Meltwater cave beneath the termination of Stagnation Glacier (B28)

Location: Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada

Meltwater cave beneath the termination of Stagnation Glacier (B28), (author for scale). The ice above the cave is largely debris-free, except for the significant supraglacial load on its surface, which is melting down to merge eventually with the dense concentration of basal debris exposed in the cave and cave ceiling. I think that the high concentration of supraglacial debris on this glacier is affecting its albedo and, therefore, its heat balance, causing its relatively rapid retreat, compared with nearby glaciers, such as Fountain Glacier (B26), which has barely backed off from its neoglacial limit.

Updated 04/05/2010 AW