Meltwater storage and its effect on ice-surface velocity, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska

A surface-energy balance model was constructed for the Matanuska Glacier, south central Alaska, for the 1996 and 1997 ablation seasons. The model calculated shortwave, longwave, sensible and latent energy fluxes across the glacier surface for 5423 cells (250 x 250 m) as well as resultant melt. Results of the model show that shortwave energy was the dominant energy source for melting and that the other three fluxes were small and mostly negative. Comparison of meltwater storage derived from modeled melt and measured discharge with ice-surface velocity measurements showed that an increase in meltwater storage is followed by an increase in ice-surface velocity early in the ablation season.