation season. The glacier melt rates were sensitive to the modelled snow cover patterns and to the parameterization of turbulent heat fluxes. In contrast, the temperature‐index model poorly reproduced snow melt runoff, but provided accurate discharge estimations during the periods dominated by glacier ablation, almost independently of the method used to distribute precipitation. Apparently, the calibration of this model compensated for the inaccurate precipitation input with biased parameters. Our results show that accurate estimates of snow cover patterns are needed either to correctly constrain the melt parameters of the temperature‐index model or to ensure appropriate glacier surface albedos required by the energy‐balance model. Thus, particularly when only distant meteorological stations are available, carefully selected input data and efficient extrapolation methods of meteorological variables improve the reliability of runoff simulations in high alpine watersheds. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulating pan‐Arctic runoff with a macro‐scale terrestrial water balance model

A terrestrial hydrological model, developed to simulate the high‐latitude water cycle, is described, along with comparisons with observed data across the pan‐Arctic drainage basin. Gridded fields of plant rooting depth, soil characteristics (texture, organic content), vegetation, and daily time series of precipitation and air temperature provide the primary inputs used to derive simulated runoff at a grid resolution of 25 km across the pan‐Arctic. The pan‐Arctic water balance model (P/WBM) includes a simple scheme for simulating daily changes in soil frozen and liquid water amounts, with the thaw–freeze model (TFM) driven by air temperature, modelled soil moisture content, and physiographic data. Climate time series (precipitation and air temperature) are from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis project for the period 1980–2001. P/WBM‐generated maximum summer active‐layer thickness estimates differ from a set of observed data by an average of 12 cm at 27 sites in Alaska, with many of the differences within the variability (1σ) seen in field samples. Simulated long‐term annual runoffs are in the range 100 to 400 mm year^?1. The highest runoffs are found across northeastern Canada, southern Alaska, and Norway, and lower estimates are noted along the highest latitudes of the terrestrial Arctic in North America and Asia. Good agreement exists between simulated and observed long‐term seasonal (winter, spring, summer–fall) runoff to the ten Arctic sea basins (r = 0·84). Model water budgets are most sensitive to changes in precipitation and air temperature, whereas less affect is noted when other model parameters are altered. Increasing daily precipitation by 25% amplifies annual runoff by 50 to 80% for the largest Arctic drainage basins. Ignoring soil ice by eliminating the TFM sub‐model leads to runoffs that are 7 to 27% lower than the control run. The results of these model sensitivity experiments, along with other uncertainties in both observed validation data and model inputs, emphasize the need to develop improved spatial data sets of key geophysical quantities (particularly climate time series) to estimate terrestrial Arctic hydrological budgets better. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seasonal controls of meltwater runoff chemistry and chemical weathering at Urumqi Glacier No.1 in central Asia

Temporal variation of runoff chemistry and its seasonal controls relating to chemical weathering processes and drainage system evolution were examined at Urumqi Glacier No.1 in Xinjiang, China, over a full melt season. The dominant ions in meltwater runoff are HCO₃^?, Ca²⁺, and SO₄^2?; and Fe, Sr, and Al are dominant elements. Concentrations of major ions and some elements show periodic variations with seasons and negatively correlate with discharge, whereas other elements (e.g., Al, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) show a random change, providing insights into the hydrological and physicochemical controls. HCO₃^? and Ca²⁺ are primarily derived from calcite, SO₄^2? and Fe mainly come from pyrite, and Sr and Al principally originate from silicate. Hydrochemical fluxes of solutes exhibit strong seasonality but are positively related to discharge, suggesting an increasing release of solutes during higher flow conditions. Solute yields, cation denudation rate, and chemical weathering intensity observed at Urumqi Glacier No.1 are higher than those at most basins worldwide. This suggests that chemical weathering in central Asia may be stronger than at other glacial basins with similar specific discharge. Concentrations of some elements (e.g., Fe, Al, As, Pb, and Zn) are close to or exceed the guidelines for drinking water standards in meltwater‐fed rivers. These rivers may face future challenges of water quality degradation, and relationships between changing flow and water quality conditions should be established soon, given that development of channelized flow is expected to be earlier over a melt season in a warming climate.     

Controls on suspended‐sediment transfer at a high‐arctic glacier,determined from statistical modelling

Simple linear regression models have been widely employed in the analysis of suspended‐sediment concentration (SSC) time series from glacierized catchments, although they have many limitations. This paper builds regression models which address these shortcomings and permit inferences concerning the controls on suspended‐sediment transfer from a glacier at 78°N in the Svalvard archipelago. A bivariate regression model, deterministically predicting SSC from discharge alone, explained less than 15 per cent of the variance in SSC. A multivariate model, incorporating additional potentially explanatory variables, offered little improvement. Diurnal hysteresis in the data gives rise to quasi‐autocorrelation in the residual series from regression models. This was effectively removed by incorporating dummy diurnal variables into the multivariate model. The presence of a first‐order autoregressive, stochastic process gives rise to true autocorrelation in the residual series from regression models. This was accommodated by incorporating an ARIMA (1,0,0) term into a multivariate autoregression model. The model‐building process yielded a systematic progression in the explanation of variance in SSC, stripping away pattern in the autocorrelation function of the residual series; mean model error was reduced from 54 per cent to 6 per cent. The dependence of SSC on the magnitude of discharge is weak and highly variable, whereas the dependence of current SSC on recent values of SSC, revealed through the stochastic term, is an order of magnitude greater and relatively constant during the melt season. The dominant control on SSC throughout the melt season is therefore short‐term sediment availability. The simple and largely unchanging stochastic process generally responsible for generating the observed SSC series implies a simple and unchanging glacier drainage system. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The hydrochemistry of runoff from a ‘cold-based’ glacier in the High Arctic (Scott Turnerbreen,Svalbard)

There are still relatively few hydrochemical studies of glacial runoff and meltwater routing from the high latitudes, where non-temperate glacier ice is frequently encountered. Representative samples of glacier meltwater were obtained from Scott Turnerbreen, a ‘cold-based’ glacier at 78° N in the Norwegian high Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, during the 1993 melt season and analysed for major ion chemistry. Laboratory dissolution experiments were also conducted, using suspended sediment from the runoff. Significant concentrations of crustal weathering derived SO²⁻₄ are present in the runoff, which is characterized by high ratios of SO²⁻₄: (SO²⁻₄+HCO⁻₃) and high p(CO₂). Meltwater is not routed subglacially, but flows to the glacier terminus through subaerial, ice marginal channels, and partly flows through a proglacial icing, containing highly concentrated interstitial waters, immediately afront the terminus. The hydrochemistry of the runoff is controlled by: (1) seasonal variations in the input of solutes from snow- and icemelt; (2) proglacial solute acquisition from the icing; and (3) subaerial chemical weathering within saturated, ice-cored lateral moraine adjoining drainage channels at the glacier margins, sediment and concentrated pore water from which is entrained by flowing meltwater. Diurnal variations in solute concentration arise from the net effects of variable sediment pore water entrainment and dilution in the ice marginal streams. Explanation of the hydrochemistry of Scott Turnerbreen requires only one major subaerial flow path, the ice marginal channel system, in which seasonally varying inputs of concentrated snowmelt and dilute icemelt are modified by seepage or entrainment of concentrated pore waters from sediment in lateral moraine, and by concentrated interstitial waters from the proglacial icing, supplied by leaching, slow drainage at grain intersections or simple melting of the icing itself. The ice marginal channels are analogous neither to dilute supra/englacial nor to concentrated subglacial flow components. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long‐term assessment of nutrient flow pathway dynamics and in‐stream fate in a temperate karst agroecosystem watershed

Nutrient dynamics in karst agroecosystems remain poorly understood, in part due to limited long‐term nested datasets that can discriminate upland and in‐stream processes. We present a 10‐year dataset from a karst watershed in the Inner‐Bluegrass Region of central Kentucky, consisting of nitrate (nitrate‐N [NO₃^?]), dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP), total organic carbon (TOC), and total ammoniacal‐N (TAN) measurements at nested spring and stream sites as well as flowrate at the watershed outlet. Hydrograph separation techniques were coupled with multiple linear regression and Empirical Mode Decomposition time‐series analysis to determine significance of seasonal processes and to generate continuous estimates of nutrient pathway loadings. Further, we used model results of benthic algae growth and decomposition dynamics from a nearby watershed to assess if transient storage in algal biomass could explain differences in spring and downstream watershed nutrient loading. Results highlight statistically significant seasonality for all nutrients at stream sites, but only for NO₃^? at springs with longitudinal variability showing significant decreases occurring from spring to stream sites for NO₃^? and DRP, and significant increases for TOC and TAN. Pathway loading analysis highlighted the importance of slow flow pathways to source approximately 70% of DRP and 80% of NO₃^?. Results for in‐stream dynamics suggest that benthic autotroph dynamics can explain summer deviations for TOC, TAN, and DRP but not NO₃^?. Regarding upland dynamics, our findings agree well with existing perceptions in karst for N pathways and upland source seasonality but deviate from perceptions that karst conduits are retentive of P, reflecting the limited buffering capacity of the soil profile and conduit sediments in the Inner‐Bluegrass. Regarding in‐stream fate, our findings highlighted the significance of seasonally driven nutrient processing in the bedrock‐controlled streambed to influence nutrient fluxes at the watershed outlet. Contrary to existing perceptions, we found high N attenuation and an unexplained NO₃^? sink in the bedrock stream, leading us to postulate that floating macrophytes facilitate high rates of denitrification.     

Implications of decadal to century scale glacio‐hydrological change for water resources of the Hood River basin,OR, USA

In glacier‐fed rivers, melting of glacier ice sustains streamflow during the driest times of the year, especially during drought years. Anthropogenic and ecologic systems that rely on this glacial buffering of low flows are vulnerable to glacier recession as temperatures rise. We demonstrate the evolution of glacier melt contribution in watershed hydrology over the course of a 184‐year period from 1916 to 2099 through the application of a coupled hydrological and glacier dynamics model to the Hood River basin in Northwest Oregon, USA. We performed continuous simulations of glaciological processes (mass accumulation and ablation, lateral flow of ice and heat conduction through supra‐glacial debris), which are directly linked with seasonal snow dynamics as well as other key hydrologic processes (e.g. evapotranspiration and subsurface flow). Our simulations show that historically, the contribution of glacier melt to basin water supply was up to 79% at upland water management locations. We also show that supraglacial debris cover on the Hood River glaciers modulates the rate of glacier recession and progression of dry season flow at upland stream locations with debris‐covered glaciers. Our model results indicate that dry season (July to September) discharge sourced from glacier melt started to decline early in the 21st century following glacier recession that started early in the 20th century. Changes in climate over the course of the current century will lead to 14–63% (18–78%) reductions in dry season discharge across the basin for IPCC emission pathway RCP4.5 (RCP8.5). The largest losses will be at upland drainage locations of water diversions that were dominated historically by glacier melt and seasonal snowmelt. The contribution of glacier melt varies greatly not only in space but also in time. It displays a strong decadal scale fluctuations that are super‐imposed on the effects of a long‐term climatic warming trend. This decadal variability results in reversals in trends in glacier melt, which underscore the importance of long‐time series of glacio‐hydrologic analyses for evaluating the hydrological response to glacier recession. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitivity of streamflow simulation in the Delaware River Basin to forecasted land‐cover change for 2030 and 2060

In order to simulate the potential effect of forecasted land‐cover change on streamflow and water availability, there has to be confidence that the hydrologic model used is sensitive to small changes in land cover (<10%) and that this land‐cover change exceeds the inherent uncertainty in forecasted conditions. To investigate this, a 26‐year streamflow record was simulated for 33 basins (54–928 km²) in the Delaware River Basin using three dates of land cover: the 2011 National Land‐Cover Dataset (Homer, Fry, & Barnes, 2012 ), 2030 land‐cover conditions representing median values from 101 equally‐likely forecasts, and 2060 land‐cover conditions corresponding to the same iterations used to represent 2030. Streamflow was simulated using a process‐based hydrologic model that includes both pervious and impervious methods as parameterized by three land‐cover‐based hydrologic response units (HRUs)—forested, agricultural, and developed land. Small, but significant differences in streamflow magnitude, variability, and seasonality were seen among the three time periods—2011, 2030, and 2060. Temporal differences were discernible from the range of conditions simulated with 101 equally likely forecasts for 2030. Development was co‐located with the most frequent landscape components, as characterized by topographic wetness index, resulting in a change in hydrology for each HRU, highlighting that knowing the location of disturbance is key to understanding potential streamflow changes. These results show that streamflow simulation using regional calibration that incorporates land‐cover‐based HRUs can be sensitive to relatively small changes in land‐cover and that temporal trends resulting from land‐cover change can be isolated in order to evaluate other changes that might affect water resources.     

Englacial and subglacial water flow at Skálafellsjökull,Iceland derived from ground penetrating radar,in situ Glacsweb probe and borehole water level measurements

We reconstruct englacial and subglacial drainage at Skálafellsjökull, Iceland, using ground penetrating radar (GPR) common offset surveys, borehole studies and Glacsweb probe data. We find that englacial water is not stored within the glacier (water content ~0–0.3%). Instead, the glacier is mostly impermeable and meltwater is able to pass quickly through the main body of the glacier via crevasses and moulins. Once at the glacier bed, water is stored within a thin (1 m) layer of debris‐rich basal ice (2% water content) and the till. The hydraulic potential mapped across the survey area indicates that when water pressures are high (most of the year), water flows parallel to the margin, and emerges 3 km down glacier at an outlet tongue. GPR data indicates that these flow pathways may have formed a series of braided channels. We show that this glacier has a very low water‐storage capacity, but an efficient englacial drainage network for transferring water to the glacier bed and, therefore, it has the potential to respond rapidly to changes in melt‐water inputs. © 2015 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Glacier retreat and landform production on an overdeepened glacier foreland: the debris‐charged glacial landsystem at Kvíárjökull,Iceland

Glacier recession and landform development in a debris‐charged glacial landsystem characterized by an overdeepening is quantified using digital photogrammetry, digital elevation model (DEM) construction and mapping of the Icelandic glacier Kvíárjökull for the period 1945–2003. Melting of ice‐cores is recorded by surface lowering rates of 0·8 m yr^–1 (1945–1964), 0·3 m yr^–1 (1964–1980), 0·015 m yr^–1 (1980–1998) and 0·044 m yr^–1 (1998–2003). The distribution/preservation of pushed and stacked ice‐cored moraine complexes are determined by the location of the long‐term glacial drainage network in combination with retreat from the overdeepening, into which glacifluvial sediment is being directed and where debris‐rich ice masses are being reworked and replaced by esker networks produced in englacial meltwater pathways that bypassed the overdeepening and connected to outwash fans prograding over the snout. Recent accelerated retreat of Kvíárjökull, potentially due to increased mass balance sensitivity, has made the snout highly unstable, especially now that the overdeepening is being uncovered and the snout flooded by an expanding pro‐glacial, and partially supraglacial, lake. This case study indicates that thick sequences of debris‐charged basal ice/controlled moraine have a very low preservation potential but ice‐cored moraine complexes can develop into hummocky moraine belts in de‐glaciated terrains because they are related to the process of incremental stagnation, which at Kvíárjökull has involved periodic switches from transport‐dominant to ablation‐dominant conditions. Glacier recession is therefore recorded temporally and spatially by two suites of landforms relating to two phases of landform production which are likely typical for glaciers occupying overdeepenings: an early phase of active, temperate recession recorded by push moraines and lateral moraines and unconfined pro‐glacial meltwater drainage; and a later phase of incremental stagnation and pitted outwash head development initiated by the increasing topographic constraints of the latero‐frontal moraine arc and the increasing importance of the overdeepening as a depo‐centre. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stream nitrate uptake and transient storage over a gradient of geomorphic complexity,north‐central Colorado,USA

The understanding of nutrient uptake in streams is impeded by a limited understanding of how geomorphic setting and flow regime interact with biogeochemical processing. This study investigated these interactions as they relate to transient storage and nitrate uptake in small agricultural and urban streams. Sites were selected across a gradient of channel conditions and management modifications and included three 180‐m long geomorphically distinct reaches on each of two streams in north‐central Colorado. The agricultural stream has been subject to historically variable cattle‐grazing practices, and the urban stream exhibits various levels of stabilisation and planform alteration. Reach‐scale geomorphic complexity was characterised using highly detailed surveys of channel morphology, substrate, hydraulics and habitat units. Breakthrough‐curve modelling of conservative bromide (Br^?) and nonconservative nitrate (NO₃^?) tracer injections characterised transient storage and nitrate uptake along each reach. Longitudinal roughness and flow depth were positively associated with transient storage, which was related to nitrate uptake, thus underscoring the importance of geomorphic influences on stream biogeochemical processes. In addition, changes in geomorphic characteristics due to temporal discharge variation led to complex responses in nitrate uptake. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.