AVGLSTK English utf8 dataset McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER Information Manager im@mcmlter.org pointOfContact 2014-10-29 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - North American Profile Metadata - Data with Biological Extensions ISO 19115-2:2009(E) Average glacier stake height and snow depth measurements, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1993-2020, ongoing) 2014-10-29 publication Michael Gooseff University of Colorado Boulder http://www.colorado.edu/ michael.gooseff@colorado.edu http://goosefflab.weebly.com pointOfContact Andrew Fountain Portland State University http://www.pdx.edu (503) 725-3386 P.O. Box 751 Portland OR 97207 US andrew@pdx.edu http://glaciers.pdx.edu/fountain/ pointOfContact documentDigital As part of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, a systematic sampling program has been undertaken to monitor glacial mass balance and meltwater flow. This data package includes stake height and snow depth measurements to the surface of six glaciers (Canada, Commonwealth, Hughes, Suess, Howard, and Taylor) in Taylor Valley and one glacier (Adams) in Miers Valley, all of which are located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Most measurements began during the 93-94 field season. Adams measurements were established during the 14-15 field season. Measurements are ongoing except at Hughes and Suess Glaciers where monitoring ceased following the 08-09 field season. Monitoring the changes in these measurements over time provides a record of mass balance, and aids in determining the role of glaciers in the polar hydrologic cycle. The goal of each summer season is to take measurements in early spring (Oct/Nov) and late summer (late January). This provides a measure of seasonal winter/summer changes of glacier mass. Name: Anna J. Bergstrom Role: field technician Name: Renée F. Brown Role: data manager Name: Adam Wlostowski Role: former field crew Name: Hassan Basagic Role: former field crew Name: Thomas Nylen Role: former field crew Name: Inigo San Gil Role: former data manager Name: Chris Gardner Role: former data manager Name: Denise Steigerwald Role: former data manager completed McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER Information Manager im@mcmlter.org pointOfContact unknown Data for the original stake height and snow depth measurements, as well as the averages and standard deviations was submitted by Andrew G. Fountain to the data manager in August, 1997. The column showing "file name" identifies the original file containing that record. These provenance ascii text files and can be found by the data manager's office. Once submitted to INSTAAR, the data manager used Microsoft Excel and Access software to produce files that were in more of a relational mode. Information was assigned to different files according to type of data it dealt with. Separate files were generated for: * stake height replications, * snow depth replications, and * averages/standard deviations calculated from stake height and snow depth replications. In March, 2000, Thomas Nylen submitted data from the 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons. Instead of lumping all of the stake height and snow depth values for each glacier under one file, they were separated into files for each glacier. Metadata fields were also updated at this time. In April, 2000, Denise Steigerwald added fields for dataset code and glstkid. Dataset code would allow the data to be linked to the metadata in a relational database. Glstkid is a code that ties stake records to points on a GIS base map being developed by Michael Prentice at the University of New Hampshire. In addition, Denise divided the 'stake' field to 'stake' and 'stk replcmnt' values. The 'stake' value is an ID for a stake in a given location over time, while the 'stk replcmnt' value shows whether the stake is the original(A), the first replacement stake installed(B), the second stake installed(C), and so forth. (Melting on the glacier over time makes installation of replacement stakes necessary.) Since the replacement value is only relevant for the stake heights and snow depths datasets, division of the 'stake' value into separate fields made it more straightforward for grouping data across different datasets (eg. stake heights and snow densities).Metadata was shared in standardized format in 2006, prepared with the help of Chris Gardner and Inigo San Gil.In 2014, metadata was revamped and presented in a friendlier manner using the Drupal Ecological Information Management System on 2015 disturbance theme LTER Core Areas English Located in the Miers Valley, this glacier became object of the MCMLTER program study in 2015. 163.732166290280 163.582477569580 -78.118713184740 -78.097276633989 The Canada Glacier a small glacier flowing south-east into the northern side of Taylor Valley.  The glacier receives less than 10 cm of snowfall annually. Its seasonal melting feeds Lake Hoare to the west and Lake Fryxell to the east. 163.057708740234 162.894287109375 -77.632133483887 -77.598403930664 The Commonwealth glacier flows in a southeasterly direction and enters the northern side of Taylor Valley immediately west of Mount Coleman. Named by the British Antarctic Expedition for the Commonwealth of Australia in the early 1900s.   163.373565673828 163.197784423828 -77.589111328125 -77.545059204102 Howard is a small alpine glacier just west of Crescent Glacier, flowing into Taylor Valley on the north from the Kukri Hills. Geologist T.L. Pewe studied and named it for Arthur D. Howard, 163.147994995117 163.036087036133 -77.687744140625 -77.662025451660 Hughes Glacier is a small alpine glacier flowing toward Lake Bonney in Taylor Valley from the Kukri Hills on the south. Named for Professor McKenny Hughes. 162.581527709961 162.437667846680 -77.749969482422 -77.727073669434 The Suess Glacier is between the Canada Glacier and Lacroix Glacier, flowing south into Taylor Valley. Scott named after the early nineties British Antarctic Expedition for Professor Eduard Suess. 162.744598388672 162.647781372070 -77.651824951172 -77.633750915527 The Taylor Glacier is an Antarctic glacier about 54 kilometres (34 mi) long, flowing from the plateau of Victoria Land into the western end of Taylor Valley, north of the Kukri Hills, south of the Asgard Range. The middle part of the glacier is bounded on the south by Beacon Valley.Scott (early nineties British Antarctic expedition) named the glacier for Griffith Taylor, geologist and leader of the Western Journey Party of the British Antarctic expedition.Like other glaciers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Taylor Glacier is “cold-based,” meaning its bottom is frozen to the ground below.   162.280426025391 161.683044433594 -77.769035339355 -77.721229553223 ground condition 1993-10-22 2020-01-30                  In some circumstances we have the opportunity or need to measure the glaciers in mid-season (Dec).                   View the dates the measurements were made at the following URL: http://mcmlter.lternet.edu/data/glaciers/timing/stkdates.pdf              https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-adams-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv ADAAVGLSTK eng; US McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER ADAAVGLSTK Data Source Definition : Adams Glacier - Average Stake Heights & Snow Depths Record Delimiter : \n Number of Header Lines : 1 Number of Footer Lines : 1 Orientation : Column Quote Character : "Field Delimiter : , false DATASET CODE Code representing average stake heights, snow depths dataset GLACIER NAME OF GLACIER WHERE MEASUREMENT WAS MADE STAKE UNIQUE NUMBER FOR EACH STAKE ON GLACIER STAKE_REPLCMNT Letter corresponding to original and replacement stakes (A = original, B = first replacement, C = second replacement etc.) DATE_TIME DATE OF DATA MEASUREMENT Date Time Format: MM/DD/YYYY SURFACE Surface material to which measurement is made SNOW_DEPTH_AVG Average depth of snow covering ice (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured snow depths (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_COMMENTS Comments regarding snow depth measurements STK_HT_AVG Average distance from top of stake to the glacier surface (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured stake heights (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_COMMENTS Comments regarding stake height measurements GLSTKID CODE FROM GLACIER / STAKE/ DATE OF COORDINATE MEASUREMENT (TO BE USED FOR GIS MAPPING) FILE NAME RAW DATA FILE CONTAINING INFORMATION DBF https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-adams-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-canada-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv CANAVGLSTK eng; US McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER CANAVGLSTK Data Source Definition : Canada Glacier - Average Stake Heights & Snow Depths Record Delimiter : \n Number of Header Lines : 1 Number of Footer Lines : 1 Orientation : Column Quote Character : "Field Delimiter : , false DATASET CODE Code representing average stake heights, snow depths dataset GLACIER NAME OF GLACIER WHERE MEASUREMENT WAS MADE STAKE UNIQUE NUMBER FOR EACH STAKE ON GLACIER STAKE_REPLCMNT Letter corresponding to original and replacement stakes (A = original, B = first replacement, C = second replacement etc.) DATE_TIME DATE OF DATA MEASUREMENT Date Time Format: MM/DD/YYYY SURFACE Surface material to which measurement is made SNOW_DEPTH_AVG Average depth of snow covering ice (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured snow depths (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_COMMENTS Comments regarding snow depth measurements STK_HT_AVG Average distance from top of stake to the glacier surface (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured stake heights (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_COMMENTS Comments regarding stake height measurements GLSTKID CODE FROM GLACIER / STAKE/ DATE OF COORDINATE MEASUREMENT (TO BE USED FOR GIS MAPPING) FILE NAME RAW DATA FILE CONTAINING INFORMATION DBF https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-canada-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-common-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv COMAVGLSTK eng; US McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER COMAVGLSTK Data Source Definition : Commonwealth Glacier - Average Stake Heights & Snow Depths Record Delimiter : \n Number of Header Lines : 1 Number of Footer Lines : 1 Orientation : Column Quote Character : "Field Delimiter : , false DATASET CODE Code representing average stake heights, snow depths dataset GLACIER NAME OF GLACIER WHERE MEASUREMENT WAS MADE STAKE UNIQUE NUMBER FOR EACH STAKE ON GLACIER STAKE_REPLCMNT Letter corresponding to original and replacement stakes (A = original, B = first replacement, C = second replacement etc.) DATE_TIME DATE OF DATA MEASUREMENT Date Time Format: MM/DD/YYYY SURFACE Surface material to which measurement is made SNOW_DEPTH_AVG Average depth of snow covering ice (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured snow depths (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_COMMENTS Comments regarding snow depth measurements STK_HT_AVG Average distance from top of stake to the glacier surface (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured stake heights (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_COMMENTS Comments regarding stake height measurements GLSTKID CODE FROM GLACIER / STAKE/ DATE OF COORDINATE MEASUREMENT (TO BE USED FOR GIS MAPPING) FILE NAME RAW DATA FILE CONTAINING INFORMATION DBF https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-common-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-howard-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv HOWAVGLSTK eng; US McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER HOWAVGLSTK Data Source Definition : Howard Glacier - Average Stake Heights & Snow Depths Record Delimiter : \n Number of Header Lines : 1 Number of Footer Lines : 1 Orientation : Column Quote Character : "Field Delimiter : , false DATASET CODE Code representing average stake heights, snow depths dataset GLACIER Name of the glacier STAKE Unique number for each stake on glacier STAKE_REPLCMNT Letter corresponding to original and replacement stakes (A = original, B = first replacement, C = second replacement etc.) DATE_TIME Date sample was collected Date Time Format: mm/dd/yyyy SURFACE Surface material to which measurement is made SNOW_DEPTH_AVG Average depth of snow covering ice (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured snow depths (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_COMMENTS Comments regarding snow depth measurements STK_HT_AVG Average distance from top of stake to the glacier surface (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured stake heights (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_COMMENTS Comments regarding stake height measurements GLSTKID CODE FROM GLACIER / STAKE/ DATE OF COORDINATE MEASUREMENT (TO BE USED FOR GIS MAPPING) FILE NAME Raw data file containing information DBF https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-howard-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-taylor-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv TAYAVGLSTK eng; US McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER TAYAVGLSTK Data Source Definition : Taylor Glacier - Average Stake Heights & Snow Depths Record Delimiter : \n Number of Header Lines : 1 Number of Footer Lines : 1 Orientation : Column Quote Character : "Field Delimiter : , false DATASET CODE Code representing average stake heights, snow depths dataset GLACIER NAME OF GLACIER WHERE MEASUREMENT WAS MADE STAKE Unique number for each stake on glacier STK_REPLCMNT Letter corresponding to original and replacement stakes (A = original, B = first replacement, C = second replacement etc.) DATE_TIME Date of sample Date Time Format: mm/dd/yyyy SURFACE Surface material to which measurement is made SNOW_DEPTH_AVG Average depth of snow covering ice (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured snow depths (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_COMMENTS Comments regarding snow depth measurements STK_HT_AVG Average distance from top of stake to the glacier surface (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured stake heights (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_COMMENTS Comments regarding stake height measurements GLSTKID CODE FROM GLACIER / STAKE/ DATE OF COORDINATE MEASUREMENT (TO BE USED FOR GIS MAPPING) FILE NAME Name of file in which data was submitted DBF https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/mcmlter-glac-taylor-stkht_snowdpt-avg-20220224.csv https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/HUGHAVGLSTK.csv HUGH_AVGLSTK eng; US McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER HUGH_AVGLSTK Data Source Definition : Hughes Glacier - Average Stake Heights & Snow Depths Record Delimiter : \n Number of Header Lines : 1 Number of Footer Lines : 1 Orientation : Column Quote Character : "Field Delimiter : , false DATASET_CODE Code representing average stake heights, snow depths dataset GLACIER NAME OF GLACIER WHERE MEASUREMENT WAS MADE STAKE UNIQUE NUMBER FOR EACH STAKE ON GLACIER STK_REPLCMNT Letter corresponding to original and replacement stakes (A = original, B = first replacement, C = second replacement etc.) DATE_TIME DATE OF DATA MEASUREMENT Date Time Format: MM/DD/YYYY SURFACE Surface material to which measurement is made SNOW_DEPTH_AVG Average depth of snow covering ice (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured snow depths (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_COMMENTS Comments regarding snow depth measurements STK_HT_AVG Average distance from top of stake to the glacier surface (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured stake heights (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_COMMENTS Comments regarding stake height measurements GLSTKID CODE FROM GLACIER / STAKE/ DATE OF COORDINATE MEASUREMENT (TO BE USED FOR GIS MAPPING) FILE NAME RAW DATA FILE CONTAINING INFORMATION DBF https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/HUGHAVGLSTK.csv https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/SUES_AVGLSTK.csv SUES_AVGLSTK eng; US McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER SUES_AVGLSTK Data Source Definition : Suess Glacier - Average Stake Heights & Snow Depths Record Delimiter : \n Number of Header Lines : 28 Number of Footer Lines : 1 Orientation : Column Quote Character : "Field Delimiter : , false DATASET CODE Code representing average stake heights, snow depths dataset GLACIER NAME OF GLACIER WHERE MEASUREMENT WAS MADE STAKE UNIQUE NUMBER FOR EACH STAKE ON GLACIER STAKE_REPLCMNT Letter corresponding to original and replacement stakes (A = original, B = first replacement, C = second replacement etc.) DATE_TIME DATE OF DATA MEASUREMENT Date Time Format: MM/DD/YYYY SURFACE Surface material to which measurement is made SNOW_DEPTH_AVG Average depth of snow covering ice (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured snow depths (calculated from 1-8 replications) SNOW_DEPTH_COMMENTS Comments regarding snow depth measurements STK_HT_AVG Average distance from top of stake to the glacier surface (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_STD_DEV Standard deviation for measured stake heights (calculated from 1-8 replications) STK_HT_COMMENTS Comments regarding stake height measurements GLSTKID CODE FROM GLACIER / STAKE/ DATE OF COORDINATE MEASUREMENT (TO BE USED FOR GIS MAPPING) FILE NAME RAW DATA FILE CONTAINING INFORMATION DBF https://mcm.lternet.edu/sites/default/files/data/SUES_AVGLSTK.csv dataset 2014-15 SEASONAL NOTES by Adam Wlostovski   Canada Glacier   Canada Glacier ablation stakes, notebook copy   11/17/2014 - Upper Canada stake measurements made with Rene N. Hiked up from LH around 0930, returned around 15:00   #41c: 138.0, 138.4, 138.0, 138.0 cm crusty, wind blow snow accumulated locally around the stake snow depth approximately 8cm, but only too a single depth measurement snow is tough and crusty, uniform composition throughout single density measurement in middle of pack: 0.34 g/cm^3   #41b: 163.1, 162, 163.6, 163.7 cm ice surface, no snow immediately at the base of the stake. However wind-blown snow crusts are near and around the stake area. Ice surface slopes gently E-W   #42: 153.4, 153.5, 153.2, 153.1 cm ice surface, no snow   #43: 129.3, 129.3, 129.8, 129.7 cm ice surface, no snow   #44: 113.7, 113.7, 113.8, 113.8 cm wind crusted snow at stake base snow depth - 6.5 cm, but only one depth measurement was made snow density = 0.28 g/cm^3, only one sample taken, uniform composition throughout pack   #45: 132.1, 132.3, 132.5, 132.5 cm thin wind crust of snow around stake, but not immediately at base depth of snow around base place: 2, 1.3, 2.0, 0 cm no snow density measurement made, but estimated at 0.28 g/cm^3   #46: 133.7 133.5 134.3 134.5 cm wind blow, crusty snow around base of stake depth of snow around baseplate: 5.7, 4.4, 5.4, 1 cm pit dug north of stake to a depth of 5.8 cm snow density = 0.22 g/cm^3, only room for one density sample, uniform composition of pack   #47: 165.4, 165.6, 165.9, 165.6 cm ice surface, no snow ** need to insert a new stake in January   #48 (older): 178.7, 178.5, 178.7, 178.8 cm snow around base of stake, wind blown crust depth of snow measured around baseplate: 18.4, 14, 13.5, 18 cm snow pit dug. Total pit depth 18.3 cm. 0 cm @ ice surface, 18.3 cm @ top of pit 18.3 - 17 cm: unconsolidated sugary snow, not enough for density measurement, estimated to be 0.2 g/cm^3. 17.3 - 0 cm: uniform snow consistency and texture, density measurement made, density = 0.27 g/cm^3 the rather deep snow accumulation here on an east facing slope, uniform consistency, no apparent layering indicates accumulation during a single wind event frome the west.    #48 (newly inserted): 139.6, 139.6, 139.4, 139.5 cm ice surface, no snow immediately at base of stake, but wind blown snow is noted in the area   #49: 205.9, 205.5, 205.7, 205.7 cm no snow at stake location, but board was placed within a large cryoconite hole depth from lip of croconite hole to frozen bottom: 5.2, 3.8, 5.8, 6,0 cm ** needs to be replaced during next vist!!   #50: 162.2, 162.0, 162.9, 162.8 cm ice surface, no snow   #51: 191, 190.5, 190.8, 191.2 cm stake is in a melt hole, so the board was positioned on top of the hole lying on the edges depth from hole edges to bottom: 14, 15.5, 11.3 cm ** needs to be replaced during next vist!!   11/19/2014 - Lower portion of the Canada Glacier with Rene Nefke and Alasdair Turner Sunny, clear skies, very beautiful day   #52: 191.9, 192.3, 192.9, 192.4 cm snow depth: 0.8 cm of freshly fallen snow, density estimated at 0.15 g/cm^3   #53D: 201.8, 201.9, 201.8, 202.1 cm plate divit: 0.2, 0.3, 0.1, 0 cm snow depth 1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.5 cm freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3   #53E (newly inserted): 120.3, 120.7, 120.8, 120.8    #54E: 139.0, 138.6, 138.5, 139.0 cm snow depth: 0.5, 0.4, 0.5, 0.5 cm freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3 plate divit - no remarks noted.    #55E: 127.5, 128.5, 127.9, 127.5 cm plate divit: 0.3, 0.3, 0, 0 cm snow depth 0.3, 0.7, 0.5, 0.5 cm freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3 stake located in a melt channel that seems to drain towards Green Creek   #65E: 224.2, 223.9, 224.4, 224.3 cm plate divit: 0.3, 0.1, 0, 0 cm snow depth: 0.7, 0.6, 0.2, 0.2 cm freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3   #65F: 27.1, 27.3, 27.5, 27.2 cm plate divit 0, 0, 0, 0 cm snow depth: 0.3, 0.6, 0.2, 0.2 cm freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3   #56F: 209.9, 210.2, 210.5, 210.0 cm plate divit: 0.2, 0, 0, 0 cm snow depth: 1.1, 0.8, 1.1, 0.6 cm snow material - no comment made, but assume freshly fallen snow   #56E: 52.7, 52.7, 52.9, 53.1 cm snow depth; 0.9, 1, 0.9, 0.9  plate divit: none * board is not on level surface, but rather lying 7cm from the ice-stake transition. So, the board wad definitely not lying directly on the snow. How to account for this?   #64E: 59.9, 59.8, 59.8, 59.9 cm board divit 0.2, 0, 0, 0 cm snow depth 0.5, 0.4, 0.5, 0.2 freshly fallen snow, density estimated 0.15 g/cm^3   Commonwealth   Commonwealth Glacier ablation stake measurements - November 2014   11/18/2014 - Accumulation zone with Alisdair Turner (MCM FSTP)   #13C (shorter stake) - 17.1, 18, 17.9, 17.2 cm #13A (?) (longer, broken stake): 64.6, 64.3, 64.5, 64.3 snow pit - surface @ 45cm, bottom @ 20cm wind-blown crusted snow at surface 43.33.5 - unconsolidated sugar, density = 0.23 g/cm^3 33.5 - 28.0 hard slab, density = 0.23 g/cm^3 28 - bottom tough slab, density = 0.3 g/cm^3   #23B: 145.7, 145.8, 145.5, 145.0 cm plate divit: 0.5, 0.2, 0.1, 0 cm surface faceted crystals present on solid, crusty surface snow snow pit - surface @ 35.3, bottom @ 0 cm 35.3 - 35 - surface facets, estimated density = 0.15 g/cm^3 35- 23 very tough, density >0.32 g/cm^3 (incomplete sample) 23 - 0 loose sugar, density = 0.28 g/cm^3   #22D: 28.9, 29.0, 28.8, 29.0 cm plate divit: 0.7, 0, 0, 0 cm snow pit - surface @ 35 cm, bottom @ 2cm 35-34 - surface faceting, density estimated @ 0.15 g/cm^3 24-30.5 - tough slab, density = 0.35 g/cm^3 30.5-14.5 - wind blown snow, not as tough as layer above, density = 0.29 g/cm^3 14.5-2 - tough slab, density = 0.26 g/cm^3   #20B: 28.9, 29.0, 29.3, 28.9 cm #20C: 124.1, 123.8, 123.7, 124.2 cm snow pit - surface @ 47cm, bottom @ 13 cm 46.7 - 47 surface facets, density estimated at 0.15 g/cm^3 46.7 - 36 tough layer, density = 0.27 g/cm^3 36 - 33 tough layer, density not measured 33 - 13 loose sugar, density = 0.26 g/cm^3   #21E: 171.5, 170.9, 171.0, 171.6 cm plate divit: 0.1, 0, 0, 0 cm snow pit - surface @19.8 cm, bottom at 58 cm only one continuous layer was observed thoughout, density = 0.28 g/cm^3 * #21D was not observed, must have been buried    #19C: 55.9, 56.2, 56.3, 56.2 cm very crusty, smooth, wind blown surface snow pit - top @ 51cm, bottom @ 21 cm 51-50 - surface facets, density estimated @ 0.15 g/cm^3 50-44 - very tough layer, density = 0.29 g/cm^3 44-37 - consolidated sugar, density = 0.28 g/cm^3 37-21 - unconsolidated sugar, density = 0.25 g/cm^3   #18C: 58.5, 58.4, 58.8, 58.6 cm plate divot - 0.2, 0.2, 0, 0 cm snow pit - surface @ 18cm, bottom @ 1cm 18-15.5 surface crust, density = 0.29 g/cm^3 15.5-8 consolidated sugar, density = 0.32 g/cm^3 8-7.5 crust, no density measurement 7.5-1 consolidated sugar, density = 0.26 g/cm^3   #17B: 112.1, 112.4, 112.7, 112.1 cm snow pit - surface @67.5 bottom @ 39 cm 67.5-59 medium consilidated sugar, density = 0.23 59-51 tough slab, density = 0.35 g/cm^3 51-39 loosely consolidated sugar, density = 0.23 g/cm^3   #15: 57.5, 57.6, 57.7, 57.5 cm snow pit, top @ 29.5, bottom @ 0 cm 29.5-28.5 surface facets, density estimated at 0.15 g/cm^3 28.5-25 tough slab, density not measured 25-17 consolidated sugar, density = 0.24 17-6.5 poorly consolidated sugar, density = 0.19 g/cm^3 6.5-0 consolidated sugar, density not measured.    #14: 164.6, 164.9, 164.6, 164.3 cm ice surface, windblown crust in region of stake, but not immediately at stake bottom   #12: 58.6, 58.6, 58.7, 58.7 cm ice surface, some wind blown snow around stake but not immedately at stake bottom   11/20/2014 - Ablation zone with Alasdair Turner. Cloudy, cold (-18 C), and windy (25 mph, up valley) at the beginning of the day (started at 09:30). Clouds broke and sun came out by 11:30 or 12:00.    #11B (older): 207.2, 206.8, 206.0, 206.4 cm plate divit: 0.5, 0.3, 0.3, 0 cm snow depth: 4, 4.7, 3, 3 cm snow pit dug north of stake, depth of pit = 10cm, all a single layer of windblown crusty fragmented snow density = 0.33 g/cm^3   #11C: 89.9, 90.1, 90.3, 90.1 cm plate divit: 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.4 cm snow depth: 10.5, 16.0, 8.7, 8.4 cm snow pit: top @ 12 cm, bottom @ 0cm 12-5.5, density = 0.27 g/cm^3 5.5-0, density = 0.21 g/cm^3   #10C: 93.5, 94.0, 93.5, 93.4 cm plate divit: 0, 0.3, 0.2, 0.2 cm ice surface is sloped from N - S snow depth: 0.3, 0.5, 0.5, 2.4 cm - surface hoar crystals density estimate - 0.1 g/cm^3   #10B: 204.2, 204.2, 203.6, 204.2 cm snow depth: 1.4, 0.2, 0.2, 0.3 cm - surface hoar crystals plate divit 0.3, 0, 0, 0 cm ice surface slopes from W - E   #9B: 215.1, 215.9, 216.3, 215.0 cm plate divit: 0.4, 0, 0, 0 cm snow depth: 0.4, 0.5, 0, 0 cm - surface hoar crystals   #9C (newly installed!): 120.8, 120.8, 121.0, 120.9 located aprox 30m upslope of #9B no snow depth measurements because snow was disturbed during drilling, however a fine layer of surface hoar crystals was observed prior to the onset of drilling.    #6: 91.4, 91.7, 91.6, 91.4 cm plate divit: 0.4, 0.3, 0.7, 0 cm snow depth: 11.5, 19.1, 17.5, 23.5 cm snow pit: surface @ 9.5 cm, bottom at 0 cm all a single layer, density = 0.32 g/cm^3 tough layer, rounded edges of grains indicate pervious melting, thin layer of surface hoar at the top.    #78: 103.4, 103.5, 103.4, 103.3 cm plate divit: 0.5, 0, 0, 0.1 cm snow depth: 1, 0.5, 0.4, 0.2 cm - surface hoar crystals   #8: 88.0, 88.2, 88.0, 87.8 cm plate divit: none snow depth: 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0 cm - surface hoar crystals   #7: 107.5 107.6, 107.6, 107.5 cm plate divit 0.1, 0, 0, 0 cm snow depth: 0.2 0.2, 0, 0 cm - surface hoar crystals surface is mostly blue ice   #77: 126.4, 126.5, 126.5, 126.4 cm no snow present, only blue ice   #5: 116.5, 116.0, 115.5, 116.0 cm plate divit: 0, 0, 0, 0.3 cm snow depth: 0.2, 0.5, 0.4, 0.2 cm - surface hoar crystals   Howard Glacier   Howard Glacier mass balance stake heights  November 2014   11/21/2014 with Alasdair Turner clear skies, very sunny, little wind, -10 C   #26: 110.5, 110.6, 110.4, 110.2 cm plate divit: 1, 1.5, 1.5, 1.0 cm snow pit: top @ 50 cm, bottom @ 20 cm 50-48 surface facets and hoar crystals 48-45 dense tough crusty layer, density = 0.27 g/cm^3 45-42 loose sugar, density = 0.16 g/cm^3 42-39 hard crust, density = 0.27 g/cm^3 39-33 loose sugar, density not measured   #25D: 141.3, 141.3, 141.4, 141.7 cm plate divit: 0.5, 1.0, 0.5, 1.6 cm snow pit top @ 8.5 cm, bottom at 0 cm * only able to dig 8.5 cm snow pit before hitting an icy layer, which we were unable to penetrate with the shovel 8.5-7.0 surface facets and hoar crystals 7-0 super dense crust, density = 0.38 g/cm^3   #25C: 23.1, 23.0, 23.0, 22.9 cm plate divit: 1.0, 0.5, 0.3, 0.5   #24B: 97.8, 98.2, 98.2, 98.0 cm plate divit: 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 1.0 cm snow pit, top @ 16 cm, bottom @ 0 cm 16-14.5 surface facets and hoar crystals 14.5-7.5 very tough wind blown snow, density not sampled b/c too tough, estimate 0.38 7.5-0 loose sugar melt forms, density = 0.32 g/cm^3   #57A: 112.1, 112.0, 111.6, 111.4 cm plate divit: 1.1, 0.9, 1.1, 0 cm snow pit: top @ 11 cm, bottom @ 0 cm 11-8.5 surface facets and hoar crystals 8.5-6.5 lightly consolidated wind layer combined dnesity of above layers = 0.27 g/cm^3 6.5-3.5 dense tough wind layer, density = 0.39 g/cm^3 3.5-0 light, loose sugar, density = 0.23 g/cm^4   #27A: 184.0, 183.9, 183.4, 184.0 cm plate divit: 0.2, 0.5, 0, 0 cm snow depths; 1, 1, 1, 2.5 cm loose surface facets and hoar crystals stake located within the ice snow transition zone ** beware, Alasdair considers this stake to be in a crevassed zone **    #28B: 103.9, 103.9, 104.0, 104.0 cm plate divit: 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.2 cm snow depth: 1, 1, 1, 1 cm loose surface facets and hoar crystals, estimate density as 0.1 g/cm^3   #29B: 106.8, 106.8, 107.2, 107.1 cm plate divit 0.2, 0, 0, 0 cm snow depth: 1, 0.8, 1, 0.5 cm loose surface facets and hoar crystals, estimate density as 0.1 g/cm^3   #30B: 124.5, 125.1, 124.4, 124.9 cm plate divit 0.2, 0.2, 0.2, 0.2 cm snow depth: 1, 1, 1, 1 cm loose, wind transported fragmented snow   #31D: 220.5, 221.0, 221.2, 222.1 cm plate divit: 1, 0.5, 0.5, 0 cm snow depth: 1, 0.5, 1, 1 cm loose surface facets and hoar crystals, estimate density as 0.1 g/cm^3   #31E (newly inserted): 113.9, 113.4, 113.2, 113.8 cm  newly installed stake, no snow depths taken because site was disturbed during drilling. However, the snow present before drilling was similar to that at 31D   #33C: 146.3, 145.9, 146.6, 147.2 cm plate divit: 0.7, 0.5, 0.5, 0 cm snow depths: 5.8, 2.5, 1, 1 cm loose, wind transported fragmented snow   #34D: 61.0, 58.7, 61.0, 61.4 cm plate divit: 0.5, 0, 0, 0.5 cm snow depth: 0.7, 0.5, 0.7, 0.5 cm   #32D: 148.0, 148.0, 148.1, 148.1 cm plate divit: 0, 0, 0.1, 0 snow depth: 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.7 cm loose, wind blown fragments and hoar crystals   Taylor Glacier   Taylor Glacier mass balance stake observations</span></p>   November 2014   11/22/2014 with Alasdair Turner, dropped off by Paul Murphy mostly clear skies, some high sirrus clouds, sunny, little wind down valley (12 knots), -10 C   #88D (newly inserted): 126.2, 126.2, 126.0, 125.9 cm no divit, blue ice surface, no appreciable amount of snow did not measure 88C as it was too bent to be worthwhile. We measured this stake last year, but never used it to inform the model.      ** note, there was some minor snow accumulation at all sites within the wind formed micro-topography of the glacier surface. This snow was sugary and very mobile in the wind. Never accumulated enough to affect the position of the baseplate on the glacier surface.    #87C: 191.4, 191.6, 191.5, 191.3 cm no divit, blue ice surface, little blown snow ** replace Jan 15   #86C: 159.0, 158.9, 159.3, 159.1 cm no divit, blue ice surface   #85C: found this stake, which we did not find in January. The stake was melted-in and nearly completely lying on its side. We removed it from the ice and returned it to camp   #85D (newly inserted): 119.4, 119.4, 120.2, 120.0 cm no plate divit, blue ice surface    #83E: 71.5, 71.7, 71.6, 71.6 cm no plate divit, blue ice surface   #84D: 121.6, 121.6, 121.7, 121.5 cm no plate divit, blue ice surface   #82E: stake not found. Last November (2013) this stake was on the cliff of a drainage channel. The stake was likely lost into the channel. Should we replace this site? Let M. Gooseff decide.    Metadata Access Constraints: none Metadata Use Constraints: none annually McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER http://mcmlter.org/ pointOfContact