Reconstruction of Little Ice Age glacier area and equilibrium line attitudes in the central and western Himalaya

2017 ◽  
Vol 444 ◽  
pp. 65-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baojin Qiao ◽  
Chaolu Yi
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Western Himalaya ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line ◽  
Glacier Area

scholarly journals Glacier equilibrium line altitude variations during the “Little Ice Age” in the Mediterranean Andes (30◦–37◦ S)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro González-Reyes ◽  
Claudio Bravo ◽  
Mathias Vuille ◽  
Martin Jacques-Coper ◽  
Maisa Rojas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Temporal Changes ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. The "Little Ice Age" (LIA; 1500–1850 Common Era (CE)), has long been recognized as the last period when mountain glaciers in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) recorded extensive growth intervals in terms of their ice mass and frontal position. The knowledge about this relevant paleoclimatic interval is vast in mountainous regions such as the Alps and Rocky Mountains in North America. However, in extra-tropical Andean sub-regions such as the Mediterranean Andes of Chile and Argentina (MA; 30º–37º S), the LIA has been poorly documented. Paradoxically, the few climate reconstructions performed in the MA based on lake sediments and tree rings do not show clear evidence of a LIA climate anomaly as observed in the NH. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated temporal differences between mean air temperature variations across the last millennium between both hemispheres. This motivates our hypothesis that the LIA period was not associated with a significant climate perturbation in the MA region. Considering this background, we performed an experiment using daily climatic variables from three Global Climate Models (GCMs) to force a novel glaciological model. In this way, we simulated temporal variations of the glacier equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) to evaluate the glacier response during the period 1500–1848 CE. Overall, each GCM shows temporal changes in annual ELA, with anomalously low elevations during 1640–1670 and 1800–1848 CE. An interval with high ELA values was identified during 1550–1575 CE. The spectral properties of the mean annual ELA in each GCM present significant periodicities between 2–7 years, and also significant decadal to multi-decadal signals. In addition, significant and coherent cycles at interannual to multi-decadal scales were detected between modeled mean annual ELAs and the first EOF1 extracted from Sea Surface Temperature (SST) within the El Niño 3.4 of each GCM. Finally, significant Pearson correlation coefficients were obtained between the mean annual ELA and Pacific SST on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. According to our findings, we propose that Pacific SST variability was the main modulator of temporal changes of the ELA in the MA region of South America during 1500–1848 CE.

scholarly journals Estimating the longevity of glaciers in the Xinjiang region of the Tian Shan through observations of glacier area change since the Little Ice Age using high-resolution imagery

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (257) ◽  
pp. 471-484
Author(s):  
Julia Liu ◽  
Daniel E. Lawson ◽  
Robert L. Hawley ◽  
Jonathan Chipman ◽  
Brian Tracy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Relative Loss ◽  
High Resolution Imagery ◽  
High Resolution Satellite Imagery ◽  
Kaidu River ◽  
Tian Shan

AbstractGlacial retreat in response to warming climates in the arid Xinjiang region of northwestern China directly impacts downstream water resources available for local communities. We used high-resolution satellite imagery from 1969 to 2014 to delineate spatial changes in 54 active glaciers in the upper Kaidu River Basin in the Tian Shan as well as their past expanses during the Little Ice Age (LIA). We manually delineated their boundaries based on the interpretation of glacial, geomorphic and topographic features. From the total glacier surface area, we estimated glacier volume and mass. From 1969 to 2014, glacier area decreased by 10.1 ± 1.0 km2 (relative loss of 34.2 ± 3.5%) and mass by 1.025 ± 0.108 Gt (relative loss of 43 ± 4.6%). From the LIA maximum (est. 1586 CE) to 1969, relative losses were less (25.7 ± 4.3% area loss and 33.1 ± 5.7% mass loss). Our results indicate that glacier recession is accelerating over time and that the glaciers are currently losing over 1.5 times more relative area than elsewhere in the Tian Shan. Using linear and non-linear projections, we estimate that these glaciers may disappear between 2050 and 2150 CE if climatic warming continues at the same pace.

Drastic glacier retreat at Pico de Orizaba (19º N, Mexico) since the Little Ice Age

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Alcalá Reygosa ◽  
Néstor Campos ◽  
Melaine Le Roy ◽  
Bijeesh Kozhikkodan Veettil ◽  
Adam Emmer
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Physical Geography ◽  
Glacier Retreat ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Tropical Andes ◽  
Bolivian Andes ◽  
The Alps

<p>The Little Ice Age (LIA) occurred between CE 1250 and 1850 and is considered a period of moderate cold conditions, especially recorded in the northern hemisphere. Numerous recent studies provide robust evidence of glacier advances worldwide during the LIA and a dramatic retreat since then. These studies combined investigation of moraine records, paintings, topographical and glaciological measurements as well as multitemporal aerial and terrestrial photographs and satellite images. For instance, post-LIA glaciers retreat amounts ~60 % in the Alps (Paul et al., 2020), ~88 % in the Pyrenees (Rico et al., 2016) and 89 % in the Bolivian Andes (Ramírez et al., 2001). However, there is scarce knowledge in Mexico about the glacier changes since the LIA. The reconstructions are limited to the Iztaccíhualt volcano where Schneider et al. (2008) established a glacier retreat of 95 %.</p><p>Here, we reconstruct the glacier evolution since the LIA to CE 2015 of the Mexican highest ice-capped volcano: Pico de Orizaba (19° 01´ N, 97° 16´W, 5,675 m a.s.l.). Due to Pico de Orizaba is in the outer Tropic, the most plausible scenario is a glacier evolution similar to the Bolivian Andes and especially to the Iztaccíhualt volcano. To carry out this research, we mapped the glacier area during the LIA, based on moraine record, and the area during 1945, 1958, 1971, 1988, 1994, 2003 and 2015 using a previous map elaborated by Palacios and Vázquez-Selem (1996), aerial orthophotographs and satellite images. The geographical mapping and the calculus of area, minimum altitude and volume of the glacier were generated with the software ArcGIS 10.2.2. The results show that glacier area retreated 92% between the LIA (8.8 km<sup>2</sup>) and 2015 (0.67 km<sup>2</sup>), being a drastic glacier loss in agreement with the Bolivian Andes and Iztaccíhualt. Therefore, mexican glaciers have experienced the major shrunk since LIA that implies a highly sensitive reaction to global warming.</p><p>This research was supported by the Project UNAM-DGAPA-PAPIIT grant IA105318.</p><p>References</p><p>Palacios, D., Vázquez-Selem, L. 1996. Geomorphic effects of the retreat of Jamapa glacier, Pico de Orizaba volcano (Mexico). Geografiska Annaler, Series A, Physical Geography 78, 19-34.</p><p>Paul F., Rastner P., Azzoni R.S., Diolaiuti G., Fugazza D., Le Bris R., Nemec J., Rabatel A., Ramusovic M., Schwaizer G., and Smiraglia C. 2020. Glacier shrinkage in the Alps continues unabated as revealed by a new glacier inventory from Sentinel-2 https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2019-213.</p><p>Ramírez, E., Francou, B., Ribstein, P., Descloitres, M., Guérin, R., Mendoza, J., Gallaire, R., Pouyaud, B., Jordan, E. 2001. Small glaciers disappearing in the tropical Andes: a case study in Bolivia: Glaciar Chacaltaya (16° S). Journal of Glaciology 47 (157), 187-194.</p><p>Rico I., Izagirre E., Serrano E., López-Moreno J.I., 2016. Current glacier area in the Pyrenees : an updated assessment 2016. Pirineos 172, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3989/Pirineos.2017.172004.</p><p>Schneider, D., Delgado-Granados, H., Huggel, C., Kääb, A. 2008. Assessing lahars from ice-capped volcanoes using ASTER satellite data, the SRTM DTM and two different flow models: case study on Iztaccíhuatl (Central Mexico). Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 8, 559-571.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Extension of Glacier de Saint-Sorlin, French Alps, and equilibrium-line altitude during the Little Ice Age

2002 ◽  
Vol 48 (160) ◽  
pp. 118-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Lliboutry
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Vertical Gradient ◽  
Winter Precipitation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
French Alps ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Accumulation Area Ratio

AbstractGlacier de Saint-Sorlin, French Alps, left terminal moraines at 1.3, 2.9 and 3.7 km ahead of the present terminus. According to proxy data and to historical maps, these were formed in the 19th, 18th and 17th centuries, respectively. A plateau at 2700–2625 m was then surrounded by ice but never became an accumulation area. This fact shows that the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) on the glacier never dropped below 2300 m. The following simple models apply sufficiently to yield reliable estimations of past ELA: (1) a uniform and constant vertical gradient of the mass balance, down to the terminus; and (2) a plane bed, with a slope of 8.5° and a uniform width. Then in a steady situation the accumulation–area ratio is 1/2. Compared to the mean for 1956–72, at the onset of the Little Ice Age the balances were higher by 3.75 m ice a−1, and the ELA was 400 m lower. Correlations between 1956–72 balances and meteorological data suggest that during the melting season the 0°C isotherm was about 800 m lower, while the winter precipitation at low altitudes did not change. These correlations may have been different in the past, but an equal lowering of the ELA and of the 0°C isotherm, as assumed by several authors, seems excluded.

scholarly journals Changes of the equilibrium-line altitude since the Little Ice Age in the Nepalese Himalaya

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 93-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rijan Bhakta Kayastha ◽  
Sandy P. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line ◽  
Inventory Data ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Glacier Inventory ◽  
Climate Gradients ◽  
Climate Records

AbstractChanges of the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) in eastern Nepal have been studied using glacier inventory data. The toe-to-headwall altitude ratios (THARs) for individual glaciers were calculated for 1992, and used to estimate the ELA in 1959 and at the end of the LIA. THAR for debris-free glaciers is found to be smaller than for debris-covered glaciers. The ELAs for debris-covered glaciers are higher than those for debris-free glaciers in eastern Nepal. There is considerable variation in the reconstructed change in ELA (ΔELA) between glaciers within specific regions and between regions. This is not related to climate gradients, but results from differences in glacier aspect: southeast- and south-facing glaciers show larger ΔELAs in eastern Nepal than north- or west-facing glaciers. The data suggest that the rate of ELA rise may have accelerated in the last few decades. The limited number of climate records from Nepal, and analyses using a simple ELA–climate model, suggest that the higher rate of the ΔELA between 1959 and 1992 is a result of increased warming that occurred after the 1970s at higher altitudes in Nepal.

scholarly journals Equilibrium-line altitudes and rock glaciers during the Younger Dryas cooling event, Ferwall group, western Tyrol, Austria

1999 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 141-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Sailer ◽  
Hanns Kerschner
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line ◽  
Rock Glacier ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Discontinuous Permafrost ◽  
Rock Glaciers ◽  
Temperature Depression

AbstractThree cirques in the Ferwall group, western Tyrol, Austria, which are characterized by distinct Late-glacial moraines and rock glaciers, are discussed. The morphology of the moraines and the depression of the equilibrium-line altitude suggest they were deposited during the Egesen Stadial (Younger Dryas), which can be subdivided into three substages. Rock-glacier formation was initialized during or after the Egesen II substage. They became inactive at the Pleistocene—Holocene transition. ELA values are 290–320 m lower than the Little Ice Age ELA during the Egesen I substage, 190–230 m lower during the Egesen II substage and 120 —160 m lower during the Egesen III substage. The lowering of the rock-glacier belt (discontinuous permafrost) during and after the Egesen II substage is about 400 m, indicating a mean annual air-temperature depression in the order of 3 K. During the Egesen I (earlyYounger Dryas), the climate seems to have been rather cold and wet with precipitation similar to present-day values. During later phases (Egesen II and III), the climate remained cold and became increasingly drier. The rise of the ELA during the Egesen I—III substages seems to have been mainly caused by a decrease in precipitation.

scholarly journals Mapping and morphometric analysis of glaciers in Jotunheimen, South Norway, during the "Little Ice Age" maximum

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-381
Author(s):  
S. Baumann ◽  
S. Winkler
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Flow Length ◽  
Glacier Flow

Abstract. This study provides mapping and analysis of the maximum glacier extent during the "Little Ice Age" in Jotunheimen, Southern Norway, on a regional scale. Remote sensing techniques were used to map the glacier area at the maximum of the "Little Ice Age" (mid 18th century AD). For validation of the mapping, interpretation of existing glaciochronological studies, analysis of geomorphological maps and our own field measurements using GPS have been applied. The flow length of the glaciers and other inventory data were determined by using a Geographical Information System and a digital elevation model. A total of 233 glaciers existed during the "Little Ice Age" maximum in Jotunheimen, comprising an overall glacier area of about 290 km2. Mean glacier flow length was calculated as about 1.6 km. Until AD 2003, the area shrank by about 35% and the mean flow length decreased by about 34%, compared with the maximum "Little Ice Age" extent.

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

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (66) ◽  
pp. 177-186 ◽  
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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