Surface and bed topography of Trapridge Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada: digital elevation models and derived hydraulic geometry

Measurements of ice thickness and surface elevation are prerequisite to man y glaciological investigations. A variety of techniques has been developed for interpretation of these data, including means of constructing regularly gridded digital elevation models (DEMs) for use in numerical studies. Here we present a simple yet statistically sound method for processing ice-pene trating radar data and describe a technique for interpolating these data on to a regular grid. DEMs generated for Trapridge Glacier, Yukon Territory, C anada, are used to derive geometric quantities that give preliminary insigh ts into the underlying basin-scale hydrological system. This simple geometr ic analysis suggests that at low water pressures a dendritic drainage netwo rk exists that evolves into a uniaxial morphology as water pressure approac hes flotation. These predictions are compared to hydraulic connection proba bilities based on borehole drilling.