Ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps
Abstract Ice aprons are defined as very small ice bodies covering steep rock slopes. They have only been the subject of increased scientific interest for a few years, despite the fact that they are a condition for mountaineering and obvious elements in the high-alpine landscapes. However, very littl...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.15 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143023000151 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2023.15 2024-05-12T08:05:03+00:00 Ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps Ravanel, Ludovic Guillet, Grégoire Kaushik, Suvrat Preunkert, Susanne Malet, Emmanuel Magnin, Florence Trouvé, Emmanuel Montagnat, Maurine Yan, Yajing Deline, Philip 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.15 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143023000151 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology volume 69, issue 277, page 1275-1291 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 2023 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.15 2024-04-18T06:54:26Z Abstract Ice aprons are defined as very small ice bodies covering steep rock slopes. They have only been the subject of increased scientific interest for a few years, despite the fact that they are a condition for mountaineering and obvious elements in the high-alpine landscapes. However, very little is known about their distribution, evolution and physical characteristics. In this paper, we review the existing knowledge on ice aprons, which have almost exclusively been investigated in the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps. We supplement this review with novel results from recent surveys of ice aprons. We used a wide array of methodologies, from remote sensing (multi-source imagery) to in situ (stakes and thermal monitoring) and laboratory (radiocarbon dating and texture analysis) glaciological investigations. In the Mont-Blanc massif, ice aprons occupy 4.2 km 2 within the alpine permafrost zone. Temperature measured at the ice–rock interface is indeed largely negative. Thinness of ice aprons coupled with the cold context implies a quasi-stationary shear regime without basal Sliding. Only ice at the surface can possibly melt in warm periods. After a shrinking period from the end of the Little Ice Age to the mid-to-late-1960s, ice aprons experienced a short period of expansion, followed by an accelerated shrinkage since the beginning of the 21st century. This shrinkage now favours rockfall triggering and poses a serious threat to a glaciological heritage since ice aprons host several-thousand-year-old ice. Finally, we synthesize this information to assess the existing definition of ice aprons, and propose some future research directions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Journal of Glaciology permafrost Cambridge University Press Mont Blanc ENVELOPE(69.468,69.468,-49.461,-49.461) Journal of Glaciology 69 277 1275 1291 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes Ravanel, Ludovic Guillet, Grégoire Kaushik, Suvrat Preunkert, Susanne Malet, Emmanuel Magnin, Florence Trouvé, Emmanuel Montagnat, Maurine Yan, Yajing Deline, Philip Ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract Ice aprons are defined as very small ice bodies covering steep rock slopes. They have only been the subject of increased scientific interest for a few years, despite the fact that they are a condition for mountaineering and obvious elements in the high-alpine landscapes. However, very little is known about their distribution, evolution and physical characteristics. In this paper, we review the existing knowledge on ice aprons, which have almost exclusively been investigated in the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps. We supplement this review with novel results from recent surveys of ice aprons. We used a wide array of methodologies, from remote sensing (multi-source imagery) to in situ (stakes and thermal monitoring) and laboratory (radiocarbon dating and texture analysis) glaciological investigations. In the Mont-Blanc massif, ice aprons occupy 4.2 km 2 within the alpine permafrost zone. Temperature measured at the ice–rock interface is indeed largely negative. Thinness of ice aprons coupled with the cold context implies a quasi-stationary shear regime without basal Sliding. Only ice at the surface can possibly melt in warm periods. After a shrinking period from the end of the Little Ice Age to the mid-to-late-1960s, ice aprons experienced a short period of expansion, followed by an accelerated shrinkage since the beginning of the 21st century. This shrinkage now favours rockfall triggering and poses a serious threat to a glaciological heritage since ice aprons host several-thousand-year-old ice. Finally, we synthesize this information to assess the existing definition of ice aprons, and propose some future research directions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ravanel, Ludovic Guillet, Grégoire Kaushik, Suvrat Preunkert, Susanne Malet, Emmanuel Magnin, Florence Trouvé, Emmanuel Montagnat, Maurine Yan, Yajing Deline, Philip |
author_facet |
Ravanel, Ludovic Guillet, Grégoire Kaushik, Suvrat Preunkert, Susanne Malet, Emmanuel Magnin, Florence Trouvé, Emmanuel Montagnat, Maurine Yan, Yajing Deline, Philip |
author_sort |
Ravanel, Ludovic |
title |
Ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps |
title_short |
Ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps |
title_full |
Ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps |
title_fullStr |
Ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the Mont-Blanc massif, Western Alps |
title_sort |
ice aprons on steep high-alpine slopes: insights from the mont-blanc massif, western alps |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.15 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143023000151 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(69.468,69.468,-49.461,-49.461) |
geographic |
Mont Blanc |
geographic_facet |
Mont Blanc |
genre |
Ice Journal of Glaciology permafrost |
genre_facet |
Ice Journal of Glaciology permafrost |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 69, issue 277, page 1275-1291 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.15 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
69 |
container_issue |
277 |
container_start_page |
1275 |
op_container_end_page |
1291 |
_version_ |
1798847303302250496 |