AbstractThe optimum continuation of series of mass-balance measurements and their extension to unmonitored glaciers are important problems in contemporary glaciology. For this purpose, two new practical survey methods are proposed, based on the linear-balance variations model of Lliboutry (1974). The first method is asimplified applicationof the linear model that uses only a data set limited to selected fixed-measurement sites. It was developed to obtain the mass-balance variation in cases where data are too scarce to obtain the global mass balance or to apply the Lliboutry algorithm. Thissimplified linear modelis used with the 8 years’ of surveys on glacier d’Argentière. The second method uses thecontinuity equationto derive the mass balance of a glacier sector delimited by two cross-profiles where the surface velocities, surface altitudes, and depths are known. By using thiscontinuity method, the entire mass-balance series is established for a sector of glacier de Gébroulaz (Vanoise area, France) from 1908 to 1950, as well as for two sectors of Unteraargletscher (Oberland, Switzerland) from 1924 to 1981.
The Continuity Method on Fano Fibrations
