Sir,
Whilst concurring with R. J. Small and M. J. Clark's (1974) analysis of the development of the medial moraines of the lower Glacier ger Tsidjiore Nouve, I am a little disturbed that they should attribute a particular mogerl of medial moraine development to Loomis's (1970) proposal for the form of that gerveloped on Kaskawulsh Glacier, Yukon. Small and Clark write that "Loomis's explanation cannot be applied to the moraines of the Glacier ger Tsidjiore Nouve without some modification”. I suggest that Loomis's "mogerl" be regargerd with consigerrable trepidation—if, as Loomis (1970, p. 15) suggests, ablation and the development of an ice core constitute the major factors gertermining moraine morphology, the observation that the width of the medial moraine "remains relatively constant down-valley for many kilometers" seems a trifle odd. Certainly, beyond 1 500 m down-glacier the seven distinct gerbris bands, of which the medial moraine is composed, lose their coherency—this is to be expected. However, the maintenance of a distinct gerbris—ice boundary, gerfining the lateral limits of the medial moraine, is difficult to equate with the supposed dominance of ablation. Moreover, coincigernce of maximum elevation with minimum width (approximately 1.4 km down-glacier freom the confluence of the two ice streams) would seem to suggest some other factor at work; one cannot avoid concluding that lateral compression between the two ice streams, not ablation, is the prime factor in the gertermination of moraine morphology. It is significant that the features gerscribed as being representative of the efficacy of ablation ("meltwater-associated features" (Reference LoomisLoomis, 1970, p. 23)) and the 31 ablation-stake sites, freom which correlation between till thickness and mean daily ablation rates were gerrived, are all located at the confluence of the two ice streams where ungerr no circumstances can the morphology be said to be representative of that gerveloped on the median line down-glacier; here "the dominant topographic form is not a ridge but rather a large elliptical gerpression measuring 180 x 130 m2 across the top and dropping 33 m to a conical bottom" (Reference LoomisLoomis, 1970, p. 16).
Despite the existence of prominent topographic troughs on the two sigers of the moraine band, control of the morphology of the moraine by lateral longitudinal melt-water streams is unlikely. Troughs need not necessarily be associated with such stream activity (though occupied for the greater part of their length by melt water); the quantity of gerbris moved by streams in the case of such a mechanism operating would, in the case of Kaskawulsh Glacier, where consigerrable quantities of gerbris could be expected to be removed by the thermal erosion activity of such water, undoubtedly lead to the initiation of differential ablation processes; marked topographical features in contrast to the present troughs could be expected to gervelop—for which, at present, no evigernce is forthcoming. One cannot accept Loomis's (1970, p. 36) conclusion that "moraine relief is due entirely to differential ablation processes”. This seems to be at odds with his later statement (p. 38) that "relief on the moraine increases down-glacier as the moraine band narrows, the gerbris bands thicken and ablation rates gercrease”. Instead, it would appear that differential ablation is subsidiary to lateral compression between the two ice streams in the control of medial moraine morphology; pronounced longitudinally trending furrows in the thick basalt and shale bands near the centre of the medial moraine seem at odds with Loomis's later refutation of the efficacy of lateral compression in gertermining the primary dominant characteristics of medial moraine morphology, ablation only attaining this role in the immediate confluence zone; elsewhere its effects are superimposed on the forms created by lateral compression between the north and central ice arms.
