REGELATION OF ICE THROUGH DEBRIS AT GLACIER BEDS - IMPLICATIONS FOR SEDIMENT TRANSPORT

Results from laboratory experiments show that ice at its melting tempe rature regelated through dense, three-dimensional arrays of clasts abr ading a rock bed. Regelation theory for an isolated, stationary array of clasts successfully approximates periods when ice separated from th e bed, thermal gradients, and clast-bed contact forces, despite the re lative motion of clasts and incoming heat from the bed. The process ma y entrain sediment at glacier beds and restrict deposition to zones wh ere sediment in ice is concentrated, effective pressure is low, and ba sal melting is rapid.