Water Pressure under a Glacier

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Abstract
Observations in a deep mine working which reached the base of a valley glacier some 150 m. below the ice surface indicated an initial cold and impervious condition at and near the ice–rock contact. Later, however, an excellent hydraulic connection with free water in the upper layers of the glacier was established, perhaps by the thawing of a passage upward through the ice by warm water escaping from the mine. Subsequent records of water levels, or of water pressures, within the mine, reflecting conditions in the upper part of the glacier, show periods of moderately steady conditions, at times showing slight diurnal fluctuations, interrupted by irregular and catastrophic surges, particularly during periods of rapid snow melt and heavy rains. A seasonal cycle in pressure is suggested by the record.

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