The Variation of Corrie Elevation and Equilibrium Line Altitude with Aspect in Eastern Baffin Island, N. W. T., Canada

Abstract

It has been common practice to estimate ice-age climates by calculating the difference in temperature, at an assumed lapse rate, between the elevation of the present snowline and that represented by the lowest corries (cirques) in a region. Such a procedure not only ignores many other factors which may affect corrie glacierization, but is actually incorrect, because the change in snowline for a given temperature change does not depend only on lapse rate. This study suggests that the variation of equilibrium line altitude (ELA) with aspect provides a climatic “signature” supplementary to that of lowest ELA. A method of computing heat and water balances on glaciers from climatic data is described and tested against observations on Baffin Island glaciers. This model is used to estimate ELA as a function of aspect in the Okoa Bay area of Baffin Island, using 1963 to 1972 climatic data, and then for two contrasting climates which have been suggested for early and late stages in the last glaciation. The results are compared with distributions of corrie glaciers and ice-free corries in the area.