scholarly journals Mass-balance variability as a base for interpreting ice-core data

1995 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 201-205
Author(s):  
V. N. Mikhalenko
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Similarity Type ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Point Analysis ◽  
Drilling Site

The spatial extrapolation of data from ice cores depends on the complexity of the glacier system where the drilling site is located. The correlation between net mass balance, bn, of a specific point and of the whole glacier is different for each point. Analysis of net mass balance of Tuyuksu glacier in the Tien Shan, central Asia, confirms that the distribution of mass balance with height is more-or-less constant from year to year except in years with extreme values bn. Two types of “similarity” are described, additive and multiplicative. The “similarity” changes gradually from additive at the peripheral parts of the Tien Shan to multiplicative in the most continental central and eastern parts. Glacier mass-balance fluctuations of the frontal ridges are connected to the oscillations of accumulation and consequently to precipitation. Where the climate is more continental the mass-balance variability depends much more on the melting conditions than on accumulation. For the spatial interpretation of ice-core drilling results, a special analysis of “similarity type” is necessary. It allows the fixing of the spatial borders of the glacier system for which the dhilling site is representative.

scholarly journals Mass-balance variability as a base for interpreting ice-core data

1995 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 201-205
Author(s):  
V. N. Mikhalenko
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Similarity Type ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Point Analysis ◽  
Drilling Site

The spatial extrapolation of data from ice cores depends on the complexity of the glacier system where the drilling site is located. The correlation between net mass balance, b n, of a specific point and of the whole glacier is different for each point. Analysis of net mass balance of Tuyuksu glacier in the Tien Shan, central Asia, confirms that the distribution of mass balance with height is more-or-less constant from year to year except in years with extreme values b n. Two types of “similarity” are described, additive and multiplicative. The “similarity” changes gradually from additive at the peripheral parts of the Tien Shan to multiplicative in the most continental central and eastern parts. Glacier mass-balance fluctuations of the frontal ridges are connected to the oscillations of accumulation and consequently to precipitation. Where the climate is more continental the mass-balance variability depends much more on the melting conditions than on accumulation. For the spatial interpretation of ice-core drilling results, a special analysis of “similarity type” is necessary. It allows the fixing of the spatial borders of the glacier system for which the dhilling site is representative.

scholarly journals Changes in Eurasian glaciation during the past century: glacier mass balance and ice-core evidence

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 283-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir N. Mikhalenko
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Glacier Ice

Glaciers of both the Arctic and mid-latitude mountain systems within Eurasia have retreated intensively during the past century. Measured and reconstructed glacier mass balances show that glacier retreat began around the 1880s. The mean annual mass-balance value for 1880–1990 was −480 mm a−1 for glaciers with maritime climatic conditions, and −140 mm a−1 for continental glaciers. It can be concluded that warming in the Caucasus occurred during at least the last 60 years, according to the distribution of crystal sizes in an ice core from the Dzhantugan firn plateau. Temperatures measured in 1962 at 20 m on the Gregoriev ice cap, Tien Shan, were −4.2°C while in 1990 they were −2°C, a warming of 2.2°C over 28 years. Changes in the isotopic composition of glacier ice during the 20th century indicate recent and continuing warming in different regions of Eurasia. The δ18O records reveal an enrichment at the Gregoriev ice cap during the last 50 years, while surface temperatures at the Tien Shan meteorological station have increased 0.5°C since 1930.

scholarly journals Glaciers and Global Warming

2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy M. Koerner ◽  
Leif Lundgaard
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Warming Trend ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
The Past

ABSTRACT Ice core and mass balance studies from glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets constitute an ideal medium for monitoring and studying present and past environmental change and, as such, make a valuable contribution to the present debate over anthropogenic forcing of climate. Data derived from 32 years of measurements in the Canadian Arctic show no significant trends in glacier mass balance, ice melt, or snow accumulation, although the mass balance continues to be slightly negative. Models suggest that industrial aerosol loading of the atmosphere should add to the warming effect of greenhouse gases. However, we have found a sharp increase in the concentration of industrial pollutants in snow deposited since the early 1950's which makes the trendless nature of our various time series surprising. Spatial differences in the nature of climatic change may account for the lack of trend in the Queen Elizabeth Islands but encourages similar investigations to this study elsewhere in the circumpolar region. A global warming trend over the past 150 years has been demonstrated from instrumental data and is evident in our ice cores. However, the ice core data and glacier geometry changes in the Canadian Arctic suggest the Arctic warming is more pronounced in summer than winter. The same warming trend is not unique when viewed in the context of changes over the past 10,000 or 100,000 years. This suggests the 150-year trend is part of the natural climate variability.

scholarly journals Changes in Eurasian glaciation during the past century: glacier mass balance and ice-core evidence

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 283-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir N. Mikhalenko
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Glacier Ice

Glaciers of both the Arctic and mid-latitude mountain systems within Eurasia have retreated intensively during the past century. Measured and reconstructed glacier mass balances show that glacier retreat began around the 1880s. The mean annual mass-balance value for 1880–1990 was −480 mm a−1 for glaciers with maritime climatic conditions, and −140 mm a−1 for continental glaciers. It can be concluded that warming in the Caucasus occurred during at least the last 60 years, according to the distribution of crystal sizes in an ice core from the Dzhantugan firn plateau. Temperatures measured in 1962 at 20 m on the Gregoriev ice cap, Tien Shan, were −4.2°C while in 1990 they were −2°C, a warming of 2.2°C over 28 years. Changes in the isotopic composition of glacier ice during the 20th century indicate recent and continuing warming in different regions of Eurasia. The δ 18O records reveal an enrichment at the Gregoriev ice cap during the last 50 years, while surface temperatures at the Tien Shan meteorological station have increased 0.5°C since 1930.

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2361-2383 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Climate dependent contrast in surface mass balance in East Antarctica over the past 216 ka

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (236) ◽  
pp. 1037-1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. PARRENIN ◽  
S. FUJITA ◽  
A. ABE-OUCHI ◽  
K. KAWAMURA ◽  
V. MASSON-DELMOTTE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
The Past ◽  
Water Stable Isotope ◽  
Global Mean Sea Level

ABSTRACTDocumenting past changes in the East Antarctic surface mass balance is important to improve ice core chronologies and to constrain the ice-sheet contribution to global mean sea-level change. Here we reconstruct past changes in the ratio of surface mass balance (SMB ratio) between the EPICA Dome C (EDC) and Dome Fuji (DF) East Antarctica ice core sites, based on a precise volcanic synchronization of the two ice cores and on corrections for the vertical thinning of layers. During the past 216 000 a, this SMB ratio, denoted SMBEDC/SMBDF, varied between 0.7 and 1.1, being small during cold periods and large during warm periods. Our results therefore reveal larger amplitudes of changes in SMB at EDC compared with DF, consistent with previous results showing larger amplitudes of changes in water stable isotopes and estimated surface temperature at EDC compared with DF. Within the last glacial inception (Marine Isotope Stages, MIS-5c and MIS-5d), the SMB ratio deviates by up to 0.2 from what is expected based on differences in water stable isotope records. Moreover, the SMB ratio is constant throughout the late parts of the current and last interglacial periods, despite contrasting isotopic trends.

scholarly journals Geodetic Mass Balance of Haxilegen Glacier No. 51, Eastern Tien Shan, from 1964 to 2018

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
Chunhai Xu ◽  
Zhongqin Li ◽  
Feiteng Wang ◽  
Jianxin Mu ◽  
Xin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Geodetic Mass Balance

The eastern Tien Shan hosts substantial mid-latitude glaciers, but in situ glacier mass balance records are extremely sparse. Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 (eastern Tien Shan, China) is one of the very few well-measured glaciers, and comprehensive glaciological measurements were implemented from 1999 to 2011 and re-established in 2017. Mass balance of Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 (1999–2015) has recently been reported, but the mass balance record has not extended to the period before 1999. Here, we used a 1:50,000-scale topographic map and long-range terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data to calculate the area, volume, and mass changes for Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 from 1964 to 2018. Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 lost 0.34 km2 (at a rate of 0.006 km2 a−1 or 0.42% a−1) of its area during the period 1964–2018. The glacier experienced clearly negative surface elevation changes and geodetic mass balance. Thinning occurred almost across the entire glacier surface, with a mean value of −0.43 ± 0.12 m a−1. The calculated average geodetic mass balance was −0.36 ± 0.12 m w.e. a−1. Without considering the error bounds of mass balance estimates, glacier mass loss over the past 50 years was in line with the observed and modeled mass balance (−0.37 ± 0.22 m w.e. a−1) that was published for short time intervals since 1999 but was slightly less negative than glacier mass loss in the entire eastern Tien Shan. Our results indicate that Riegl VZ®-6000 TLS can be widely used for mass balance measurements of unmonitored individual glaciers.

scholarly journals Climatic and atmospheric circulation pattern variability from ice-core isotope/geochemistry records (Altai, Tien Shan and Tibet)

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir B. Aizen ◽  
Elena M. Aizen ◽  
Daniel R. Joswiak ◽  
Koji Fujita ◽  
Nozomu Takeuchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
Synoptic Climatology ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau

AbstractSeveral firn/ice cores were recovered from the Siberian Altai (Belukha plateau), central Tien Shan (Inilchek glacier) and the Tibetan Plateau (Zuoqiupu glacier, Bomi) from 1998 to 2003. The comparison analyses of stable-isotope/geochemistry records obtained from these firn/ice cores identified the physical links controlling the climate-related signals at the seasonal-scale variability. The core data related to physical stratigraphy, meteorology and synoptic atmospheric dynamics were the basis for calibration, validation and clustering of the relationships between the firn-/ice-core isotope/ geochemistry and snow accumulation, air temperature and precipitation origin. The mean annual accumulation (in water equivalent) was 106 gcm−2 a−1 at Inilchek glacier, 69 gcm−2 a−1 at Belukha and 196 g cm−2 a−1 at Zuoqiupu. The slopes in regression lines between the δ18O ice-core records and air temperature were found to be positive for the Tien Shan and Altai glaciers and negative for southeastern Tibet, where heavy amounts of isotopically depleted precipitation occur during summer monsoons. The technique of coupling synoptic climatology and meteorological data with δ18O and d-excess in firn-core records was developed to determine climate-related signals and to identify the origin of moisture. In Altai, two-thirds of accumulation from 1984 to 2001 was formed from oceanic precipitation, and the rest of the precipitation was recycled over Aral–Caspian sources. In the Tien Shan, 87% of snow accumulation forms by precipitation originating from the Aral–Caspian closed basin, the eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas, and 13% from the North Atlantic.

scholarly journals The impact of Saharan dust and black carbon on albedo and long-term glacier mass balance

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1133-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Gabbi ◽  
M. Huss ◽  
A. Bauder ◽  
F. Cao ◽  
M. Schwikowski
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Mass Balances ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Light-absorbing impurities in snow and ice control glacier melt as shortwave radiation represents the main component of the surface energy balance. Here, we investigate the long-term effect of snow impurities, i.e. Saharan dust and black carbon (BC), on albedo and glacier mass balance. The analysis was performed over the period 1914–2014 for two sites on Claridenfirn, Swiss Alps, where an outstanding 100 year record of seasonal mass balance measurements is available. Information on atmospheric deposition of mineral dust and BC over the last century was retrieved from two firn/ice cores of high-alpine sites. A combined mass balance and snow/firn layer model was employed to assess the dust/BC-albedo feedback. Compared to pure snow conditions, the presence of Saharan dust and BC lowered the mean annual albedo by 0.04–0.06 and increased melt by 15–19% on average depending on the location on the glacier. BC clearly dominated absorption which is about three times higher than that of mineral dust. The upper site has experienced mainly positive mass balances and impurity layers were continuously buried whereas at the lower site, surface albedo was more strongly influenced by re-exposure of dust-enriched layers due to frequent years with negative mass balances.

scholarly journals Progress and prospect for research on mountain glaciers in China

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 207-211
Author(s):  
Xie Zichu
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Mountain Glaciers ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Glacial Runoff ◽  
West Kunlun

In the past decade the interest of many scientists worldwide has been attracted to the central Asian area of China. A number of gaps in scientific knowledge have been closed, and many significant discoveries have been made.The most important achievement is the ice-core research by the Sino-American Joint Expedition to the Dunde Ice Cap, Qilian mountains, that established a record of ten thousand years of climatic and environmental change. In addition, in cooperation with scientists from Japan, Switzerland and the Soviet Union, studies have been carried out focusing on glacier mass balance, heat balance, the mechanism and formation of glacial runoff, and high mountain climates. This work has been done in the Tien Shan, west Kunlun, Tanggula, Nyaingentanglha and Gongga mountains.In addition, through joint efforts of scientists from China, Nepal and Canada, important advances have also been made in studies of glacier lake outburst floods and debris flows in the Karakoram and the Himalayas, and in mountainous areas in southeastern Tibet.The glaciers in central Asia will continue to be an important research area for glaciologists from all over the world in the coming decade.

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