Investigation of the process of debris entrainment and till deposition of the Taylor Glacier

Ice temperature measurements were taken from two holes in the glacier to depths of 17.5 and 15m. Supraglacial pebble sampling was undertaken at 33 sites on the glacier in an attempt to determine whether various lithologies have differing rates of breakdown under the processes of fast shattering and freeze thaw. Englacial and proglacial pebble samples were collected to determine the degree of rounding and/or facetting on pebbles of different lithologies.

Ice samples were collected and sectioned and described to determine general trends in the petrography between various types of ice, which will be related to the origins of englacial debris and clean ice layers. Gravity profiles were carried out perpendicular to the flow the Taylor Glacier with 90 stations occupied. In the 1977-1978 season, ice velocity, ablation and temperature measurements were again measured.

A study of basal ice along the margins of the Taylor Glacier revealed englacial sediment concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 60 percent. Movement of this basal debris-rich ice was measured. Further englacial and proglacial sediment sampling was undertaken and basic textural sediment analysis was completed to determine different sedimentary environments from sedimentological characteristics.

In the 1978-1979 season, an early trip was made to the Taylor Glacier to complete the englacial sediment sampling and to observe englacial structures before the melt bagan. This was extended to investigate the dry valley alpine glaciers including the Rhone, Sykes, Albreich and Sandy Glaciers. Comparisons were made of the englacial sediment textures, ice structures and the products of deposition and these indicate that the mechanisms of debris incorporation for these glaciers differ from the Taylor Glacier.