Abstract:

In the Southern Hemisphere summer of 1985-1986, several shallow boreholes (mostly 10 m and deeper) were drilled on the glaciers in Nelson Island and King George Island, which are near the Great Wall Station, Antarctica. Temperature measurement in them and analysis show that temperature at 10 m depth is a little lower than -1℃ in the abla tion area and close to or at 0C in the accumulation area except in the central part of King George Island Ice Gap, where elevation is about 680 m and temperature at 10 m is estima ted to be around -5℃. Based on the estimates of temperature distribution in the active layer or the near-surface layer, temperature regime of the deep layer is discussed qualitatively. The author concludes that temperature regime of the glaciers in this region is very different than that in the cold glaciers of the higher latitudes but it is not the same as in the temperate glaciers of the lower latitudes. The glaciers in this region are mostly temperate. However,if the altitude is higher such as in the central part of King George Island Ice Cap, the ice will become cold and is frozen to the bed because temperature in the active layer is lower due to decrease in air temperature and surface melting with increasing elevation, and ice thickness is not large.