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Immediate report of Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition 1988-89: VUWAE 33

An initial examination of the hydrologic and climatic data indicates that:

1.	Stream flow is directly controlled by the amount, and intensity, of solar radiation striking the glaciers. Such is the level of this control that clouds passing in front of the sun can be identified in the hydrographs.
2.	Temperature has only a minor affect on streamflow, determining to a slight degree the "baseflow" when there is no direct sunlight.
3.	There is a maximum amount of melt able to be generated, if there is no cloud, when the sun is at a particular azimuth. This is indicated by flat" peaks on the hydrographs.
4.	The maximum amount of melt possible on any day during the season (if there is no cloud) is cyclic and increases as the angle of the sun gets higher. Essentially, maximum stream flows should be cyclic around the "longest day".
5.	Higher than average temperatures early in the 1988-89 season led to higher humidity levels, more cloud, more snowfall and as a consequence, less stream flow during the season.
6.	The 1988-89 season was, however, in many ways as typical. There were very few clear days; temperatures (on average) were higher than usual; more snowfall and higher humidity were experienced. The data must therefore be interpreted with some degree of caution. The sediment samples are currently being analysed and this must be completed before any definitive comments can be made. However, it would appear that the average, "long term", sedimentation rates are slow but that periods with extremely high rates occur periodically to produce a disjoint stratigraphy.