scholarly journals A unique “icy seep” aquatic habitat in the high Teton Range: Potential refuge for biological assemblages imperiled by climate change

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 64-72
Author(s):  
Lusha M. Tronstad ◽  
J. Joseph Giersch ◽  
Scott Hotaling ◽  
Debra S. Finn ◽  
Lydia Zeglin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Specific Conductivity ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Alpine Stream ◽  
Alpine Streams ◽  
Teton Range ◽  
Stream Type

Alpine streams are threatened as meltwater sources diminish. We established baseline monitoring efforts of alpine streams in the Teton Range during 2015 by describing biotic and abiotic conditions of surface glacier and snowmelt streams. Our results indicated a third alpine stream type, icy seeps. Icy seeps are fed by subterranean ice melt, extremely cold but stable water temperature (summer mean <2°C), moderately high streambed stability (Pfankuch Index ~18-25), and relatively high specific conductivity (>50 μS cm-1). In 2016, we documented several icy seeps in the Teton massif, and our data suggest that they have the potential to serve as climate refugia for organisms and processes associated with extremely cold meltwater, due to the subterranean ice sources being more insulated from atmospheric conditions than surface glaciers and snowpack. Our 2016 work focused on locating icy seeps and documenting physical conditions, invertebrates, diatoms, and microbes in these alpine streams. We are processing the biological data, but microbial assemblages in icy seeps are similar to those found in streams fed by dwindling surface glacier ice. We are preparing to submit a paper about the microbial patterns, including how they compare to alpine streams representing comparable hydrological sources in Glacier National Park.   Featured photo by Nicole Y-C on Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/9XixVlnUCbk

scholarly journals Establishing a long-term monitoring network for assessing potential climatic refugia in cold alpine streams

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 69-78
Author(s):  
Lusha Tronstad ◽  
J. Joseph Giersch ◽  
Scott Hotaling ◽  
Lydia Zeglin ◽  
Oliver Wilmot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Mountain Stream ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Dispersal Capacity ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Limited Dispersal ◽  
Alpine Streams ◽  
Teton Range

Managing landscapes to maintain climate refugia is likely the best strategy to promote persistence of temperature-sensitive species with limited dispersal capacity. Rare, cold-stenothermic taxa occupy mosaic mountain stream networks due largely to hydrological source heterogeneity. We collected environmental and biological data from alpine streams in the Teton Range, Wyoming representing runoff from snowpack (N=3), glaciers (N=4) and subterranean ice (N=4), every summer from 2015-2017. We quantified differences in habitat among the streams according to a glaciality index that included bed stability, suspended solids, temperature and conductivity, and by comparing annual water temperature profiles for each stream. We measured to what degree macroinvertebrate and diatom assemblages varied by stream type. Abiotic and biotic characteristics appeared to differ among sources. Notably, streams fed by subterranean ice (icy seeps) maintained extremely low (mean <2°C) and stable water temperature. Rare, cold-stenothermic stonefly species (Zapada glacier and Lednia tetonica) were indicators for, although not exclusive to, icy seeps. Icy seeps and their sources may be refugia for temperature-sensitive taxa, as the subsurface ice is more insulated from warmer air temperatures.   Featured photo by Nicole Y-C on Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/9XixVlnUCbk

scholarly journals Effects of atmospheric conditions on ice nucleation activity of <i>Pseudomonas</i>

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 10667-10677 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Attard ◽  
H. Yang ◽  
A.-M. Delort ◽  
P. Amato ◽  
U. Pöschl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Ice Nucleation Protein ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Nucleation Activity ◽  
Ice Nucleation Activity

Abstract. Although ice nuclei from bacterial origin are known to be efficient at the highest temperatures known for ice catalysts, quantitative data are still needed to assess their role in cloud processes. Here we studied the effects of three typical cloud conditions (i) acidic pH (ii) NO2 and O3 exposure and (iii) UV-A exposure on the ice nucleation activity (INA) of four Pseudomonas strains. Three of the Pseudomonas syringae strains were isolated from cloud water and the phyllosphere and Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CGina-01 was isolated from Antarctic glacier ice melt. Among the three conditions tested, acidic pH caused the most significant effects on INA likely due to denaturation of the ice nucleation protein complex. Exposure to NO2 and O3 gases had no significant or only weak effects on the INA of two P. syringae strains whereas the INA of P. fluorescens CGina-01 was significantly affected. The INA of the third P. syringae strain showed variable responses to NO2 and O3 exposure. These differences in the INA of different Pseudomonas suggest that the response to atmospheric conditions could be strain-specific. After UV-A exposure, a substantial loss of viability of all four strains was observed whereas their INA decreased only slightly. This corroborates the notion that under certain conditions dead bacterial cells can maintain their INA. Overall, the negative effects of the three environmental factors on INA were more significant at the warmer temperatures. Our results suggest that in clouds where temperatures are near 0 °C, the importance of bacterial ice nucleation in precipitation processes could be reduced by some environmental factors.

scholarly journals Artificially Induced Thermokarst in Active Glacier Ice: An Example from North-West British Columbia, Canada

1977 ◽  
Vol 18 (80) ◽  
pp. 437-444
Author(s):  
N. Eyles ◽  
R. J. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
North West ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Basal Ice ◽  
Glacier Ice

AbstractWarm waste water, at 30°C, has been discharged from a copper concentrater on to the active terminal ice of Berendon Glacier, British Columbia, since 1970. As a result, rapid basal ice melt causes the formation of caverns and subsequent collapse features referred to as glacier thermokarst. A review of the literature reveals that such features have been described elsewhere from active ice, and the usual conditions assumed for the development of glacier thermokarst (stagnant, heavily debris-covered ice) should be redefined to include these examples.

The debris cover surface of Ponkar glacier: a laboratory for learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adina E. Racoviteanu ◽  
Neil F. Glasser ◽  
Smriti Basnett ◽  
Rakesh Kayastha ◽  
Stephan Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Surface Features ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Supraglacial Lakes ◽  
High Asia ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Building Activities ◽  
Remote Sensing Methods

&lt;p&gt;Understanding the evolution of debris-covered glaciers, including their evolution over time, the distribution of surface features such as exposed ice walls and supraglacial lakes, and their contributions to glacier ice melt and to glacier-related hazards such as Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) events requires an interdisciplinary approach, with a combination of remote sensing methods and collaborative fieldwork.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Since 2017, the IGCP 672 /UNESCO project led has been focussing on the transfer&amp;#160;of scientific knowledge on monitoring debris-covered glaciers to local partner institutions in high Asia through trainings, workshops and field collaborations. Our long-term goal is to disseminate methodologies developed under this project to local institutions in high Asia and to embed scientific knowledge into local communities.&amp;#160;Here we report on recent capacity building activities held within the context of this new project involved local participants from universities in Nepal and Sikkim. The training included remote sensing/GIS modules, temperature measurements, sediment logging and drone surveys of the ablation zone, which will allow us to better quantify the surface features and their evolution.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Runoff Variability in the Scott River (SW Spitsbergen) in Summer Seasons 2012–2013 in Comparison with the Period 1986–2009

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Franczak ◽  
Waldemar Kociuba ◽  
Grzegorz Gajek
Keyword(s):  
River Runoff ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
High Variability ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Runoff Variability ◽  
Daily Discharge ◽  
The Mean

Abstract River runoff variability in the Scott River catchment in the summer seasons 2012 and 2013 has been presented in comparison to the multiannual river runoff in 1986–2009. Both in particular seasons and in the analysed multiannual, high variability of discharge rate was recorded. In the research periods 2012–2013, a total of 11 952 water stages and 20 flow rates were measured in the analysed cross-section for the determination of 83 daylong discharges. The mean multiannual discharge of the Scott River amounted to 0.96 m3·s−1. The value corresponds to a specific runoff of 94.6 dm3·s−1·km2, and the runoff layer 937 mm. The maximum values of daily discharge amounted to 5.07 m3·s−1, and the minimum values to 0.002 m3·s−1. The highest runoff occurs in the second and third decade of July, and in the first and second decade of August. The regime of the river is determined by a group of factors, and particularly meteorological conditions affecting the intensity of ablation, and consequently river runoff volume. We found a significant correlation (0.60 in 2012 and 0.67 in 2013) between the air temperature and the Scott River discharge related to the Scott Glacier ice melt.

scholarly journals Atmospheric Conditions during the Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE): Contrasting Open Water and Sea Ice Surfaces during Melt and Freeze-Up Seasons

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (24) ◽  
pp. 8721-8744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Sotiropoulou ◽  
Michael Tjernström ◽  
Joseph Sedlar ◽  
Peggy Achtert ◽  
Barbara J. Brooks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Boundary ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Arctic Clouds ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Ice Edge ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract The Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE) was conducted during summer and early autumn 2014, providing a detailed view of the seasonal transition from ice melt into freeze-up. Measurements were taken over both ice-free and ice-covered surfaces near the ice edge, offering insight into the role of the surface state in shaping the atmospheric conditions. The initiation of the autumn freeze-up was related to a change in air mass, rather than to changes in solar radiation alone; the lower atmosphere cooled abruptly, leading to a surface heat loss. During melt season, strong surface inversions persisted over the ice, while elevated inversions were more frequent over open water. These differences disappeared during autumn freeze-up, when elevated inversions persisted over both ice-free and ice-covered conditions. These results are in contrast to previous studies that found a well-mixed boundary layer persisting in summer and an increased frequency of surface-based inversions in autumn, suggesting that knowledge derived from measurements taken within the pan-Arctic area and on the central ice pack does not necessarily apply closer to the ice edge. This study offers an insight into the atmospheric processes that occur during a crucial period of the year; understanding and accurately modeling these processes is essential for the improvement of ice-extent predictions and future Arctic climate projections.

scholarly journals Glacial Stream Ecology: Structural and Functional Assets

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leopold Füreder ◽  
Georg H. Niedrist
Keyword(s):  
Stream Ecology ◽  
Harsh Environments ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Simple Relationship ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Glacial Stream ◽  
Alpine Stream ◽  
Alpine Streams ◽  
Functional Components

High altitude glacier-fed streams are harsh environments inhabiting specialized invertebrate communities. Most research on biotic aspects in glacier-fed streams have focused on the simple relationship between presence/absence of species and prevailing environmental conditions, whereas functional strategies and potentials of glacial stream specialists have been hardly investigated so far. Using new and recent datasets from our investigations in the European Alps, we now demonstrate distinct functional properties of invertebrates that typically dominate glacier-fed streams and show significant relationships with declining glacier cover in alpine stream catchments. In particular, we present and argue about cause-effect relationships between glacier cover in the catchment and temperature, community structure, diversity, feeding strategies, early life development, body mass, and growth of invertebrates. By concentrating on key taxa in glacial and non-glacial alpine streams, the relevance of distinct adaptations in these functional components becomes evident. This clearly demonstrates that further studies of functional characteristics are essential for the understanding of peculiar diversity patterns, successful traits and their plasticity, evolutionary triggered species adaptions, and flexibilities.

scholarly journals Annual River Runoff Variations and Trends for the Andes Cordillera

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1167-1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian H. Mernild ◽  
Glen E. Liston ◽  
Christopher A. Hiemstra ◽  
Jacob C. Yde ◽  
Gino Casassa
Keyword(s):  
River Runoff ◽  
Annual Runoff ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Modeling Tools ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
High Runoff ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Andes Cordillera

Abstract We analyzed modeled river runoff variations west of the Andes Cordillera’s continental divide for 1979/80–2013/14 (35 years). Our foci were annual runoff conditions, runoff origins (rain, snowmelt, and glacier ice), and runoff spatiotemporal variability. Low and high runoff conditions were defined as occurrences that fall outside the 10th (low values) and 90th (high values) percentile values of the period of record. SnowModel and HydroFlow modeling tools were used at 4-km horizontal grid increments and 3-h time intervals. NASA Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) datasets were used as atmospheric forcing. This modeling system includes evaporation and sublimation from snow-covered surfaces, but it does not take into account evapotranspiration from bare and vegetation-covered soils and from river and lake surfaces. In general for the Andes Cordillera, the simulated runoff decreased before 1997 and increased afterward. This could be due to a model precipitation artifact in the MERRA forcing. If so, this artifact would influence the number of years with low runoff values, which decreased over time, while the number of high runoff values increased over time. For latitudes south of ~40°S, both the greatest decrease in the number of low runoff values and the greatest increase in high runoff values occurred. High runoff values averaged 84% and 58% higher than low values for nonglacierized and glacierized catchments, respectively. Furthermore, for glacierized catchments, 61% and 62% of the runoff originated from rain-derived runoff during low and high runoff extreme years, respectively; 28% and 30% from snowmelt-derived runoff; and 11% and 8% from glacier-ice-melt-derived runoff. As the results could be MERRA dependent, more work with other precipitation forcings and/or in situ measurements is needed to assess whether these are real runoff behaviors or artifacts.

scholarly journals Quantifying the contribution of glacier runoff to streamflow in the upper Columbia River Basin, Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 849-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Jost ◽  
R. D. Moore ◽  
B. Menounos ◽  
R. Wheate
Keyword(s):  
Model Calibration ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Columbia River Basin ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Glacier Melt ◽  
Glacier Ice

Abstract. Glacier melt provides important contributions to streamflow in many mountainous regions. Hydrologic model calibration in glacier-fed catchments is difficult because errors in modelling snow accumulation can be offset by compensating errors in glacier melt. This problem is particularly severe in catchments with modest glacier cover, where goodness-of-fit statistics such as the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency may not be highly sensitive to the streamflow variance associated with glacier melt. While glacier mass balance measurements can be used to aid model calibration, they are absent for most catchments. We introduce the use of glacier volume change determined from repeated glacier mapping in a guided GLUE (generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation) procedure to calibrate a hydrologic model. This approach is applied to the Mica basin in the Canadian portion of the Columbia River Basin using the HBV-EC hydrologic model. Use of glacier volume change in the calibration procedure effectively reduced parameter uncertainty and helped to ensure that the model was accurately predicting glacier mass balance as well as streamflow. The seasonal and interannual variations in glacier melt contributions were assessed by running the calibrated model with historic glacier cover and also after converting all glacierized areas to alpine land cover in the model setup. Sensitivity of modelled streamflow to historic changes in glacier cover and to projected glacier changes for a climate warming scenario was assessed by comparing simulations using static glacier cover to simulations that accommodated dynamic changes in glacier area. Although glaciers in the Mica basin only cover 5% of the watershed, glacier ice melt contributes up to 25% and 35% of streamflow in August and September, respectively. The mean annual contribution of ice melt to total streamflow varied between 3 and 9% and averaged 6%. Glacier ice melt is particularly important during warm, dry summers following winters with low snow accumulation and early snowpack depletion. Although the sensitivity of streamflow to historic glacier area changes is small and within parameter uncertainties, our results suggest that glacier area changes have to be accounted for in future projections of late summer streamflow. Our approach provides an effective and widely applicable method to calibrate hydrologic models in glacier fed catchments, as well as to quantify the magnitude and timing of glacier melt contributions to streamflow.

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