| Title | A tidewater glacier landform assemblage in Belcher Inlet, Canadian Arctic
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| Author | Batchelor, C L; Dowdeswell, J A; Dowdeswell, E K; Todd, B J ; Sharp, M J |
| Source | Atlas of Submarine Glacial Landforms: Modern, Quaternary, and Ancient; by Dowdeswell, J A (ed.); Canals, M (ed.); Jakobsson, M (ed.); Dowdeswell, E K (ed.); Hogan, K A (ed.); Geological Society Memoir no.
46, 2016 p. 155-158, https://doi.org/10.1144/M46.146 |
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| Year | 2016 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20150042 |
| Publisher | Geological Society of London |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Northern offshore region; Nunavut |
| NTS | 48H |
| Area | Belcher Inlet; Belcher Glacier |
| Lat/Long WENS | -81.4167 -80.6667 75.6833 75.6333 |
| Subjects | marine geology; engineering geology; tides; tidal currents; Belcher Glacier; Fitzroy Glacier |
| Illustrations | location maps; satellite images; bathymetric profiles |
| Program | Public Safety
Geoscience Marine Geohazards |
| Released | 2016 11 30 |
| Abstract | Belcher Glacier, a 35 km long tidewater outlet glacier of the 12 000 km2 ice cap on Devon Island (Dowdeswell et al. 2004), is one of the fastest-flowing glaciers in the Canadian Arctic (Van Wychen et
al. 2014) (Fig. 1). Belcher Glacier and neighbouring Fitzroy Glacier to the southeast account for about 55% of the iceberg calving loss from the Devon Ice Cap (Van Wychen et al. 2014). The terminus of Belcher Glacier remained relatively stable
between the 1960s (light blue dashed line in Fig. 1a) and 2000 (Landsat 7 satellite image in Fig. 1a). In contrast, the unnamed glacier immediately to the north retreated 2 km during this period (Fig. 1a). Belcher Glacier and the unnamed glacier
retreated around 500 and 250 m, respectively, between 2000 and 2014 (dark blue dashed line in Fig. 1a). The bed topography of Belcher Glacier, which is around 250 m below sea level at the present-day glacier margin (Fig. 1c) and remains below sea
level in the lower 11 km of the glacier, suggests that its terminus region may become unstable in the event of future retreat. Seafloor mapping of Belcher Inlet beyond the termini of Belcher Glacier and the unnamed glacier (Fig. 1a), together with
sub-bottom profiling, provide information about the dynamic behaviour of tidewater glaciers. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Belcher Glacier, a 35 km-long tidewater outlet glacier of the 12,000 km2 ice cap on Devon Island, is one of the fastest-flowing glaciers in the Canadian
Arctic. Belcher Glacier and neighbouring Fitzroy Glacier to the southeast account for about 55% of the iceberg calving loss from the Devon Ice Cap. The terminus of Belcher Glacier remained relatively stable between the 1960s and 2000. In contrast,
the unnamed glacier immediately to the north retreated 2 km during this period. Belcher Glacier and the unnamed glacier retreated around 500 m and 250 m, respectively, between 2000 and 2014. The bed topography of Belcher Glacier is around 250 m below
sea level at the present-day glacier, suggesting that its terminus region may become unstable in the event of future retreat. Seafloor mapping of Belcher Inlet beyond the termini of Belcher Glacier and the unnamed glacier, together with sub-bottom
profiling, provide information about the dynamic behaviour of tidewater glaciers. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 296402 |
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