Estimation of Glacier Mass Balance on a Basin Scale:An Approach Based on Satellite-Derived Snowlines and a Temperature Index Model

AbstractWe estimate the glacier mass balance of a 9.5 km2 mountain glacier using three approaches for balance years 2009, 2010 and 2011. The photogrammetric, GPS and glaciological methods yielded sampling densities of 100, 5 and 2 points km-2, with measurement precisions of ± 0.40, ± 0.10 and ± 0.10 m w.e. respectively. Our glaciological measurements likely include a positive bias, due to omission of internal and basal mass balance, and uncertainty in determining the interface between snow and firn with a probe (±0.10 m w.e.). Measurements from our photogrammetric method include a negative bias introduced by the manual operator and our temperature index model used to correct for different dates of imaging (0.15 m w.e.), whereas GPS measurements avoid these biases. The photogrammetric and GPS methods are suitable for estimating glacier-wide annual mass balance, and thus provide a valuable measure that complements the glaciological method. These approaches, however, cannot be used to estimate mass balance at a point or mass-balance profiles without a detailed understanding of the vertical component of ice velocity.

Download Full-text

Glacier mass balance of Norway 1961-2010 calculated by a temperature-index model

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/2013aog63a245 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 54 (63) ◽

pp. 32-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Markus Engelhardt ◽

Thomas V. Schuler ◽

Liss M. Andreassen

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Horizontal Resolution ◽

Balance Model ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

Temperature Index ◽

Surface Mass ◽

Index Model ◽

Temperature And Precipitation ◽

Index Approach

AbstractGlacier mass balance in Norway is only observed over a small portion (<15%) of the glacierized surface and only for short time periods (<10 years) for most sites. To provide a comprehensive overview of the temporal mass-balance evolution, we modeled surface mass balance for the glacierized area of mainland Norway from 1961 to 2010. The model is forced by operationally gridded daily temperature and precipitation fields which are available at 1 km horizontal resolution from 1957 until the present. The applied mass-balance model accounts for melting of snow and ice by using a distributed temperature-index approach. The precipitation input is corrected to obtain agreement between modeled and observed winter mass balance, and a melt factor and two radiation coefficients are optimized to the corresponding summer balance. The model results show positive trends of winter balance between 1961 and 2000 followed by a remarkable decrease in both summer and winter balances which resulted in an average annual balance of –0.86 ± 0.15 m w.e. a-1 between 2000 and 2010 after four decades of zero to slightly positive annual mass balances.

Download Full-text

Mass Balance of Austre Grønfjordbreen, Svalbard, 2006–2020, Estimated by Glaciological, Geodetic and Modeling Aproaches

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences11020078 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 78

Author(s):

Nelly Elagina ◽

Stanislav Kutuzov ◽

Ekaterina Rets ◽

Andrei Smirnov ◽

Robert Chernov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Distributed Energy ◽

Climatic Fluctuations ◽

Temperature Index ◽

Index Model ◽

Spatially Distributed ◽

Calculated Mass ◽

Geodetic Mass Balance ◽

West Spitsbergen

Glacier mass balance measurements, reconstructions and modeling are the precondition for assessing glacier sensitivity to regional climatic fluctuations. This paper presents new glaciological and geodetic mass balance data of Austre Grønfjordbreen located in the western part of Nordenskiöld Land in Central Spitsbergen. The average annual mass balance from 2014 to 2019 was −1.59 m w.e. The geodetic mass balance from 2008 to 2017 was −1.34 m w.e. The mass balance was also reconstructed by the temperature-index model from 2006 to 2020 and by spatially-distributed energy-balance models for 2011–2015 and 2019. We found a cumulative mass balance of −21.62 m w.e. over 2006–2020. The calculated mass-balance sensitivity to temperature was −1.04 m w.e. °C−1, which corresponds to the highest glacier mass balance sensitivity among Svalbard glaciers. Sensitivity to precipitation change was 0.10 m w.e. for a 10% increase in precipitation throughout the balance year. Comparing the results of the current study with other glacier mass balance assessments in Svalbard, we found that Austre Grønfjordbreen loses mass most rapidly due to its location, which is mostly influenced by the warm West Spitsbergen Current, small area and low elevation range.

Download Full-text

An estimate of glacier mass balance for the Chandra basin, western Himalaya, for the period 1984–2012

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/aog.2017.18 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 58 (75pt2) ◽

pp. 99-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Sayli Atul Tawde ◽

Anil V. Kulkarni ◽

Govindasamy Bala

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Water Resource Management ◽

Western Himalaya ◽

Ratio Method ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽

Temperature Index ◽

Field Investigations ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Accumulation Area Ratio

ABSTRACTAn improved understanding of fresh water stored in the Himalaya is crucial for water resource management in South Asia and can be inferred from glacier mass-balance estimates. However, field investigations in the rugged Himalaya are limited to a few individual glaciers and short duration. Therefore, we have recently developed an approach that combines satellite-derived snowlines, a temperature-index melt model and the accumulation-area ratio method to estimate annual mass balance of glaciers at basin scale and for a long period. In this investigation, the mass balance of 146 glaciers in the Chandra basin, western Himalaya, is estimated from 1984 to 2012. We estimate the trend in equilibrium line altitude of the basin as +113 m decade−1and the mean mass balance as −0.61 ± 0.46 m w.e. a−1. Our basin-wide mass-balance estimates are in agreement with the geodetic method during 1999–2012. Sensitivity analysis suggests that a 20% increase in precipitation can offset changes in mass balance for a 1 °C temperature rise. A water loss of 18% of the total basin volume is estimated, and 67% for small and low-altitude glaciers during 1984–2012, indicating a looming water scarcity crisis for villages in this valley.

Download Full-text

Modelling melt, runoff, and mass balance of a tropical glacier in the Bolivian Andes using an enhanced temperature-index model

Hydrological Research Letters ◽

10.3178/hrl.10.51 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 51-59

Author(s):

Pablo Fuchs ◽

Yoshihiro Asaoka ◽

So Kazama

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Temperature Index ◽

Index Model ◽

Bolivian Andes

Download Full-text

The challenge of monitoring glaciers with extreme altitudinal range: mass-balance reconstruction for Kahiltna Glacier, Alaska

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/jog.2017.80 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 64 (243) ◽

pp. 75-88

Author(s):

JOANNA C. YOUNG ◽

ANTHONY ARENDT ◽

REGINE HOCK ◽

ERIN PETTIT

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Poor Correlation ◽

Mass Balances ◽

Laser Altimetry ◽

Temperature Index ◽

Index Model ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Grace Satellites ◽

The Individual ◽

Gravity Recovery

ABSTRACTGlaciers spanning large altitudinal ranges often experience different climatic regimes with elevation, creating challenges in acquiring mass-balance and climate observations that represent the entire glacier. We use mixed methods to reconstruct the 1991–2014 mass balance of the Kahiltna Glacier in Alaska, a large (503 km2) glacier with one of the greatest elevation ranges globally (264–6108 m a.s.l.). We calibrate an enhanced temperature index model to glacier-wide mass balances from repeat laser altimetry and point observations, finding a mean net mass-balance rate of −0.74 mw.e. a−1( ± σ = 0.04, std dev. of the best-performing model simulations). Results are validated against mass changes from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, a novel approach at the individual glacier scale. Correlation is strong between the detrended model- and GRACE-derived mass change time series (R2 = 0.58 and p ≪ 0.001), and between summer (R2 = 0.69 and p = 0.003) and annual (R2 = 0.63 and p = 0.006) balances, lending greater confidence to our modeling results. We find poor correlation, however, between modeled glacier-wide balances and recent single-stake monitoring. Finally, we make recommendations for monitoring glaciers with extreme altitudinal ranges, including characterizing precipitation via snow radar profiling.

Download Full-text

Climate sensitivity of Storglaciären, Sweden: an intercomparison of mass-balance models using ERA-40 re-analysis and regional climate model data

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/172756407782871503 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 342-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Regine Hock ◽

Valentina Radić ◽

Mattias De Woul

Keyword(s):

Energy Balance ◽

Regional Climate Model ◽

Mass Balance ◽

Climate Model ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Balance Model ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Temperature Index ◽

Temperature Changes ◽

Cumulative Mass

AbstractEstimates of glacier contributions to future sea-level rise are often computed from mass-balance sensitivities derived for a set of representative glaciers. Our purpose is to investigate how mass-balance projections and sensitivities vary when using different approaches to compute the glacier mass balance. We choose Storglaciären, Sweden, as a test site and apply five different models including temperature-index and energy-balance approaches further varying in spatial discretization. The models are calibrated using daily European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts re-analysis (ERA-40) data. We compute static mass-balance sensitivities and cumulative mass balances until 2100 based on daily temperatures predicted by a regional climate model. Net mass-balance sensitivities to a +1 K perturbation and a 10% increase in precipitation spanned from –0.41 to –0.61 and from 0.19 to 0.22ma–1, respectively. The cumulative mass balance for the period 2002–2100 in response to the climate-model predicted temperature changes varied between –81 and –92m for four models, but was –121m for the fully distributed detailed energy-balance model. This indicates that mass losses may be underestimated if temperature-index methods are used instead of detailed energy-balance approaches that account for the effects of temperature changes on all energy-balance components individually. Our results suggest that future glacier predictions are sensitive to the choice of the mass-balance model broadening the spectrum in uncertainties.

Download Full-text

Mass Balance Sensitivity and Future Projections of Rabots Glaciär, Sweden

Climate ◽

10.3390/cli9080126 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 126

Author(s):

Moon Taveirne ◽

Laura Ekemar ◽

Berta González Sánchez ◽

Josefine Axelsson ◽

Qiong Zhang

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Mass Balance ◽

Climate Scenario ◽

Summer Temperature ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Northern Sweden ◽

Dramatic Decrease ◽

Future Projections ◽

Modelling Studies ◽

The Relationship

Glacier mass balance is heavily influenced by climate, with responses of individual glaciers to various climate parameters varying greatly. In northern Sweden, Rabots Glaciär’s mass balance has decreased since it started being monitored in 1982. To relate Rabots Glaciär’s mass balance to changes in climate, the sensitivity to a range of parameters is computed. Through linear regression of mass balance with temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed and incoming radiation the climate sensitivity is established and projections for future summer mass balance are made. Summer mass balance is primarily sensitive to temperature at −0.31 m w.e. per °C change, while winter mass balance is mainly sensitive to precipitation at 0.94 m w.e. per % change. An estimate using summer temperature sensitivity projects a dramatic decrease in summer mass balance to −3.89 m w.e. for the 2091–2100 period under climate scenario RCP8.5. With large increases in temperature anticipated for the next century, more complex modelling studies of the relationship between climate and glacier mass balance is key to understanding the future development of Rabots Glaciär.

Download Full-text

Long-range terrestrial laser scanning measurements of annual and intra-annual mass balances for Urumqi Glacier No. 1, eastern Tien Shan, China

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-13-2361-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 2361-2383 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Chunhai Xu ◽

Zhongqin Li ◽

Huilin Li ◽

Feiteng Wang ◽

Ping Zhou

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Long Range ◽

Tien Shan ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Surface Mass Balance ◽

Mass Balances ◽

Surface Mass ◽

Mass Conversion ◽

Geodetic Mass Balance

Abstract. The direct glaciological method provides in situ observations of annual or seasonal surface mass balance, but can only be implemented through a succession of intensive in situ measurements of field networks of stakes and snow pits. This has contributed to glacier surface mass-balance measurements being sparse and often discontinuous in the Tien Shan. Nevertheless, long-term glacier mass-balance measurements are the basis for understanding climate–glacier interactions and projecting future water availability for glacierized catchments in the Tien Shan. Riegl VZ®-6000 long-range terrestrial laser scanner (TLS), typically using class 3B laser beams, is exceptionally well suited for repeated glacier mapping, and thus determination of annual and seasonal geodetic mass balance. This paper introduces the applied TLS for monitoring summer and annual surface elevation and geodetic mass changes of Urumqi Glacier No. 1 as well as delineating accurate glacier boundaries for 2 consecutive mass-balance years (2015–2017), and discusses the potential of such technology in glaciological applications. Three-dimensional changes of ice and firn–snow bodies and the corresponding densities were considered for the volume-to-mass conversion. The glacier showed pronounced thinning and mass loss for the four investigated periods; glacier-wide geodetic mass balance in the mass-balance year 2015–2016 was slightly more negative than in 2016–2017. Statistical comparison shows that agreement between the glaciological and geodetic mass balances can be considered satisfactory, indicating that the TLS system yields accurate results and has the potential to monitor remote and inaccessible glacier areas where no glaciological measurements are available as the vertical velocity component of the glacier is negligible. For wide applications of the TLS in glaciology, we should use stable scan positions and in-situ-measured densities of snow–firn to establish volume-to-mass conversion.

Download Full-text

Role of glaciers in watershed hydrology: a preliminary study of a "Himalayan catchment"

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-4-115-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 115-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 123

Author(s):

R. J. Thayyen ◽

J. T. Gergan

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

River Flow ◽

Initial Increase ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Humid Climate ◽

Flow Response ◽

Sustainable Water Resources Management ◽

South West Monsoon

Abstract. A large number of Himalayan glacier catchments are under the influence of humid climate with snowfall in winter (November–April) and south-west monsoon in summer (June–September) dominating the regional hydrology. Such catchments are defined as "Himalayan catchment", where the glacier meltwater contributes to the river flow during the period of annual high flows produced by the monsoon. The winter snow dominated Alpine catchments of the Kashmir and Karakoram region and cold-arid regions of the Ladakh mountain range are the other major glacio-hydrological regimes identified in the region. Factors influencing the river flow variations in a "Himalayan catchment" were studied in a micro-scale glacier catchment in the Garhwal Himalaya, covering an area of 77.8 km2. Three hydrometric stations were established at different altitudes along the Din Gad stream and discharge was monitored during the summer ablation period from 1998 to 2004, with an exception in 2002. These data have been analysed along with winter/summer precipitation, temperature and mass balance data of the Dokriani glacier to study the role of glacier and precipitation in determining runoff variations along the stream continuum from the glacier snout to 2360 m a.s.l. The study shows that the inter-annual runoff variation in a "Himalayan catchment" is linked with precipitation rather than mass balance changes of the glacier. This study also indicates that the warming induced an initial increase of glacier runoff and subsequent decline as suggested by the IPCC (2007) is restricted to the glacier degradation-derived component in a precipitation dominant Himalayan catchment and cannot be translated as river flow response. The preliminary assessment suggests that the "Himalayan catchment" could experience higher river flows and positive glacier mass balance regime together in association with strong monsoon. The important role of glaciers in this precipitation dominant system is to augment stream runoff during the years of low summer discharge. This paper intends to highlight the importance of creating credible knowledge on the Himalayan cryospheric processes to develop a more representative global view on river flow response to cryospheric changes and locally sustainable water resources management strategies.

Download Full-text