Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations
ABSTRACT The spatio-temporal distribution of air temperature over mountain glaciers can demonstrate complex patterns, yet it is often represented simplistically using linear vertical temperature gradients (VTGs) extrapolated from off-glacier locations. We analyse a network of centreline and lateral...
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214301700065X |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2017.65 2024-06-23T07:54:14+00:00 Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations SHAW, THOMAS E. BROCK, BEN W. AYALA, ÁLVARO RUTTER, NICK PELLICCIOTTI, FRANCESCA 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214301700065X en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 63, issue 242, page 973-988 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 2017 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.65 2024-05-29T08:08:28Z ABSTRACT The spatio-temporal distribution of air temperature over mountain glaciers can demonstrate complex patterns, yet it is often represented simplistically using linear vertical temperature gradients (VTGs) extrapolated from off-glacier locations. We analyse a network of centreline and lateral air temperature observations at Tsanteleina Glacier, Italy, during summer 2015. On average, VTGs are steep (<−0.0065 °C m −1 ), but they are shallow under warm ambient conditions when the correlation between air temperature and elevation becomes weaker. Published along-flowline temperature distribution methods explain centreline observations well, including warming on the lower glacier tongue, but cannot estimate lateral temperature variability. Application of temperature distribution methods improves simulation of melt rates (RMSE) in an energy-balance model by up to 36% compared to the environmental lapse rate extrapolated from an off-glacier station. However, results suggest that model parameters are not easily transferable to glaciers with a small fetch without recalibration. Such methods have potential to improve estimates of temperature across a glacier, but their parameter transferability should be further linked to the glacier and atmospheric characteristics. Furthermore, ‘cold spots’, which can be >2°C cooler than expected for their elevation, whose occurrence is not predicted by the temperature distribution models, are identified at one-quarter of the measurement sites. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 63 242 973 988 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT The spatio-temporal distribution of air temperature over mountain glaciers can demonstrate complex patterns, yet it is often represented simplistically using linear vertical temperature gradients (VTGs) extrapolated from off-glacier locations. We analyse a network of centreline and lateral air temperature observations at Tsanteleina Glacier, Italy, during summer 2015. On average, VTGs are steep (<−0.0065 °C m −1 ), but they are shallow under warm ambient conditions when the correlation between air temperature and elevation becomes weaker. Published along-flowline temperature distribution methods explain centreline observations well, including warming on the lower glacier tongue, but cannot estimate lateral temperature variability. Application of temperature distribution methods improves simulation of melt rates (RMSE) in an energy-balance model by up to 36% compared to the environmental lapse rate extrapolated from an off-glacier station. However, results suggest that model parameters are not easily transferable to glaciers with a small fetch without recalibration. Such methods have potential to improve estimates of temperature across a glacier, but their parameter transferability should be further linked to the glacier and atmospheric characteristics. Furthermore, ‘cold spots’, which can be >2°C cooler than expected for their elevation, whose occurrence is not predicted by the temperature distribution models, are identified at one-quarter of the measurement sites. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
SHAW, THOMAS E. BROCK, BEN W. AYALA, ÁLVARO RUTTER, NICK PELLICCIOTTI, FRANCESCA |
spellingShingle |
SHAW, THOMAS E. BROCK, BEN W. AYALA, ÁLVARO RUTTER, NICK PELLICCIOTTI, FRANCESCA Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations |
author_facet |
SHAW, THOMAS E. BROCK, BEN W. AYALA, ÁLVARO RUTTER, NICK PELLICCIOTTI, FRANCESCA |
author_sort |
SHAW, THOMAS E. |
title |
Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations |
title_short |
Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations |
title_full |
Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations |
title_fullStr |
Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an Alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations |
title_sort |
centreline and cross-glacier air temperature variability on an alpine glacier: assessing temperature distribution methods and their influence on melt model calculations |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214301700065X |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 63, issue 242, page 973-988 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.65 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
63 |
container_issue |
242 |
container_start_page |
973 |
op_container_end_page |
988 |
_version_ |
1802646326402351104 |