Effects of climatic perturbations on the equilibrium-line altitude, West Greenland

Abstract Perturbation analysis is applied to the heat balance at the EGIG line (West Greenland) with respect to climatic changes. The shift of the equilibrium-line altitude is obtained for perturbations of temperature, absolute humidity, cloudiness and annual accumulation. The total net ice ablation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Author: Ambach, Walter
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1993
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000015665
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000015665
Description
Summary:Abstract Perturbation analysis is applied to the heat balance at the EGIG line (West Greenland) with respect to climatic changes. The shift of the equilibrium-line altitude is obtained for perturbations of temperature, absolute humidity, cloudiness and annual accumulation. The total net ice ablation at the EGIG line increases by 45% with a perturbation of + 1 K. Applying this figure to the entire ice sheet, the total ablation equals the total accumulation at a warming of + 2 K, if refreezing of melt water is neglected.