2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature
Abstract In calculations of the variation in the 2 m temperature along glaciers, the lapse rate is generally assumed to be constant. This implies that the ratio of changes in the 2 m temperature above a glacier to changes in the temperature outside the thermal regime of that glacier (“climate sensit...
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1998
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002306 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000002306 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022143000002306 2024-04-07T07:53:42+00:00 2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature Greuell, Wouter Böhm, Reinhard 1998 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002306 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000002306 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) Journal of Glaciology volume 44, issue 146, page 9-20 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 1998 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002306 2024-03-08T00:34:56Z Abstract In calculations of the variation in the 2 m temperature along glaciers, the lapse rate is generally assumed to be constant. This implies that the ratio of changes in the 2 m temperature above a glacier to changes in the temperature outside the thermal regime of that glacier (“climate sensitivity”) is equal to 1. However, data collected during the ablation season on several mid-latitude glaciers show that this sensitivity is smaller than 1. The lowest measured value (0.3) was obtained on the tongue of the Pasterze, a glacier in Austria. The measured temperature distribution along the Pasterze cannot be described by a constant lapse rate either. However, there is almost a linear relationship between potential temperature and the distance along die glacier. This paper introduces a simple, analytical, thermodynamic glacier-wind model which can be applied to melting glaciers and which explains the observed “climate sensitivities” and temperature distributions much better than calculations based on a constant lapse rate. This way of modelling the 2 m temperatures has implications for the sensitivity of the surface mass balance to atmospheric warming outside the thermal regime of the glacier. The magnitude of this sensitivity is computed with a surface energy-balance model applied to the Pasterze. When a constant lapse rate is used instead of the proposed glacier-wind model to compute changes in the 2 m temperature along the glacier, the negative change in mass balance due to 1°C warming is overestimated by 22%. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Pasterze ENVELOPE(-22.600,-22.600,74.683,74.683) Journal of Glaciology 44 146 9 20 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes Greuell, Wouter Böhm, Reinhard 2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract In calculations of the variation in the 2 m temperature along glaciers, the lapse rate is generally assumed to be constant. This implies that the ratio of changes in the 2 m temperature above a glacier to changes in the temperature outside the thermal regime of that glacier (“climate sensitivity”) is equal to 1. However, data collected during the ablation season on several mid-latitude glaciers show that this sensitivity is smaller than 1. The lowest measured value (0.3) was obtained on the tongue of the Pasterze, a glacier in Austria. The measured temperature distribution along the Pasterze cannot be described by a constant lapse rate either. However, there is almost a linear relationship between potential temperature and the distance along die glacier. This paper introduces a simple, analytical, thermodynamic glacier-wind model which can be applied to melting glaciers and which explains the observed “climate sensitivities” and temperature distributions much better than calculations based on a constant lapse rate. This way of modelling the 2 m temperatures has implications for the sensitivity of the surface mass balance to atmospheric warming outside the thermal regime of the glacier. The magnitude of this sensitivity is computed with a surface energy-balance model applied to the Pasterze. When a constant lapse rate is used instead of the proposed glacier-wind model to compute changes in the 2 m temperature along the glacier, the negative change in mass balance due to 1°C warming is overestimated by 22%. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Greuell, Wouter Böhm, Reinhard |
author_facet |
Greuell, Wouter Böhm, Reinhard |
author_sort |
Greuell, Wouter |
title |
2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature |
title_short |
2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature |
title_full |
2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature |
title_fullStr |
2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature |
title_full_unstemmed |
2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature |
title_sort |
2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1998 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002306 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000002306 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-22.600,-22.600,74.683,74.683) |
geographic |
Pasterze |
geographic_facet |
Pasterze |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 44, issue 146, page 9-20 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002306 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
44 |
container_issue |
146 |
container_start_page |
9 |
op_container_end_page |
20 |
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1795669778575130624 |