Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
ABSTRACT The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a cold, dry polar desert and the alpine glaciers therein exhibit small annual and seasonal mass balances, often <±0.06 m w.e. Typically, winter is the accumulation season, but significant snow storms can occur any time of year occasionally making summer the ac...
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Language: | English |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2016.86 2024-04-28T08:00:04+00:00 Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica FOUNTAIN, ANDREW G. BASAGIC, HASSAN J. NIEBUHR, SPENCER 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.86 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143016000861 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 62, issue 235, page 976-989 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 2016 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.86 2024-04-09T06:55:45Z ABSTRACT The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a cold, dry polar desert and the alpine glaciers therein exhibit small annual and seasonal mass balances, often <±0.06 m w.e. Typically, winter is the accumulation season, but significant snow storms can occur any time of year occasionally making summer the accumulation season. The yearly equilibrium line altitude is poorly correlated with mass balance because the elevation gradient of mass balance on each glacier can change dramatically from year to year. Most likely, winds redistribute the light snowfall disrupting the normal gradient of increasing mass balance with elevation. Reconstructed cumulative mass balance shows that the glaciers have lost <2 m w.e. over the past half century and area changes show minimal retreat. In most cases these changes are less than the uncertainty and the glaciers are considered in equilibrium. Since 2000, however, the glaciers have lost mass despite relatively stable summer air temperatures suggesting a different mechanism in play. Whether this trend is a harbinger of future changes or a temporary excursion is unclear. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology McMurdo Dry Valleys polar desert Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 62 235 976 989 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes FOUNTAIN, ANDREW G. BASAGIC, HASSAN J. NIEBUHR, SPENCER Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
ABSTRACT The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a cold, dry polar desert and the alpine glaciers therein exhibit small annual and seasonal mass balances, often <±0.06 m w.e. Typically, winter is the accumulation season, but significant snow storms can occur any time of year occasionally making summer the accumulation season. The yearly equilibrium line altitude is poorly correlated with mass balance because the elevation gradient of mass balance on each glacier can change dramatically from year to year. Most likely, winds redistribute the light snowfall disrupting the normal gradient of increasing mass balance with elevation. Reconstructed cumulative mass balance shows that the glaciers have lost <2 m w.e. over the past half century and area changes show minimal retreat. In most cases these changes are less than the uncertainty and the glaciers are considered in equilibrium. Since 2000, however, the glaciers have lost mass despite relatively stable summer air temperatures suggesting a different mechanism in play. Whether this trend is a harbinger of future changes or a temporary excursion is unclear. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
FOUNTAIN, ANDREW G. BASAGIC, HASSAN J. NIEBUHR, SPENCER |
author_facet |
FOUNTAIN, ANDREW G. BASAGIC, HASSAN J. NIEBUHR, SPENCER |
author_sort |
FOUNTAIN, ANDREW G. |
title |
Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
title_short |
Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
title_full |
Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Glaciers in equilibrium, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica |
title_sort |
glaciers in equilibrium, mcmurdo dry valleys, antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.86 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143016000861 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology McMurdo Dry Valleys polar desert |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology McMurdo Dry Valleys polar desert |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 62, issue 235, page 976-989 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.86 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
62 |
container_issue |
235 |
container_start_page |
976 |
op_container_end_page |
989 |
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1797572465840357376 |