scholarly journals Local reduction of decadal glacier thickness loss through mass balance management in ski resorts

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Fischer ◽  
K. Helfricht ◽  
Martin Stocker-Waldhuber
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Ski Resorts ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Glacier Advance

Abstract. For Austrian glacier ski resorts, established in the 1970s and 1980s during a period of glacier advance, negative mass balances with resulting glacier area loss and decrease in surface elevation present an operational challenge. Glacier cover, snow farming and technical snow production were introduced as adaptation measures based on studies on the effect of these measures on energy and mass balance. After a decade of the application of the various measures, the transition from the proven short-term effects to long-term effects was studied by comparing elevation changes in areas with and without mass balance management. Based on LiDAR DEMs and DGPS measurements, decadal surface elevation changes in 16 locations with mass balance management were compared to those without measures (apart from piste grooming) in five Tyrolean ski resorts on seven glaciers. The comparison of surface elevation changes presents clear local differences in mass change, and it shows the potential to retain local ice thickness over a certain time period. Locally up to 20 m of ice thickness was preserved compared to non-maintained areas at glacier tongues over a period of nine years. At 11 out of 16 profiles with mass balance management measurements, surface elevation loss could be reduced by more than 35 %. At six profiles, surface elevation loss could be reduced by over 65 %. At two of these profiles the surface elevation was preserved altogether, which is promising for a sustainable maintenance of the infrastructure at glacier ski resorts. Features like former covered pistes and installations in fun parks have rapidly evened out with the surrounding surface elevation as soon as maintenance was stopped. In general the results demonstrate the high potential of the combination of piste grooming and glacier cover, not only in the short term, but also for multi-year application to maintain the skiing infrastructure.

scholarly journals Local reduction of decadal glacier thickness loss through mass balance management in ski resorts

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2941-2952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Fischer ◽  
Kay Helfricht ◽  
Martin Stocker-Waldhuber
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Differential Gps ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Thickness Loss ◽  
Ski Resorts ◽  
Elevation Changes

Abstract. For Austrian glacier ski resorts, established in the 1970s and 1980s during a period of glacier advance, negative mass balances with resulting glacier area loss and decrease in surface elevation present an operational challenge. Glacier cover, snow farming, and technical snow production were introduced as adaptation measures based on studies on the effect of these measures on energy and mass balance. After a decade of the application of the various measures, we studied the transition from the proven short-term effects of the measures on mass balance to long-term effects on elevation changes. Based on lidar digital elevation models and differential GPS measurements, decadal surface elevation changes in 15 locations with mass balance management were compared to those without measures (apart from piste grooming) in five Tyrolean ski resorts on seven glaciers. The comparison of surface elevation changes presents clear local differences in mass change, and it shows the potential to retain local ice thickness over 1 decade. Locally up to 21.1 m ± 0.4 m of ice thickness was preserved on mass balance managed areas compared to non-maintained areas over a period of 9 years. In this period, mean annual thickness loss in 15 of the mass balance managed profiles is 0.54 ± 0.04 m yr−1 lower (−0.23 ± 0.04 m yr−1on average) than in the respective reference areas (−0.78 ± 0.04 m yr−1). At two of these profiles the surface elevation was preserved altogether, which is promising for a sustainable maintenance of the infrastructure at glacier ski resorts. In general the results demonstrate the high potential of the combination of mass balance management by snow production and glacier cover, not only in the short term but also for multi-year application to maintain the skiing infrastructure.

scholarly journals Surface elevation changes during 2007–13 on Bowdoin and Tugto Glaciers, northwestern Greenland

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (236) ◽  
pp. 1083-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHUN TSUTAKI ◽  
SHIN SUGIYAMA ◽  
DAIKI SAKAKIBARA ◽  
TAKANOBU SAWAGAKI
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Negative Surface

ABSTRACTTo quantify recent thinning of marine-terminating outlet glaciers in northwestern Greenland, we carried out field and satellite observations near the terminus of Bowdoin Glacier. These data were used to compute the change in surface elevation from 2007 to 2013 and this rate of thinning was then compared with that of the adjacent land-terminating Tugto Glacier. Comparing DEMs of 2007 and 2010 shows that Bowdoin Glacier is thinning more rapidly (4.1 ± 0.3 m a−1) than Tugto Glacier (2.8 ± 0.3 m a−1). The observed negative surface mass-balance accounts for <40% of the elevation change of Bowdoin Glacier, meaning that the thinning of Bowdoin Glacier cannot be attributable to surface melting alone. The ice speed of Bowdoin Glacier increases down-glacier, reaching 457 m a−1 near the calving front. This flow regime causes longitudinal stretching and vertical compression at a rate of −0.04 a−1. It is likely that this dynamically-controlled thinning has been enhanced by the acceleration of the glacier since 2000. Our measurements indicate that ice dynamics indeed play a predominant role in the rapid thinning of Bowdoin Glacier.

scholarly journals Glaciers, snow and ski tourism in Austria’s changing climate

2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (58) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Fischer ◽  
Marc Olefs ◽  
Jakob Abermann
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Ski Resort ◽  
Ski Resorts ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Natural Snow

AbstarctThis study illustrates the relevance of cryospheric changes for, and their impact on, ski tourism in Austria. The results of several case studies on snow reliability, snow production and mass balance in glacier ski resorts in the Ötz and Stubai valleys are summarized. Climate data from Obergurgl (1936ma.s.l.) in the Ötz valley are analyzed with respect to the amount and duration of natural snow cover and the possibility of snow production. A case study on Mittelbergferner focuses on the impacts of glacial recession on a ski resort and possible adaptation measures. From long-term glacier inventory and short-term mass-balance data, the effect of operating ski resorts on glaciers is investigated. At Obergurgl, the probability of both snow cover and snow production is >80% from December to March and decreases significantly in the months before and after this peak season. The interannual variability of snow cover and production is low during the main season and higher in other months. Year-to-year differences are larger than any long-term trend. Glacier ski resorts must adapt to shrinking glacial area and falling glacier surface. Covering the glacier with textiles reduces ablation by 60% and results in significantly less volume loss than on uncovered parts of the glacier. Neither the mass-balance comparison between groomed and ungroomed areas nor the comparison of long-term volume changes between 10 ski resort glaciers and 100 surrounding glaciers showed evidence for an impact of the operation of ski resorts on the glaciers.

scholarly journals The effect of fluctuations in surface density, accumulation and compaction on elevation change rates along the EGIG line, central Greenland

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (203) ◽  
pp. 416-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Morris ◽  
Duncan J. Wingham
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Density ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Radar Altimeter ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Density Profiles ◽  
Time Period

AbstractRepeated measurements of density profiles and surface elevation along a 515 km section of the Greenland ice sheet have been used to determine elevation change rates and the error in determining mass balance from these rates which arises from short-term fluctuations in mass input, compaction and surface density. Over the 28 months from spring 2004 to summer 2006 the average error over 100 km sections of the traverse ranged from −0.006 to 0.100 ma−1. The lowest values, comparable with the system accuracy of the CryoSat radar altimeter (0.033 m a−1), were found below 3000 m. The surface density required to translate the elevation change into mass change decreased from 0.40 g cm−3 at an elevation of 2348 m to 0.33 g cm−3 at an elevation of 3264 m. From the density profiles the equivalent values for a time period of 10 years were found to be 0.48 and 0.38 g cm−3, respectively.

Short- and Long-Term Effects of World Exposition 1986 on US Demand for British Columbia Tourism

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Holmes ◽  
Abul F. M. Shamsuddin
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Price Index ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Us ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
World Exposition

This study is an attempt to evaluate the short- and long-term economic effects of World Exposition 1986 on US demand for British Columbia tourism by integrating Box-Jenkins time series analysis with the theory of consumer demand. The number of more-than-one-day US visitors to British Columbia is used as the measure of demand. Intervention and transfer function models are employed for the estimates which are made separately for US visitors arriving by car, automobile and by plane. The conclusions drawn are that during the six months of Expo 86, an additional 1.58 million more-than-one-day US visitors were attracted to British Columbia (1.41 million by automobile and 0.17 million by aeroplane). The long-term or post-Expo effects of Expo 86 are found to be very large (probably larger in total than the short-term economic benefits). These long-term economic benefits result from the post-Expo visitors who have returned to British Columbia as a result of the world-wide exposure of the Vancouver area by the fair. We have considered only more-than-one-day US visitors to Expo 86 (only part of all visitors to the fair) and only the 1987–93 post-Expo time period, and with that limited visitor group, and that limited time period, we still find long-term economic benefits of $428.9 million (about half the estimated total short-term economic benefits). These estimates take account of the effects of changes in the US–Canada foreign exchange rate, the US travel price index, the BC travel price index and US personal disposable income over the 1981–93 period.

scholarly journals Five decades of shrinkage of July 1st glacier, Qilian Shan, China

2006 ◽  
Vol 52 (176) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiko Sakai ◽  
Koji Fujita ◽  
Keqin Duan ◽  
Jianchen Pu ◽  
Masayoshi Nakawo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Melting ◽  
Temperature Data ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Glacier Shrinkage ◽  
The Past ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Increasing Temperature

AbstractA survey of July 1st glacier, Qilian Shan, China, was carried out in 2002. Previously, the glacier’s boundary had been recorded in 1956, and further research had been carried out in the mid- 1970s and 1980s. Our survey reveals that area shrinkage and surface lowering have accelerated in the past 15 years. Surface elevation changes can result from changes in accumulation, surface melting and emergence velocity. The contributions of these elements to surface lowering are evaluated at the lower part of the glacier from observations of surface velocity, ice thickness and precipitation, and from temperature data near the glacier. Apart from the effect of glacier ice redistribution, our analysis reveals quantitatively that the recent accelerated glacier shrinkage has been caused by increasing temperature. Furthermore, it is established that meltwater discharge from the glacier in the past 17 years has increased due to glacier shrinkage, by about 50% over that from 1975 to 1985.

scholarly journals Estimation of volume changes of mountain glaciers from ICESat data: an example from the Aletsch Glacier, Swiss Alps

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 3261-3291 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kropáček ◽  
N. Neckel ◽  
A. Bauder
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Linear Change ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Ablation Area ◽  
Mountain Glaciers ◽  
Ice Cloud ◽  
Elevation Changes

Abstract. Worldwide estimation of recent changes in glacier volume is challenging, but becomes more feasible with the help of present and future remote sensing missions. NASA's Ice Cloud and Elevation Satellite (ICESat) mission provides accurate elevation estimates derived from the two way travel time of the emitted laser pulse. In this study two different methods were employed for derivation of surface elevation changes from ICESat records on example of the Aletsch Glacier. A statistical approach relies on elevation differences of ICESat points to a reference DEM while an analytical approach compares spatially similar ICESat tracks. Using the statistical approach, in the upper and lower parts of the ablation area, the surface lowering was found to be from −2.1 ± 0.15 m yr−1 to −2.6 ± 0.10 m yr−1 and from −3.3 ± 0.36 m yr−1 to −5.3 ± 0.39 m yr−1, respectively, depending on the DEM used. Employing the analytical method, the surface lowering in the upper part of the ablation area was estimated as −2.5 ± 1.3 m yr−1 between 2006 and 2009. In the accumulation area both methods revealed no significant trend. The trend in surface lowering derived by the statistical method allows an estimation of the mean mass balance in the period 2003–2009 assuming constant ice density and a linear change of glacier surface lowering with altitude in the ablation area. The resulting mass balance was validated by a comparison to another geodetic approach based on the subtraction of two DEMs for the years 2000 and 2009. We conclude that ICESat data is a valid source of information on surface elevation changes and on mass balance of mountain glaciers.

scholarly journals Surface elevation and ice thickness data between 2012 and 2020 at the ablation area of Artesonraju Glacier, Cordillera Blanca, Perú

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Oberreuter ◽  
Edwin Badillo-Rivera ◽  
Edwin Loarte ◽  
Katy Medina ◽  
Alejo Cochachin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Dynamics Modeling ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Thickness Change ◽  
Change Rate ◽  
Ablation Area

Abstract. We present a representative set of data of interpreted ice thickness and ice surface elevation of the ablation area of the Artesonraju glacier between 2012 and 2020. The ice thickness was obtained by means of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), while the surface elevation was by means of automated total stations and mass balance stakes. The results from GPR data show a maximum depth of 235 ± 18 m and a decreasing mean depth ranging from 134 ± 18 m in 2013 to 110 ± 18 m in 2020. Additionally, we estimate a mean ice thickness change rate of −4.2 ± 3.2 m yr−1 between 2014 and 2020 with GPR data alone, which is in agreement with the elevation change in the same period. The latter was estimated with the more accurate surface elevation data, yielding a change rate of −3.2 ± 0.2 m yr−1, and hence, confirming a negative glacier mass balance. The data set can be valuable for further analysis when combined with other data types, and as input for glacier dynamics modeling, ice volume estimations, and GLOF (glacial lake outburst flood) risk assessment. The complete dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5571081 (Oberreuter et al, 2021).

scholarly journals Glacier change in Norway since the 1960s – an overview of mass balance, area, length and surface elevation changes

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (256) ◽  
pp. 313-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liss M. Andreassen ◽  
Hallgeir Elvehøy ◽  
Bjarne Kjøllmoen ◽  
Joaquín M. C. Belart
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Positive Mass ◽  
Area Reduction ◽  
Surface Elevation Change ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Geodetic Mass Balance ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Large Scale Atmospheric Circulation

AbstractIn this paper, we give an overview of changes in area, length, surface elevation and mass balance of glaciers in mainland Norway since the 1960s. Frontal advances have been recorded in all regions except the northernmost glaciers in Troms and Finnmark (Storsteinsfjellbreen, Lyngen and Langfjordjøkelen). More than half of the observed glaciers, 27 of 49, had marked advances in the 1990s. The glaciological mass-balance values for the period 1962–2018, where 43 glaciers have been measured, show great inter-annual variability. The results reveal accelerated deficit since 2000, the most negative decade being 2001–2010. Some years with a positive mass balance (or less negative) after 2010s can be attributed to variations in large-scale atmospheric circulation. A surface elevation change and geodetic mass balance were calculated for a sample of 131 glaciers covering 817 km2 in the ‘1960s’ and 734 km2 in the ‘2010s’, giving an area reduction of 84 km2, or 10%. The sample covers many of the largest glaciers in Norway, and they had an overall change in surface elevation of −15.5 m for the ~50 year period. Converted to a geodetic mass balance this gives a mean mass balance of −0.27 ± 0.05 m w.e. a−1.

scholarly journals Radar-detected englacial stratigraphy in the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica: implications for recent changes in ice flow and accumulation

2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (63) ◽  
pp. 91-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth Campbell ◽  
Greg Balco ◽  
Claire Todd ◽  
Howard Conway ◽  
Kathleen Huybers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Valley Glacier ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics ◽  
Surface Ice ◽  
Ground Penetrating

AbstractWe used measurements of radar-detected stratigraphy, surface ice-flow velocities and accumulation rates to investigate relationships between local valley-glacier and regional ice-sheet dynamics in and around the Schmidt Hills, Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica. Ground-penetrating radar profiles were collected perpendicular to the long axis of the Schmidt Hills and the margin of Foundation Ice Stream (FIS). Within the valley confines, the glacier consists of blue ice, and profiles show internal stratigraphy dipping steeply toward the nunataks and truncated at the present-day ablation surface. Below the valley confines, the blue ice is overlain by firn. Data show that upward-progressing overlap of actively accumulating firn onto valley-glacier ice is slightly less than ice flow out of the valleys over the past ∼1200 years. The apparent slightly negative mass balance (-0.25 cm a-1) suggests that ice-margin elevations in the Schmidt Hills may have lowered over this time period, even without a change in the surface elevation of FIS. Results suggest that (1) mass-balance gradients between local valley glaciers and regional ice sheets should be considered when using local information to estimate regional ice surface elevation changes; and (2) interpretation of shallow ice structures imaged with radar can provide information about local ice elevation changes and stability.

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