Relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate
Abstract The interannual variability of glacier mass balance is expressed by the standard deviation of net balance, which varies from about ±0.1 to ±1.4 m a −1 for a sample of 115 glaciers with at least 5 years of record. The standard deviation of net balance is strongly correlated with the mass-bal...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022143000001313 2024-03-03T08:41:45+00:00 Relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate Braithwaite, Roger J. Zhang, Yu 1999 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001313 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000001313 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 151, page 456-462 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 1999 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001313 2024-02-08T08:36:15Z Abstract The interannual variability of glacier mass balance is expressed by the standard deviation of net balance, which varies from about ±0.1 to ±1.4 m a −1 for a sample of 115 glaciers with at least 5 years of record. The standard deviation of net balance is strongly correlated with the mass-balance amplitude (half the difference between winter and summer balances) for 60 glaciers, so the amplitude can be estimated from net balance standard deviation for the other 55 glaciers where winter and summer balances are unavailable. The observed and calculated mass-balance amplitudes for the 115 glaciers show contrasts between the Arctic and lower latitudes, and between maritime and continental regions. The interannual variability of mass balance means that balances must be measured for at least a few years to determine a statistically reliable mean balance for any glacier. The net balance of the Greenland ice sheet is still not accurately known, but its standard deviation is here estimated to be about ±0.24 m a −1 , in agreement with other Arctic glaciers. Mass-balance variability of this magnitude implies that the ice sheet can thicken or thin by several metres over 20–30 years without giving statistically significant evidence of non-zero balance under present climate. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Arctic Greenland Journal of Glaciology 45 151 456 462 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes Braithwaite, Roger J. Zhang, Yu Relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract The interannual variability of glacier mass balance is expressed by the standard deviation of net balance, which varies from about ±0.1 to ±1.4 m a −1 for a sample of 115 glaciers with at least 5 years of record. The standard deviation of net balance is strongly correlated with the mass-balance amplitude (half the difference between winter and summer balances) for 60 glaciers, so the amplitude can be estimated from net balance standard deviation for the other 55 glaciers where winter and summer balances are unavailable. The observed and calculated mass-balance amplitudes for the 115 glaciers show contrasts between the Arctic and lower latitudes, and between maritime and continental regions. The interannual variability of mass balance means that balances must be measured for at least a few years to determine a statistically reliable mean balance for any glacier. The net balance of the Greenland ice sheet is still not accurately known, but its standard deviation is here estimated to be about ±0.24 m a −1 , in agreement with other Arctic glaciers. Mass-balance variability of this magnitude implies that the ice sheet can thicken or thin by several metres over 20–30 years without giving statistically significant evidence of non-zero balance under present climate. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Braithwaite, Roger J. Zhang, Yu |
author_facet |
Braithwaite, Roger J. Zhang, Yu |
author_sort |
Braithwaite, Roger J. |
title |
Relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate |
title_short |
Relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate |
title_full |
Relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate |
title_fullStr |
Relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate |
title_sort |
relationships between interannual variability of glacier mass balance and climate |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001313 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000001313 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 151, page 456-462 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000001313 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
151 |
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456 |
op_container_end_page |
462 |
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1792497364496285696 |