Pinus cembra L. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the Careser Glacier (Italian Rhaetian Alps)
Abstract Glacial extent and mass balance are sensitive climate proxies providing solid information on past climatic conditions. However, series of annual mass-balance measurements of more than 60 years are scarce. To our knowledge, this is the first time the latewood density data (MXD) of the Swiss...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.40 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143020000404 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2020.40 2024-06-23T07:54:15+00:00 Pinus cembra L. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the Careser Glacier (Italian Rhaetian Alps) Cerrato, Riccardo Salvatore, Maria Cristina Gunnarson, Björn E. Linderholm, Hans W. Carturan, Luca Brunetti, Michele Baroni, Carlo 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.40 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143020000404 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 66, issue 259, page 714-726 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 2020 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.40 2024-06-12T04:04:07Z Abstract Glacial extent and mass balance are sensitive climate proxies providing solid information on past climatic conditions. However, series of annual mass-balance measurements of more than 60 years are scarce. To our knowledge, this is the first time the latewood density data (MXD) of the Swiss stone pine ( Pinus cembra L.) have been used to reconstruct the summer mass balance ( B s ) of an Alpine glacier. The MXD-based B s well correlates with a B s reconstruction based on the May to September temperature. Winter precipitation has been used as an independent proxy to infer the winter mass balance and to obtain an annual mass-balance ( B n ) estimate dating back to the glaciological year 1811/12. The reconstructed MXD/precipitation-based B n well correlates with the data both of the Careser and of other Alpine glaciers measured by the glaciological method. A number of critical issues should be considered in both proxies, including non-linear response of glacial mass balance to temperature, bedrock topography, ice thinning and fragmentation, MXD acquisition and standardization methods, and finally the ‘divergence problem’ responsible for the recently reduced sensitivity of the dendrochronological data. Nevertheless, our results highlight the possibility of performing MXD-based dendroglaciological reconstructions using this stable and reliable proxy. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 66 259 714 726 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Glacial extent and mass balance are sensitive climate proxies providing solid information on past climatic conditions. However, series of annual mass-balance measurements of more than 60 years are scarce. To our knowledge, this is the first time the latewood density data (MXD) of the Swiss stone pine ( Pinus cembra L.) have been used to reconstruct the summer mass balance ( B s ) of an Alpine glacier. The MXD-based B s well correlates with a B s reconstruction based on the May to September temperature. Winter precipitation has been used as an independent proxy to infer the winter mass balance and to obtain an annual mass-balance ( B n ) estimate dating back to the glaciological year 1811/12. The reconstructed MXD/precipitation-based B n well correlates with the data both of the Careser and of other Alpine glaciers measured by the glaciological method. A number of critical issues should be considered in both proxies, including non-linear response of glacial mass balance to temperature, bedrock topography, ice thinning and fragmentation, MXD acquisition and standardization methods, and finally the ‘divergence problem’ responsible for the recently reduced sensitivity of the dendrochronological data. Nevertheless, our results highlight the possibility of performing MXD-based dendroglaciological reconstructions using this stable and reliable proxy. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cerrato, Riccardo Salvatore, Maria Cristina Gunnarson, Björn E. Linderholm, Hans W. Carturan, Luca Brunetti, Michele Baroni, Carlo |
spellingShingle |
Cerrato, Riccardo Salvatore, Maria Cristina Gunnarson, Björn E. Linderholm, Hans W. Carturan, Luca Brunetti, Michele Baroni, Carlo Pinus cembra L. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the Careser Glacier (Italian Rhaetian Alps) |
author_facet |
Cerrato, Riccardo Salvatore, Maria Cristina Gunnarson, Björn E. Linderholm, Hans W. Carturan, Luca Brunetti, Michele Baroni, Carlo |
author_sort |
Cerrato, Riccardo |
title |
Pinus cembra L. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the Careser Glacier (Italian Rhaetian Alps) |
title_short |
Pinus cembra L. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the Careser Glacier (Italian Rhaetian Alps) |
title_full |
Pinus cembra L. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the Careser Glacier (Italian Rhaetian Alps) |
title_fullStr |
Pinus cembra L. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the Careser Glacier (Italian Rhaetian Alps) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pinus cembra L. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the Careser Glacier (Italian Rhaetian Alps) |
title_sort |
pinus cembra l. tree-ring data as a proxy for summer mass-balance variability of the careser glacier (italian rhaetian alps) |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.40 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143020000404 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 66, issue 259, page 714-726 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.40 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
66 |
container_issue |
259 |
container_start_page |
714 |
op_container_end_page |
726 |
_version_ |
1802646330549469184 |