Dynamics and mass balance of Taylor Glacier, Antarctica: 3. State of mass balance

Taylor Glacier flows from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and terminates in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, where it has left a geomorphologic record of past incursions. Here we use new data on the flow, thickness, and surface balance of Taylor Glacier to calculate ice fluxes and assess the current state of mass balance. Overall, the glacier is close to a state of zero net balance, and has largely adjusted to reduced snowfall on the Taylor Dome source region in the mid Holocene. One region of the upper ablation zone appears to be losing mass. Evidence from ice surface morphology and stable isotope profiles suggests that this mass loss is a long-term phenomenon, hence probably a lingering response to the earlier drying of Taylor Dome. Our data give a general indication of the size of ablation or accumulation changes needed for ice to advance far into Taylor Valley, as occurred 70 to 130 ka ago.