Fountain Glacier sceneryThe informal name “Fountain Glacier” comes from the occasional appearance of an artesian spring (fountain) in Aufeis (icing) near the snout. This valley glacier has its own accumulation basin in the Bylot Island icefield. It flows for 17 km and varies from 1.0 to 1.6 km in width, damming a couple of lakes on the way, and terminating in impressive cliffs. Unlike many glaciers on the island, recession has only amounted to 500 m from its most recent, Little Ice Age, moraines, but substantial thinning and loss of accumulation areas was noticeable during an overflight. Our research focused mainly on the lower 2 km of the glacier and the unusually well-developed Aufeis in front. Here we undertook a range of structural, hydrological, geomorphological and sedimentological studies, which the following groups of images illustrate. | |||
 Aerial view of the glacier and its proglacial area, with an extensive area of Aufeis. |  Aerial view of the glacier snout showing trim-lines, water-worn canyons and ice cliffs. |  Aerial view of glacier snout, looking side-on, showing convex profile. Camp visible in foreground. |  The northern (true left) margin of the glacier is characterised by collapsing ice cliffs. |
 View from the glacier snout (greyish ice) over the proglacial area, largely covered with Aufeis. Sermillik Glacier is visible in the background. |  Backlighting emphasises the surface texture of the glacier surface and ice cliffs. |  Above the snout area the glacier gradient is low, and supraglacial streams are well developed. |  Aerial view of middle reach of the glacier with surrounding mountains and structural details. |
| Photos Michael Hambrey, July 2014 | |||