Spatio-temporal variability of surface mass balance in the accumulation zone of the Mer de Glace, French Alps, from multitemporal terrestrial LiDAR measurements
Abstract Spatio-temporal variability of the winter surface mass balance is a major uncertainty in the modelling of annual surface mass balance. Moreover, its measurement at high spatio-temporal resolution (sub-200 m) is very useful to force, calibrate or validate models. This study presents the resu...
| Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.92 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143020000921 |
| Summary: | Abstract Spatio-temporal variability of the winter surface mass balance is a major uncertainty in the modelling of annual surface mass balance. Moreover, its measurement at high spatio-temporal resolution (sub-200 m) is very useful to force, calibrate or validate models. This study presents the results of year-round field campaigns to study the evolution of the surface mass balance in a ~2 km 2 portion of the accumulation zone of the Mer de Glace (France). It is based on repeated LiDAR acquisitions, submergence-velocity measurements and meteorological records. The two methods used to quantify submergence velocities show good agreement. They present a linear temporal evolution without significant seasonal changes but display significant spatial variability. We conclude that a dense network of submergence velocity measurements is required to reduce the uncertainties when computing winter and annual surface mass balance from digital elevation model differencing. Finally, a hight spatio-temporal variability of the winter surface mass balance is highlighted (e.g., a std dev. of 0.92 m in April) even though the topography is homogeneous (std dev. of 25 m). Attempts to relate this variability to different morpho-topographic variables and wind-related indexes show the need for studies conducted at the snowfall event scale to obtain a better understanding of the variability in mass balance at the glacier scale. |
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