Topographic control of glacier changes since the end of the Little Ice Age in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, Colombia

Historical documents have shown their potential to infer the origin and evolution of the glacier existing in the Veleta cirque, in the massif of Sierra Nevada (Spain). This information encompasses written sources spanning from the 17th to the mid-20th centuries, and provides valuable knowledge about the Little Ice Age. These new data complement the already existing geomorphological knowledge about the natural system and landscape evolution in Sierra Nevada, particularly with regards to glacial geomorphic events in the summit areas. From a transdisciplinary methodological approach, the results show that the Veleta glacier was a singular geomorphic event that owed its existence to the particular environmental conditions of the high lands of Sierra Nevada, besides the favourable morpho-topographical setting, altitude, aspect as well as microclimate conditions prevailing in this area.

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Geomorphometric Controls on Mountain Glacier Changes Since the Little Ice Age in the Eastern Tien Shan, Central Asia

Mountains: Physical, Human-Environmental, and Sociocultural Dynamics ◽

10.4324/9781315158914-5 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 49-63

Author(s):

Yanan Li ◽

Yingkui Li ◽

Xiaoyu Lu ◽

Jon Harbor

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Little Ice Age ◽

Tien Shan ◽

Ice Age ◽

Mountain Glacier ◽

Glacier Changes

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Glacier changes since the Little Ice Age maximum in the western Qilian Shan, northwest China, and consequences of glacier runoff for water supply

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/172756503781830926 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 49 (164) ◽

pp. 117-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 120

Author(s):

Liu Shiyin ◽

Sun Wenxin ◽

Shen Yongping ◽

Li Gang

Keyword(s):

Little Ice Age ◽

Image Data ◽

Northwest China ◽

Ice Age ◽

Aerial Photographs ◽

Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽

North West ◽

Glacier Changes ◽

Glacier Runoff ◽

Topographical Maps

AbstractBased on aerial photographs, topographical maps and the Landsat-5 image data, we have analyzed fluctuations of glaciers in the western Qilian Shan, north-west China, from the Little Ice Age (LIA) to 1990. The areas and volumes of glaciers in the whole considered region decreased 15% and 18%, respectively, from the LIA maximum to 1956. This trend of glacier shrinkage continued and accelerated between 1956 and 1990. These latest decreases in area and volume were about 10% in 34 years. The recent shrinkage may be due either to a combination of higher temperatures and lower precipitation during the period 1956–66, or to continuous warming in the high glacierized mountains from 1956 to 1990. As a consequence, glacier runoff from ice wastage between 1956 and 1990 has increased river runoff by 6.2 km3 in the four river basins under consideration. Besides, the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) rise estimated from the mean terminus retreat of small glaciers <1 km long is 46 m, which corresponds to a 0.3°C increase of mean temperatures in warm seasons from the LIA to the 1950s.

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Accelerating retreat and high-elevation thinning of glaciers in central Spitsbergen

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-10-1317-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 1317-1329 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Jakub Małecki

Keyword(s):

Little Ice Age ◽

High Elevation ◽

Comprehensive Analysis ◽

Ice Age ◽

The Arctic ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Glacier Changes ◽

The Mean ◽

Geodetic Mass Balance ◽

The 1960S

Abstract. Svalbard is a heavily glacier-covered archipelago in the Arctic. Dickson Land (DL), in the central part of the largest island, Spitsbergen, is relatively arid and, as a result, glaciers there are relatively small and restricted mostly to valleys and cirques. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of glacier changes in DL based on inventories compiled from topographic maps and digital elevation models for the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum, the 1960s, 1990, and 2009/2011. Total glacier area has decreased by ∼ 38 % since the LIA maximum, and front retreat increased over the study period. Recently, most of the local glaciers have been consistently thinning in all elevation bands, in contrast to larger Svalbard ice masses which remain closer to balance. The mean 1990–2009/2011 geodetic mass balance of glaciers in DL is among the most negative from the Svalbard regional means known from the literature.

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Mountain glaciers of southeast Siberia: current state and changes since the Little Ice Age

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/2014aog66a135 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 55 (66) ◽

pp. 167-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

E.Yu. Osipov ◽

O.P. Osipova

Keyword(s):

Little Ice Age ◽

Snow Accumulation ◽

Ice Age ◽

High Mountain ◽

Late 20Th Century ◽

Glacier Inventory ◽

Mountain Glaciers ◽

Current State ◽

Field Investigations ◽

Glacier Changes

AbstractContemporary glaciers of southeast Siberia are located on three high-mountain ridges (east Sayan, Baikalsky and Kodar). In this study, we present an updated glacier inventory based on high- to middle-resolution satellite imagery and field investigations. The inventory includes 51 glaciers with a total area of - 15 km2. Areas of individual glaciers vary from 0.06 to 1.33 km2, lengths from 130 to 2010 m and elevations from 1796 to 3490 m. The recent ice maximum extents (Little Ice Age) have been delineated from terminal moraines. On average, debris-free surface area shrunk by 59% between 1850 and 2006/11 (0.37% a–1), by 44% between 1850 and 2001/02 (0.29% a–1) and by 27% between 2001/02 and 2006/11 (3.39% a–1). The Kodar glaciers have experienced the largest area shrinkage, while the area loss on Baikalsky ridge was more moderate. Glacier changes are mainly related to regional summer temperature increase (by 1.7-2.6C from 1970 to 2010). There are some differences in glacier response due to different spatial patterns of snow accumulation, local topography (e.g. glacier elevation, slope) and geological activity. The studied glaciers (especially of Kodar ridge) are the most sensitive in Siberia to climate change since the late 20th century.

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Topographic and geometric controls on glacier changes in the central Tien Shan, China, since the Little Ice Age

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/2014aog66a031 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 55 (66) ◽

pp. 177-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Yanan Li ◽

Yingkui Li

Keyword(s):

Little Ice Age ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Google Earth ◽

Tien Shan ◽

Ice Age ◽

Slope Aspect ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽

Local Factors ◽

Glacier Changes

AbstractThis paper examines the topographic and geometric controls on glacier changes in area and equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) in the central Tien Shan, China, since the Little Ice Age (LIA). We delineate the extents of 487 modern glaciers and their corresponding maximum LIA glacial advances using satellite imagery in Google Earth, and analyze the relationships between the magnitude of glacier changes and a set of local topographic/geometric factors including glacier area, slope, aspect, shape, hypsometry and mean elevation. Our results show that: (1) glacier area decreased from 460.2 km2 during the LIA to 265.6 km2 in the 2000s (a loss of 42.3%), with an average ELA increase of ~100m; (2) relative area changes of glaciers are strongly affected by two of these local factors (glacier area and mean elevation); and (3) ELA change does not show a strong relationship with local factors, suggesting that it may be controlled mainly by climatic factors. This study provides important insights into the local controls on glacier changes at the centennial timescale, which are of critical importance to assess future glacier changes in this arid and semi-arid region.

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