Change in the Extent of Glaciers and Glacier Runoff in the Chinese Sector of the Ile River Basin between 1962 and 2012

Change in glacier area in the Kuksu and Kunes river basins, which are tributaries to the internationally important Ile River, were assessed at two different time steps between 1962/63, 1990/93, and 2010/12. Overall, glaciers lost 191.3 ± 16.8 km2 or 36.9 ± 6.5% of the initial area. Glacier wastage intensified in the latter period: While in 1962/63–1990/93 glaciers were losing 0.5% a−1, in 1990/93–2010/12, they were losing 1.2% a−1. Streamflow of the Ile River and its tributaries do not exhibit statistically significant change during the vegetative period between May and September. Positive trends were observed in the Ile flow in autumn, winter, and early spring. By contrast, the calculation of the total runoff from the glacier surface (including snow and ice melt) using temperature-index method and runoff forming due to melting of multiyear ice estimated from changes in glacier volume at different time steps between the 1960s and 2010s, showed that their absolute values and their contribution to total river runoff declined since the 1980s. This change is attributed to a strong reduction in glacier area.

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Glacial debris cover and melt water production for glaciers in the Altay, Russia

The Cryosphere Discussions ◽

10.5194/tcd-5-401-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 401-430 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

C. Mayer ◽

A. Lambrecht ◽

W. Hagg ◽

Y. Narozhny

Keyword(s):

Ice Melt ◽

The North ◽

Altay Mountains ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Glacier Runoff ◽

Debris Cover ◽

Continuous Mass ◽

Different Depths ◽

The 1960S ◽

Elevation Model

Abstract. Glaciers are important water storages on a seasonal and long-term time scale. Where high mountains are surrounded by arid lowlands, glacier runoff is an important source of water during the growing season. This situation can be found in the Altay mountains in Southern Siberia, where the recent glacierization of >700 km2 is subject to continuous mass loss, even though the shrinking is comparably slow. The glacier retreat is accompanied by an extension of supra-glacial moraine, which itself strongly influences ablation rates. To quantify these effects, the spatial evolution of debris cover since 1952 was analysed for three glaciers in the North Chuya Ridge using satellite and airborne imagery. In summer 2007, an ablation experiment was carried out on debris covered parts of Maliy Aktru glacier. Thermistors in different depths within the moraine provided data to calculate thermal resistance of the debris. A set of ablation stakes was installed at locations with differing debris thickness and observed regularly throughout the entire melt season. Air temperature from an AWS was used to calculate degree day factors in dependence of the debris thickness. To take into account the shading effect of surrounding walls and peaks, the potential solar radiation and its evolution throughout the summer was determined from a digital elevation model. This allows us to extrapolate our measurements from Maliy Aktru to the other two glaciers of the Aktru basin and to estimate basin melt rates. In addition accumulated ice melt was derived for 12 glaciers in the North Chuya Range. Changes in summer runoff from the 1960s are compared to the results from our melt model and the evolution of debris cover is analysed in respect to the melt activity.

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Glacier contribution to streamflow in two headwaters of the Huasco River, Dry Andes of Chile

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-5-1099-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 1099-1113 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

S. Gascoin ◽

C. Kinnard ◽

R. Ponce ◽

S. Lhermitte ◽

S. MacDonell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Assessment ◽

Hydrological Regime ◽

Snow Accumulation ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Headwater Catchments ◽

Glacier Meltwater ◽

Glacier Runoff ◽

Change Impact ◽

The Mean

Abstract. Quantitative assessment of glacier contribution to present-day streamflow is a prerequisite to the anticipation of climate change impact on water resources in the Dry Andes. In this paper we focus on two glaciated headwater catchments of the Huasco Basin (Chile, 29° S). The combination of glacier monitoring data for five glaciers (Toro 1, Toro 2, Esperanza, Guanaco, Estrecho and Ortigas) with five automatic streamflow records at sites with glacier coverage of 0.4 to 11 % allows the estimation of the mean annual glacier contribution to discharge between 2003/2004 and 2007/2008 hydrological years. In addition, direct manual measurements of glacier runoff were conducted in summer at the snouts of four glaciers, which provide the instantaneous contribution of glacier meltwater to stream runoff during summer. The results show that the mean annual glacier contribution to streamflow ranges between 3.3 and 23 %, which is greater than the glaciated fraction of the catchments. We argue that glacier contribution is partly enhanced by the effect of snowdrift from the non-glacier area to the glacier surface. Glacier mass loss is evident over the study period, with a mean of −0.84 m w.e. yr−1 for the period 2003/2004–2007/2008, and also contributes to increase glacier runoff. An El Niño episode in 2002 resulted in high snow accumulation, modifying the hydrological regime and probably reducing the glacier contribution in favor of seasonal snowmelt during the subsequent 2002/2003 hydrological year. At the hourly timescale, summertime glacier contributions are highly variable in space and time, revealing large differences in effective melting rates between glaciers and glacierets (from 1 mm w.e. h−1 to 6 mm w.e. h−1).

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Glacier contribution to streamflow in two headwaters of the Huasco River, Dry Andes of Chile

The Cryosphere Discussions ◽

10.5194/tcd-4-2373-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 2373-2413 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

S. Gascoin ◽

C. Kinnard ◽

R. Ponce ◽

S. Lhermitte ◽

S. MacDonell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Assessment ◽

Hydrological Regime ◽

Snow Accumulation ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Headwater Catchments ◽

Glacier Meltwater ◽

Glacier Runoff ◽

Change Impact ◽

The Mean

Abstract. Quantitative assessment of glacier contribution to present-day streamflow is a prerequisite to the anticipation of climate change impact on water resources in the Dry Andes. In this paper we focus on two glaciated headwater catchments of the Huasco Basin (Chile, 29° S). The combination of glacier monitoring data for five glaciers (Toro 1, Toro 2, Esperanza, Guanaco, Estrecho and Ortigas) with five automatic streamflow records at sites with glacier coverage of 0.4 to 11% allows the estimation of the mean annual glacier contribution to discharge between 2003 and 2008. In addition, direct manual measurements of glacier runoff were conducted in summer at the snouts of four glaciers, which provide the instantaneous contribution of glacier meltwater to stream runoff during summer. The results show that the mean annual glacier contribution to streamflow ranges between 3.3 and 23%, which is greater than the glaciated fraction of the catchments. We argue that glacier contribution is partly enhanced by the effect of snowdrift from the non-glacier area to the glacier surface. Glacier mass loss is evident over the study period, with a mean of −0.84 m w.e. y−1 for the period 2003–2008, and also contributes to increase glacier runoff. An El Niño episode in 2002 resulted in high snow accumulation, modifying the hydrological regime and probably reducing the glacier contribution in favor of seasonal snowmelt during the subsequent 2002–2003 hydrological year. At the hourly timescale, summertime glacier contributions are highly variable in space and time, revealing large differences in effective melting rates between glacierets and glaciers.

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Variation of Runoff and Runoff Components of the Upper Shule River in the Northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau under Climate Change

Water ◽

10.3390/w13233357 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (23) ◽

pp. 3357

Author(s):

Jinkui Wu ◽

Hongyuan Li ◽

Jiaxin Zhou ◽

Shuya Tai ◽

Xueliang Wang

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Reduction Rate ◽

Northwest China ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Rainfall Runoff ◽

Total Runoff ◽

Increasing Temperature ◽

The Impact

Quantifying the impact of climate change on hydrologic features is essential for the scientific planning, management and sustainable use of water resources in Northwest China. Based on hydrometeorological data and glacier inventory data, the Spatial Processes in Hydrology (SPHY) model was used to simulate the changes of hydrologic processes in the Upper Shule River (USR) from 1971 to 2020, and variations of runoff and runoff components were quantitatively analyzed using the simulations and observations. The results showed that the glacier area has decreased by 21.8% with a reduction rate of 2.06 km2/a. Significant increasing trends in rainfall runoff, glacier runoff (GR) and baseflow indicate there has been a consistent increase in total runoff due to increasing rainfall and glacier melting. The baseflow has made the largest contribution to total runoff, followed by GR, rainfall runoff and snow runoff, with mean annual contributions of 38%, 28%, 18% and 16%, respectively. The annual contribution of glacier and snow runoff to the total runoff shows a decreasing trend with decreasing glacier area and increasing temperature. Any increase of total runoff in the future will depend on an increase of rainfall, which will exacerbate the impact of drought and flood disasters.

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

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-14-2005-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 2005-2027 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

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.

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Land-fast ice microalgal and phytoplanktonic communities (Adélie Land, Antarctica) in relation to environmental factors during ice break-up

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102003001378 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 353-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

C. RIAUX-GOBIN ◽

M. POULIN ◽

R. PRODON ◽

P. TREGUER

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Early Spring ◽

Ice Melt ◽

Fast Ice ◽

Maximum Cell ◽

Cell Densities ◽

Ice Water ◽

Water Species ◽

Very High ◽

Pennate Diatoms

Annual land-fast ice, particularly an unconsolidated layer or “platelet ice-like” layer (PLI), was sampled in spring 1995 to study the spatial and short-term variations of ice-associated diatoms. Under-ice water, a lead and small polynyas were also sampled. Along a 7 km seaward transect a geographical gradient was evident, with some rare diatom species present only in the offshore PLI, whereas others (mainly pennate diatoms) were ubiquitous. The dense microphytic PLI community as well as the phytoplankton was diatom-dominated, but, within these two communities, marked differences appeared. First, the sea-ice communities (PLI and solid bottom ice) were moderately diverse (36 species), mostly composed of pennate diatoms, of which many were chain forming or tube-dwelling. Dominant taxa were Navicula glaciei, Berkeleya adeliensis, Nitzschia stellata, Amphiprora kufferathii and Nitzschia lecointei. Some differences in the distribution of the most dominant species appeared within the bottom ice and the PLI, attesting to differences in the origin or/and growing capability of these diatoms in these two ice compartments. Under-ice water species composition was mixed with sea-ice communities only on the most coastal sites and during ice melt. Maximum cell numbers were mostly noticed in the PLI, reaching up to 1010 cells l−1 and very high Chl a concentrations (exceptionally up to 9.8 mg Chl a l−1 or 1.9 g Chl a m−2, from a 10 to 20 cm thick PLI layer, close to the continent). Secondly, the phytoplankton in the lead and small polynyas had a low diversity, very low standing stocks (on an average 0.69 μg Chl a l−1) and cell densities (2 × 104 cells l−1). Some species from the polynyas were similar to those of the PLI, such as Navicula glaciei, but others were typically planktonic, such as Chaetoceros cf. neglectus. The presence of encysted cells (Chaetoceros and Chrysophytes) was also noticeable in the polynya water. In early spring no seeding process was obvious from the PLI to polynya water. A comparison with similar fast-ice diatom communities in other parts of coastal Antarctica, is presented.

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Implementation of a process-based catchment model in a poorly gauged, highly glacierized Himalayan headwater

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-11-1323-2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1323-1339 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

M. Konz ◽

S. Uhlenbrook ◽

L. Braun ◽

A. Shrestha ◽

S. Demuth

Keyword(s):

Model Simulation ◽

Research Area ◽

Index Method ◽

Ice Melt ◽

Modeling Approach ◽

Catchment Modeling ◽

Daily Discharge ◽

Hbv Model ◽

Catchment Model ◽

Snow And Ice

Abstract. The paper presents a catchment modeling approach for remote glacierized Himalayan catchments. The distributed catchment model TACD, which is widely based on the HBV model, was further developed for the application in highly glacierized catchments on a daily timestep and applied to the Nepalese Himalayan headwater Langtang Khola (360 km2). Low laying reference stations are taken for temperature extrapolation applying a second order polynomial function. Probability based statistical methods enable bridging data gaps in daily precipitation time series and the redistribution of cumulated precipitation sums over the previous days. Snow and ice melt was calculated in a distributed way based on the temperature-index method employing calculated daily potential sunshine durations. Different melting conditions of snow and ice and melting of ice under debris layers were considered. The spatial delineation of hydrological response units was achieved by taking topographic and physiographic information from maps and satellite images into account, and enabled to incorporate process knowledge into the model. Simulation results demonstrated that the model is able to simulate daily discharge for a period of 10 years and point glacier mass balances observed in the research area with an adequate reliability. The simple but robust data pre-processing and modeling approach enables the determination of the components of the water balance of a remote, data scarce catchment with a minimum of input data.

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Recent retreat of the Elbrus glacier system

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/jog.2016.15 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 62 (231) ◽

pp. 94-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

IULIAN-HORIA HOLOBÂCĂ

Keyword(s):

Summer Temperature ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Positive Relation ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Glacier System ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Glacier Changes ◽

Global Land ◽

Increasing Trend

The glacier system covering Europe's highest mountain, Elbrus, has exhibited an accelerated retreat since 1980. Some studies have related this retreat to a significant summer temperature increasing trend. Relief- and aspect-related parameters for the glacierized area have an important impact on glacier changes. In this paper, the changes in glacier area are identified, quantified and correlated with relief parameters for the period 1985–2007. Spatial analysis was performed using the GLAM-CD (Glacier Mapper – Change Detector) algorithm. The input data for this algorithm were Landsat 5 images, the Aster Global Digital Elevation and the glacier outlines from the GLIMS project (Global Land Ice Measurements from Space). Regression analyses between glacier area losses and relief-related parameters indicate a significant positive relation with the altitude and a significant negative relation with the glacier surface area. In this context, we used a correlated component regression to model these relations. The model explains >50% of the total variation.

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Modelling the trajectory of the corpses of mountaineers who disappeared in 1926 on Aletschgletscher, Switzerland

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/2014jog13j156 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 60 (220) ◽

pp. 255-261 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Guillaume Jouvet ◽

Martin Funk

Keyword(s):

Velocity Field ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Space Time ◽

Severe Weather ◽

Time Dependent ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Space And Time ◽

End Point

AbstractIn this paper we reconstruct the space–time trajectory beneath the surface of Aletschgletscher, Switzerland, of the corpses of three mountaineers that disappeared in March 1926 and reappeared at the glacier surface in June 2012. Our method integrates the time-dependent velocity field of an existing full-Stokes glacier model, starting at the point where the corpses were found at the glacier surface. Our main result is that we were able to localize the immersion location where the brothers presumably died. As a second result, the upstream end point of the computed trajectory emerges very close to the glacier surface in 1926, giving a new and global validation of the glacier model in space and time. Testing the sensitivity of the immersion location obtained with respect to the model and other uncertainties indicates an area of 0.6% of the entire glacier area where the accident could have occurred. Our result suggests that death was not caused by an avalanche or a fall into a crevasse; instead, it is likely that the mountaineers became disoriented in prolonged severe weather conditions and froze to death.

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Calculation and Prediction of the Total Glacial Melting in Watersheds of Central Asia

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/s0022143000029658 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 19 (81) ◽

pp. 677-678

Author(s):

V.G. Konovalov

Keyword(s):

Solar Radiation ◽

Atmospheric Precipitation ◽

Weighted Average ◽

Total Solar Radiation ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Seasonal Snow ◽

Glacier Terminus ◽

Snow Line

AbstractA computer method for calculating the total melting from May to October has been developed both for a single glacier and for a glacial area. In the second case (which is the more interesting and important for hydrology and glaciology) it is necessary to calculate some characteristics of an “average" glacier of the region using morphometric characteristics included in the Catalogue of the U.S.S.R. glaciers. These are: glacier area; average area of moraine on the glacier; weighted average of heights of upper and lower ends of a glacier and weighted average of mean height of firn line. It is also necessary to obtain data on glacier area distribution by height, precipitation data, and data on air temperature and cloudiness at meteorological stations.In addition to defining typical glacial regions within the limits of the glacial area considered and determination of the “average" glacier characteristics listed above, preparation of the computer programme includes (a) definition of precipitation dependence on orography height and calculation of appropriate parameters, (b) reduction (if necessary) of data obtained from the meteorological station nearest to glacial area to a more prolonged range, (c) calculation of a special balance index of accumulation and melting of seasonal precipitation which makes it possible to define maximum excess of seasonal snow line over the “average" glacier terminus in separate years, and (d) computation of total solar radiation occuring in clear days during May to October.In the course of computation on computer the following operations are realized: (a) determination of an average value of total radiation arriving during months of May to October period given the real cloudiness conditions, (b) calculation of the height of the snow line on the glacier, (c) calculation of quantity and duration of solid atmospheric precipitation which melts between May and October on the glacier surface, (d) estimation of absorbed solar radiation taking account of the differing albedo of glacial surfaces situated above and below the seasonal snow line, (e) calculation of the total melting of glaciers belonging to the given mountain watershed.Checking of the calculational method has been performed using data from Lednik Tsentralnyy Tuyuksu and Lednik Ayutor-2 where numerous ablation stakes were installed. Values of measured and calculated melting agree satisfactorily.

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