A Note on the Effect of A Glacier on the Summer Thermal Climate of an Ice-Marginal Area

Abstract

The development and magnitude of summer air temperature gradients adjacent to the Lewis Glacier, Baffin Island, are shown to be dependent upon wind direction, wind speed, and ambient temperature. During warm days with gentle off-glacier winds, the transfer of cold air from the glacier to the ice-marginal land area caused depression of up to 4.7°C between the maximum temperature near the glacier terminus and locations 1.5 km downvalley; the average depression of maximum temperatures during off-glacier flow was 2.3°C. During periods of on-glacier flow, the terminus environment was only 0.5 to 0.6°C cooler than sites 1.5 km downvalley. Cold air drainage from the glacier also resulted in a high frequency of evening isothermal or inversion conditions within the valley.