Characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size
Abstract Previous work on the relation between glacier volume and area and on accumulation area ratios suggests that balance rates measured at the glacier terminus are not constant or random from glacier to glacier but instead scale with glacier length. Using mass-balance data from a collection of 6...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002999 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000002999 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022143000002999 2024-06-23T07:54:15+00:00 Characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size Bahr, David B. Dyurgerov, Mark 1999 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002999 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000002999 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 149, page 17-21 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 1999 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002999 2024-05-29T08:09:59Z Abstract Previous work on the relation between glacier volume and area and on accumulation area ratios suggests that balance rates measured at the glacier terminus are not constant or random from glacier to glacier but instead scale with glacier length. Using mass-balance data from a collection of 68 valley and cirque glaciers, we show that the terminus mass-balance rate scales roughly linearly with surface area and scales with length raised to an exponent constrained to fall roughly between 0.5 and 2 with 1.7 preferred if a glacier’s length is dependent on the mass-balance conditions (rather than balance being dependent on length). When these exponents are used to predict valley-glacier volume–area scaling, the results are very close to empirical volume–area observations. Although the data are noisy and the proposed fits could be modified by improved observations, the scaling trend for terminus balance vs length remains clear. Although the exact value of the scaling exponent is not well determined, establishing the existence of this scaling relation will be important for studies of climate change and the impact of glacier recession on sea level. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 45 149 17 21 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Previous work on the relation between glacier volume and area and on accumulation area ratios suggests that balance rates measured at the glacier terminus are not constant or random from glacier to glacier but instead scale with glacier length. Using mass-balance data from a collection of 68 valley and cirque glaciers, we show that the terminus mass-balance rate scales roughly linearly with surface area and scales with length raised to an exponent constrained to fall roughly between 0.5 and 2 with 1.7 preferred if a glacier’s length is dependent on the mass-balance conditions (rather than balance being dependent on length). When these exponents are used to predict valley-glacier volume–area scaling, the results are very close to empirical volume–area observations. Although the data are noisy and the proposed fits could be modified by improved observations, the scaling trend for terminus balance vs length remains clear. Although the exact value of the scaling exponent is not well determined, establishing the existence of this scaling relation will be important for studies of climate change and the impact of glacier recession on sea level. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bahr, David B. Dyurgerov, Mark |
spellingShingle |
Bahr, David B. Dyurgerov, Mark Characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size |
author_facet |
Bahr, David B. Dyurgerov, Mark |
author_sort |
Bahr, David B. |
title |
Characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size |
title_short |
Characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size |
title_full |
Characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size |
title_fullStr |
Characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size |
title_sort |
characteristic mass-balance scaling with valley glacier size |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002999 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000002999 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 149, page 17-21 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000002999 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
149 |
container_start_page |
17 |
op_container_end_page |
21 |
_version_ |
1802646344471412736 |