GPR surveys, meteorological and hydrology data from the Joyce, Garwood and Hobbs glaciers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys to investigate glacier-permafrost interactions

Improvement of such models is central to their success in predicting glacier response to climate change. A multifaceted investigation of the hydrology, sedimentology, geochemistry and deformation of proglacial and subglacial permafrost at the margins and beneath cold-based glaciers was investigated at the margins of the Joyce, Garwood and Hobbs Glaciers.

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys of the Joyce, Garwood and Hobbs Glaciers basal zones and moraine was completed. Samples of ice from the basal zones of the Joyce, Garwood and Hobbs glaciers together with ground ice from the upper Garwood Valley was collected and returned to New Zealand for isotopic and solute composition analysis of the ice. Meteorological stations were installed on both the Joyce and Garwood Glaciers to allow detailed examination of the radiation inputs into the glacial system.