%0 Journal Article %J Journal of Glaciology %D 2016 %T Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica %A Andrew G Fountain %A Hassan J. Basagic %A Niebuhr, Spencer %K Antarctica %K glaciers %K mass balance %X

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a cold, dry polar desert and the alpine glaciers therein exhibit small annual and seasonal mass balances, often <±0.06 m w.e. Typically, winter is the accumulation season, but significant snow storms can occur any time of year occasionally making summer the accumulation season. The yearly equilibrium line altitude is poorly correlated with mass balance because the elevation gradient of mass balance on each glacier can change dramatically from year to year. Most likely, winds redistribute the light snowfall disrupting the normal gradient of increasing mass balance with elevation. Reconstructed cumulative mass balance shows that the glaciers have lost <2 m w.e. over the past half century and area changes show minimal retreat. In most cases these changes are less than the uncertainty and the glaciers are considered in equilibrium. Since 2000, however, the glaciers have lost mass despite relatively stable summer air temperatures suggesting a different mechanism in play. Whether this trend is a harbinger of future changes or a temporary excursion is unclear.

%B Journal of Glaciology %V 62 %P 976 - 989 %8 07/2016 %G eng %U https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143016000861 %N 235 %! J. Glaciol. %R 10.1017/jog.2016.86 %0 Journal Article %J Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research %D 2013 %T Do Cryoconite Holes have the Potential to be Significant Sources of C, N, and P to Downstream Depauperate Ecosystems of Taylor Valley, Antarctica? %A Bagshaw, Elizabeth %A Martyn Tranter %A Andrew G Fountain %A Kathleen A. Welch %A Hassan J. Basagic %A W. Berry Lyons %B Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research %V 45 %P 440 - 454 %8 11/2013 %G eng %N 4 %R 10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.440 %0 Journal Article %J Geomorphology %D 2012 %T Aeolian flux of biotic and abiotic material in Taylor Valley, Antarctica %A Marie Šabacká %A John C. Priscu %A Hassan J. Basagic %A Andrew G Fountain %A Diana H. Wall %A Ross A. Virginia %A Mark C. Greenwood %B Geomorphology %V 155-156 %P 102 - 111 %8 6/2012 %G eng %U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X11006222 %R 10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.12.009 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Glaciology %D 2010 %T Dynamic behaviour of supraglacial lakes on cold polar glaciers: Canada Glacier, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica %A Bagshaw, Elizabeth %A Martyn Tranter %A Wadham, J. L. %A Andrew G Fountain %A Hassan J. Basagic %B Journal of Glaciology %V 56 %P 366 - 368 %8 06/2010 %G eng %N 196 %R 10.3189/002214310791968449 %0 Journal Article %J Antarctic Science %D 2010 %T A dynamic physical model for soil temperature and water in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. %A H. W. Hunt %A Andrew G Fountain %A Peter T. Doran %A Hassan J. Basagic %B Antarctic Science %P 419-434 %8 05/13/2010 %G eng %N 22 %9 Journal %R 10.1017/S0954102010000234 %0 Journal Article %J International Journal of Climatology %D 2010 %T Snow in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. %A Andrew G Fountain %A Thomas H. Nylen %A Andrew Monaghan %A Hassan J. Basagic %A David Bromwich %K Biggie %X

Snowfall was measured at 11 sites in the McMurdo Dry Valleys to determine its magnitude, its temporal changes, and spatial patterns. Annual values ranged from 3 to 50 mm water equivalent with the highest values nearest the coast and decreasing inland. A particularly strong spatial gradient exists in Taylor Valley, probably resulting from local uplift conditions at the coastal margin and valley topography that limits migration inland. More snow occurs in winter near the coast, whereas inland no seasonal pattern is discernable. This may be due, again, to local uplift conditions, which are common in winter. We find no influence of the distance to the sea ice edge. Katabatic winds play an important role in transporting snow to the valley bottoms and essentially double the precipitation. That much of the snow accumulation sublimates prior to making a hydrologic contribution underscores the notion that the McMurdo Dry Valleys are indeed an extreme polar desert. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society

%B International Journal of Climatology %V 30 %P 633-642 %8 04/2010 %G eng %N 5 %9 Journal %R 10.1002/joc.1933 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Geophysical Research %D 2007 %T The biogeochemical evolution of cryoconite holes on glaciers in Taylor Valley, Antarctica %A Bagshaw, Elizabeth %A Martyn Tranter %A Andrew G Fountain %A Kathleen A. Welch %A Hassan J. Basagic %A W. Berry Lyons %B Journal of Geophysical Research %V 113 %P G04S35 %G eng %R LTER