Ice Cored Moraine Formation and Degradation, Donjek Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada

Abstract

The ice core of moraines at the terminus of the Donjek glacier is primarily composed of glacier ice and not snow bank ice. The widespread occurence of these ice cored moraines in the area is the result of two main processes, one a shear—push mechanism of buried stagnant ice and the other due to ablation and fluvial deposits accumulating on a stagnant ice wedge being pushed in front of the presently surging glacier. Degradation of these moraines is due to five main processes, all of which are directly related to the occurence of the ice core.