We propose to examine explicitly the role of glacier dynamics
in determining glacial sediment yields through a combination
of techniques from glaciology and marine geology.
Hypothesis: rates of glacial erosion are a function of
sliding speed, and are therefore expected to diminish
sharply as basal temperatures drop below the melting
point.
To test this hypothesis, we will measure both sediment
accumulation rates in fjords and dynamic characteristics
of the glaciers producing the sediments, for six tidewater
glaciers ranging from fast-moving temperate glaciers in
Patagonia to slow-moving polar glaciers on the Antarctic
Peninsula.