Formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical models
One fifth of Earth's volcanoes are covered by snow or ice and many have active geothermal systems that interact with the overlying ice. These glaciovolcanic interactions can melt voids into glaciers, and are subject to controls exerted by ice dynamics and geothermal heat output. Glaciovolcanic...
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Cambridge University Press
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S002214302400008X/type/journal_article |
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| author | Tryggvi Unnsteinsson Gwenn E. Flowers Glyn Williams-Jones |
| author_facet | Tryggvi Unnsteinsson Gwenn E. Flowers Glyn Williams-Jones |
| author_sort | Tryggvi Unnsteinsson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One fifth of Earth's volcanoes are covered by snow or ice and many have active geothermal systems that interact with the overlying ice. These glaciovolcanic interactions can melt voids into glaciers, and are subject to controls exerted by ice dynamics and geothermal heat output. Glaciovolcanic voids have been observed to form prior to volcanic eruptions, which raised concerns when such features were discovered within Job Glacier on Qw̓elqw̓elústen (Mount Meager Volcanic Complex), British Columbia, Canada. In this study we model the formation, evolution, and steady-state morphology of glaciovolcanic voids using analytical and numerical models. Analytical steady-state void geometries show cave height limited to one quarter of the ice thickness, while numerical model results suggest the void height h scales with ice thickness H and geothermal heat flux $\dot {Q}$ as $h/H = a H^b \dot {Q}^c$, with exponents b = −n/2 and c = 1/2 where n is the creep exponent. Applying this scaling to the glaciovolcanic voids within Job Glacier suggests the potential for total geothermal heat flux in excess of 10 MW. Our results show that relative changes in ice thickness are more influential in glaciovolcanic void formation and evolution than relative changes in geothermal heat flux. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e05f30bc259b4839967ab20f0e890d5e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
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| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e05f30bc259b4839967ab20f0e890d5e2025-01-16T21:50:21ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522024-01-017010.1017/jog.2024.8Formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical modelsTryggvi Unnsteinsson0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7009-1954Gwenn E. Flowers1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3574-9324Glyn Williams-Jones2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9862-5444Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6 CanadaDepartment of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6 CanadaDepartment of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6 CanadaOne fifth of Earth's volcanoes are covered by snow or ice and many have active geothermal systems that interact with the overlying ice. These glaciovolcanic interactions can melt voids into glaciers, and are subject to controls exerted by ice dynamics and geothermal heat output. Glaciovolcanic voids have been observed to form prior to volcanic eruptions, which raised concerns when such features were discovered within Job Glacier on Qw̓elqw̓elústen (Mount Meager Volcanic Complex), British Columbia, Canada. In this study we model the formation, evolution, and steady-state morphology of glaciovolcanic voids using analytical and numerical models. Analytical steady-state void geometries show cave height limited to one quarter of the ice thickness, while numerical model results suggest the void height h scales with ice thickness H and geothermal heat flux $\dot {Q}$ as $h/H = a H^b \dot {Q}^c$, with exponents b = −n/2 and c = 1/2 where n is the creep exponent. Applying this scaling to the glaciovolcanic voids within Job Glacier suggests the potential for total geothermal heat flux in excess of 10 MW. Our results show that relative changes in ice thickness are more influential in glaciovolcanic void formation and evolution than relative changes in geothermal heat flux.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S002214302400008X/type/journal_articleglacier modellingglaciological natural hazardsvolcanoes/ice and snow interactions |
| spellingShingle | Tryggvi Unnsteinsson Gwenn E. Flowers Glyn Williams-Jones Formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical models Journal of Glaciology glacier modelling glaciological natural hazards volcanoes/ice and snow interactions |
| title | Formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical models |
| title_full | Formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical models |
| title_fullStr | Formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical models |
| title_short | Formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical models |
| title_sort | formation and persistence of glaciovolcanic voids explored with analytical and numerical models |
| topic | glacier modelling glaciological natural hazards volcanoes/ice and snow interactions |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S002214302400008X/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tryggviunnsteinsson formationandpersistenceofglaciovolcanicvoidsexploredwithanalyticalandnumericalmodels AT gwenneflowers formationandpersistenceofglaciovolcanicvoidsexploredwithanalyticalandnumericalmodels AT glynwilliamsjones formationandpersistenceofglaciovolcanicvoidsexploredwithanalyticalandnumericalmodels |