Differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, USA
Abstract Mountain glaciers have response times that govern retreat due to anthropogenic climate change. We use geometric attributes to estimate individual response times for 383 glaciers in the Cascade mountain range of Washington State, USA. Approximately 90% of estimated response times are between...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.133 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021001337 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2021.133 2024-03-03T08:46:03+00:00 Differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, USA Christian, John Erich Whorton, Erin Carnahan, Evan Koutnik, Michelle Roe, Gerard National Science Foundation 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.133 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021001337 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 68, issue 270, page 751-763 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 2022 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.133 2024-02-08T08:38:41Z Abstract Mountain glaciers have response times that govern retreat due to anthropogenic climate change. We use geometric attributes to estimate individual response times for 383 glaciers in the Cascade mountain range of Washington State, USA. Approximately 90% of estimated response times are between 10 and 60 years, with many large glaciers on the short end of this distribution. A simple model of glacier dynamics shows that this range of response times entails consequential differences in recent and ongoing glacier changes: glaciers with decadal response times have nearly kept pace with anthropogenic warming, but those with multi-decadal response times are far from equilibrium, and their additional committed retreat stands well beyond natural variability. These differences have implications for changes in glacier runoff. A simple calculation highlights that transient peaks in area-integrated melt, either at the onset of forcing or due to variations in forcing, depend on the glacier's response time and degree of disequilibrium. We conclude that differences in individual response times should be considered when assessing the state of a population of glaciers and modeling their future response. These differences in response can arise simply from a range of different glacier geometries, and the same basic principles can be expected in other regions as well. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 1 13 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes Christian, John Erich Whorton, Erin Carnahan, Evan Koutnik, Michelle Roe, Gerard Differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, USA |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract Mountain glaciers have response times that govern retreat due to anthropogenic climate change. We use geometric attributes to estimate individual response times for 383 glaciers in the Cascade mountain range of Washington State, USA. Approximately 90% of estimated response times are between 10 and 60 years, with many large glaciers on the short end of this distribution. A simple model of glacier dynamics shows that this range of response times entails consequential differences in recent and ongoing glacier changes: glaciers with decadal response times have nearly kept pace with anthropogenic warming, but those with multi-decadal response times are far from equilibrium, and their additional committed retreat stands well beyond natural variability. These differences have implications for changes in glacier runoff. A simple calculation highlights that transient peaks in area-integrated melt, either at the onset of forcing or due to variations in forcing, depend on the glacier's response time and degree of disequilibrium. We conclude that differences in individual response times should be considered when assessing the state of a population of glaciers and modeling their future response. These differences in response can arise simply from a range of different glacier geometries, and the same basic principles can be expected in other regions as well. |
author2 |
National Science Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Christian, John Erich Whorton, Erin Carnahan, Evan Koutnik, Michelle Roe, Gerard |
author_facet |
Christian, John Erich Whorton, Erin Carnahan, Evan Koutnik, Michelle Roe, Gerard |
author_sort |
Christian, John Erich |
title |
Differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, USA |
title_short |
Differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, USA |
title_full |
Differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, USA |
title_fullStr |
Differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, USA |
title_full_unstemmed |
Differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, USA |
title_sort |
differences in the transient responses of individual glaciers: a case study of the cascade mountains of washington state, usa |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.133 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143021001337 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 68, issue 270, page 751-763 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.133 |
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Journal of Glaciology |
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1 |
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13 |
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1792501875997671424 |