scholarly journals Mass Balance Sensitivity and Future Projections of Rabots Glaciär, Sweden

Climate ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Glacier runoff variations since 1955 in the Maipo River basin, in the semiarid Andes of central Chile

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 2005-2027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro Ayala ◽  
David Farías-Barahona ◽  
Matthias Huss ◽  
Francesca Pellicciotti ◽  
James McPhee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Climate Scenario ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Kinematic Approximation ◽  
Glacier Runoff ◽  
Drought Mitigation ◽  
Year 2000

Abstract. As glaciers adjust their size in response to climate variations, long-term changes in meltwater production can be expected, affecting the local availability of water resources. We investigate glacier runoff in the period 1955–2016 in the Maipo River basin (4843 km2, 33.0–34.3∘ S, 69.8–70.5∘ W), in the semiarid Andes of Chile. The basin contains more than 800 glaciers, which cover 378 km2 in total (inventoried in 2000). We model the mass balance and runoff contribution of 26 glaciers with the physically oriented and fully distributed TOPKAPI (Topographic Kinematic Approximation and Integration)-ETH glacio-hydrological model and extrapolate the results to the entire basin. TOPKAPI-ETH is run at a daily time step using several glaciological and meteorological datasets, and its results are evaluated against streamflow records, remotely sensed snow cover, and geodetic mass balances for the periods 1955–2000 and 2000–2013. Results show that in 1955–2016 glacier mass balance had a general decreasing trend as a basin average but also had differences between the main sub-catchments. Glacier volume decreased by one-fifth (from 18.6±4.5 to 14.9±2.9 km3). Runoff from the initially glacierized areas was 177±25 mm yr−1 (16±7 % of the total contributions to the basin), but it shows a decreasing sequence of maxima, which can be linked to the interplay between a decrease in precipitation since the 1980s and the reduction of ice melt. Glaciers in the Maipo River basin will continue retreating because they are not in equilibrium with the current climate. In a hypothetical constant climate scenario, glacier volume would reduce to 81±38 % of the year 2000 volume, and glacier runoff would be 78±30 % of the 1955–2016 average. This would considerably decrease the drought mitigation capacity of the basin.

scholarly journals The response of two Icelandic glaciers to climatic warming computed with a degree-day glacier mass-balance model coupled to a dynamic glacier model

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (144) ◽  
pp. 321-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tómas Jóhannesson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Climate Scenario ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Mass Balance Model ◽  
Degree Day ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Warming Rate

AbstractA degree-day glacier mass-balance model is coupled to a dynamic glacier model for temperate glaciers. The model is calibrated for two outlet glaciers from the Hofsjökull ice cap in central Iceland. It is forced with a climate scenario that has recently been defined for the Nordic countries for the purpose of outlining the hydrological consequences of future greenhouse warming. The scenario for Iceland specifies a warming rate of 0.25°C per decade in mid-summer and 0.35°C per decade in mid-winter with a sinusoidal variation through the year. The volume of the glaciers is predicted to decrease by approximately 40% over the next century, and the glaciers essentially disappear during the next 200 years. Runoff from the area that is presently covered by the glaciers is predicted to increase by approximately 0.5 m a−1 30 years from now due to the reduction in the volume of the glaciers. The runoff increase reaches a flat maximum of 1.5–2.0 m a−1 100–150 years from now and levels off after that. The predicted runoff increase leads to a significant increase in the discharge of rivers fed by meltwater from the outlet glaciers of the ice cap and may have important consequences for the operation and planning of hydroelectric power plants in Iceland.

scholarly journals Constraining turbulent heat flux parameterization over a temperate maritime glacier in New Zealand

2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (63) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.P. Conway ◽  
N.J. Cullen
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Roughness Length ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Large Temperature ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Neutral Atmosphere ◽  
Turbulent Heat Fluxes

AbstractThe turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes are important components of the surface energy balance over glaciers in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, contributing over half the energy available for ablation during large melt events. To calculate these terms confidently in glacier mass-balance models it is essential to use appropriate parameterizations for surface roughness and atmospheric stability. Eddy covariance measurements at Brewster Glacier were obtained over an ice surface to help facilitate an assessment of the calculation of the turbulent heat fluxes. The roughness length for momentum was found to be 3.6 x 10−3m, while the roughness lengths for temperature and humidity were two orders of magnitude smaller, in agreement with surface renewal theory. A Monte Carlo approach was used to assess the uncertainty in turbulent heat fluxes calculated using the bulk aerodynamic method. It was found that input-data and roughness-length uncertainty could not explain underestimates of observed sensible heat fluxes during periods with low wind speed and large temperature gradients. During these periods a katabatic wind speed maximum alters the formulation of the turbulent exchange coefficient to that typically observed in a neutral atmosphere and this has implications for glacier mass-balance sensitivity.

scholarly journals Predicted response of Storglaciären, Sweden, to climatic warming

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 217-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith A. Brugger
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Profile ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Increase ◽  
Dependent Model ◽  
Glacier Flow ◽  
Comparable Magnitude

A time-dependent model of glacier flow was used to predict the response of Storglaciären, a small valley glacier in northern Sweden, to different warming scenarios by imposing two possible climatic forcings: one in which temperature alone increases (T model), and one in which both temperature and precipitation increase (TP model). A range of possible changes in temperature and/or precipitation was related to changes in glacier mass balance through a multiple linear correlation of mean specific net balance with mean summer temperature and mean specific winter balance. The T model was run with mass-balance perturbations in the form of linear increases from the recent (1980–89) mean summer temperature of 1, 2 and 4°C over the next 100 years. Perturbations for the TP model also used linear increases in precipitation of 10, 20 and 50% over current mean winter values in addition to increases in temperature. Results of the modeling suggest that initial changes in the glacier‘s profile due to increases in temperature, or in both temperature and precipitation, are of comparable magnitude to those that might be expected as the glacier completes its response under the existing climate. Changes in the glacier‘s surface profile and terminus position that can, with some certainty, be attributed to climatic warming may only become apparent several decades after warming has begun.

scholarly journals Local topography increasingly influences the mass balance of a retreating cirque glacier

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2109-2122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlyn Florentine ◽  
Joel Harper ◽  
Daniel Fagre ◽  
Johnnie Moore ◽  
Erich Peitzsch
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Climate Variables ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Local Effects ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Average Mass ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Measured Mass

Abstract. Local topographically driven processes – such as wind drifting, avalanching, and shading – are known to alter the relationship between the mass balance of small cirque glaciers and regional climate. Yet partitioning such local effects from regional climate influence has proven difficult, creating uncertainty in the climate representativeness of some glaciers. We address this problem for Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park, USA, using field-measured surface mass balance, geodetic constraints on mass balance, and regional climate data recorded at a network of meteorological and snow stations. Geodetically derived mass changes during 1950–1960, 1960–2005, and 2005–2014 document average mass change rates during each period at −0.22 ± 0.12, −0.18 ± 0.05, and −0.10 ± 0.03 m w.e. yr−1, respectively. A correlation of field-measured mass balance and regional climate variables closely (i.e., within 0.08 m w.e. yr−1) predicts the geodetically measured mass loss from 2005 to 2014. However, this correlation overestimates glacier mass balance for 1950–1960 by +1.20 ± 0.95 m w.e. yr−1. Our analysis suggests that local effects, not represented in regional climate variables, have become a more dominant driver of the net mass balance as the glacier lost 0.50 km2 and retreated further into its cirque.

scholarly journals Long-Term Glacier Mass-Balance Investigations in Svalbard, 1950–88

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 102-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Ove Hagen ◽  
Olav Liestøl
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Winter Precipitation ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
The Mean ◽  
One Year

Mass-balance investigations on glaciers in Svalbard at high latitudes (78°N) show that the ice masses have been steadily decreasing during the period 1950–88. Detailed annual observations have been carried out on Brøggerbreen since 1966 and Lovénbreen since 1967. The mean specific net balances are −0.46 and −0.37 m year−1 water equivalent respectively. Only one year had positive net balance in this period. The cumulative mass lost in the period is then more than 10% of the volume in 1967. Zero net balance would be obtained if the summer temperature was lowered about 1°C or if the winter precipitation increased about 50%. There is a strong correlation between the net mass balance and the height of the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA). Because of the high amount of superimposed ice (10–30% of winter balance) stake readings are necessary to find the ELA. There is no sign of climatic warming through increased melting. The trend analysis of the data from the last 20 years shows stable conditions with a slight increase of the winter balance. The net balance is then slightly increasing and thus less negative than 20 years ago.

scholarly journals A re-analysis of the 58 year mass-balance record of Storglaciären, Sweden

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 389-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Holmlund ◽  
Peter Jansson ◽  
Rickard Pettersson
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Measurement Methods ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
High Quality Data ◽  
Time Periods

AbstractThe use of glacier mass-balance records to assess the effects of glacier volume change from climate change requires high-quality data. The methods for measuring glacier mass balance have been developed in tandem with the measurements themselves, which implies that the quality of the data may change with time. We have investigated such effects on the mass-balance record of Storglaciären, Sweden, by re-analyzing the records using a better map base and applying successive maps over appropriate time periods. Our results show that errors <0.8 m occur during the first decades of the time series. Errors decrease with time, which is consistent with improvements in measurement methods. Comparison between the old and new datasets also shows improvements in the relationships between net balance, equilibrium-line altitude and summer temperature. A time-series analysis also indicates that the record does not contain longer-term (>10 year) oscillations. The pseudo-cyclic signal must thus be explained by factors other than cyclically occurring phenomena, although the record may still be too short to establish significant signals. We strongly recommend re-analysis of long mass-balance records in order to improve the mass-balance records used for other analyses.

scholarly journals Assessment of combined glacier and tree-ring studies to constrain latitudinal climate forcing of Scandinavian glacier mass balances

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 303-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Jansson ◽  
Hans W. Linderholm
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Climate Signal ◽  
South Central ◽  
Tree Ring Data

AbstractAssessing climate change and its effects on the cryosphere is important, and individual proxies are commonly used for such assessments. We have investigated the possibility of combining glacier mass balance and tree-ring data to better understand regional climate variability in Scandinavia. There are substantial differences between climate information in mass-balance and tree-ring data. Summer balance (bS) is strongly related to summer temperature, while winter balance (bW) is less readily interpreted in terms of a climate signal. Tree rings are good summer temperature proxies, but due to the complexity of tree growth factors (e.g. the effect of the previous winter’s climate) tree-ring records do not exclusively represent summer temperatures. Combining bS and tree-ring records will not likely yield additional summer climate information. The relationship of mass balance with the Arctic Oscillation is stronger than with the North Atlantic Oscillation, especially for northernmost Sweden, whereas no such correlations were found for tree-ring data. The agreement between bN records from both maritime south-central Norway and continental northernmost Sweden and tree-ring data from Jämtland, in a maritime/continental climate transition zone, suggests possibilities to combine mass-balance and tree-ring data to provide information about climate over the entire year on interannual timescales.

scholarly journals Monitoring spatial and temporal variations of surface albedo on Saint Sorlin Glacier (French Alps) using terrestrial photography

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 271-305
Author(s):  
M. Dumont ◽  
P. Sirguey ◽  
Y. Arnaud ◽  
D. Six
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Solar Spectrum ◽  
Incident Radiation ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Infrared Wavelengths ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Accurate knowledge of temperate glacier mass balance is essential to understand the relationship between glacier and climate. Defined as the reflected fraction of incident radiation over the whole solar spectrum, the surface broadband albedo is one of the leading variable of their mass balance. This study presents a new method to retrieve the albedo of frozen surfaces from terrestrial photography at visible and near infrared wavelengths. This method accounts for the anisotropic reflectance of snow and ice surfaces and uses a radiative transfer model for narrow-to-broadband conversion. The accuracy of the method was assessed using concomitant measurements of albedo during the summers 2008 and 2009 on Saint Sorlin Glacier (Grandes Rousses, France). These albedo measurements are performed at two locations on the glacier, one in the ablation area and the other in the accumulation zone, with a net radiometer Kipp and Zonen CNR1. Main sources of uncertainty are associated with the presence of high clouds and the georeferencing of the photographs.

scholarly journals Relationships Between Synoptic-Scale Atmospheric Circulation and Glacier Mass Balance in South-Western Canada During the International Hydrological Decade, 1965–74

1984 ◽  
Vol 30 (105) ◽  
pp. 188-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent Yarnal
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Wave Disturbances ◽  
Synoptic Weather ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe relationship between synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation and glacier mass balance in the Cordillera of south-western Canada is investigated. Objective synoptic typing techniques are applied to glaciometeorological data from Peyto Glacier, Alberta, and Sentinel Glacier, British Columbia, and to climatological data from nearby weather stations. Two scales of 500 mbar synoptic weather maps are analyzed and compared. One is smaller with high-wavenumber patterns, the other is larger with more general patterns.The results demonstrate that the mass balance of Peyto and Sentinel Glaciers are related to the 500 mbar patterns. Synoptic types with cyclonic curvature favor glacier accumulation, while anticyclonic types inhibit build-up of the regional snow-pack. Ablation is suppressed by synoptic types associated with cloudy days and/or low temperatures, and is enhanced by types associated with warm, sunny days. Furthermore, findings suggest that both the accumulation and ablation of Sentinel Glacier are controlled by small-scale, high-wavenumber synoptic patterns. Conversely, Peyto Glacier accumulation is more closely associated with large-scale patterns, suggesting that high-frequency mid-tropospheric oscillations embedded within the slow-moving baroclinic zones associated with long-wave disturbances may be dampened by the rough topography of the Canadian Cordillera. Ablation is predicted poorly by both scales at Peyto.

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