More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland
Glacier mass-balance observations at seasonal resolution have been performed since 1914 at two sites on Claridenfirn, Switzerland. The measurements are the longest uninterrupted records of glacier mass balance worldwide. Here, we provide a complete re-analysis of the 106-year series (1914–2020), foc...
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Cambridge University Press
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:72345adfe90243edb436edd1685ae885 2023-05-15T16:57:32+02:00 More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland Matthias Huss Andreas Bauder Andreas Linsbauer Jeannette Gabbi Giovanni Kappenberger Urs Steinegger Daniel Farinotti 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.22 https://doaj.org/article/72345adfe90243edb436edd1685ae885 EN eng Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143021000228/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2021.22 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/72345adfe90243edb436edd1685ae885 Journal of Glaciology, Vol 67, Pp 697-713 (2021) Accumulation glacier monitoring mass-balance reconstruction surface melt Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.22 2023-03-12T01:30:57Z Glacier mass-balance observations at seasonal resolution have been performed since 1914 at two sites on Claridenfirn, Switzerland. The measurements are the longest uninterrupted records of glacier mass balance worldwide. Here, we provide a complete re-analysis of the 106-year series (1914–2020), focusing on both point and glacier-wide mass balance. The approaches to evaluate and homogenize the direct observations are described in detail. Based on conservative assumptions, average uncertainties of $\pm$0.25 m w.e. are estimated for glacier-wide mass balances at the annual scale. It is demonstrated that long-term variations in mass balance are clearly driven by melting, whereas decadal changes in accumulation are uncorrelated with mass balance and can only be relevant in short periods. Mass change of Claridenfirn is impacted by dry calving at a frontal ice cliff. Considerations of ice volume flux at a cross-profile reveal long-term variations in frontal ice loss accounting for $\sim$9% of total annual ablation on average. The effect of changes in frontal ablation mostly explains $\lt$10% of the mass-balance difference relative to the period 1960–1990, but accounts for $\sim$20% in 2010–2020. Glacier mass changes are discussed in the context of observations throughout the European Alps indicating that Claridenfirn is regionally representative. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Glaciology 67 264 697 713 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Accumulation glacier monitoring mass-balance reconstruction surface melt Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
Accumulation glacier monitoring mass-balance reconstruction surface melt Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Matthias Huss Andreas Bauder Andreas Linsbauer Jeannette Gabbi Giovanni Kappenberger Urs Steinegger Daniel Farinotti More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland |
topic_facet |
Accumulation glacier monitoring mass-balance reconstruction surface melt Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
Glacier mass-balance observations at seasonal resolution have been performed since 1914 at two sites on Claridenfirn, Switzerland. The measurements are the longest uninterrupted records of glacier mass balance worldwide. Here, we provide a complete re-analysis of the 106-year series (1914–2020), focusing on both point and glacier-wide mass balance. The approaches to evaluate and homogenize the direct observations are described in detail. Based on conservative assumptions, average uncertainties of $\pm$0.25 m w.e. are estimated for glacier-wide mass balances at the annual scale. It is demonstrated that long-term variations in mass balance are clearly driven by melting, whereas decadal changes in accumulation are uncorrelated with mass balance and can only be relevant in short periods. Mass change of Claridenfirn is impacted by dry calving at a frontal ice cliff. Considerations of ice volume flux at a cross-profile reveal long-term variations in frontal ice loss accounting for $\sim$9% of total annual ablation on average. The effect of changes in frontal ablation mostly explains $\lt$10% of the mass-balance difference relative to the period 1960–1990, but accounts for $\sim$20% in 2010–2020. Glacier mass changes are discussed in the context of observations throughout the European Alps indicating that Claridenfirn is regionally representative. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Matthias Huss Andreas Bauder Andreas Linsbauer Jeannette Gabbi Giovanni Kappenberger Urs Steinegger Daniel Farinotti |
author_facet |
Matthias Huss Andreas Bauder Andreas Linsbauer Jeannette Gabbi Giovanni Kappenberger Urs Steinegger Daniel Farinotti |
author_sort |
Matthias Huss |
title |
More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland |
title_short |
More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland |
title_full |
More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland |
title_fullStr |
More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland |
title_full_unstemmed |
More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland |
title_sort |
more than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on claridenfirn, switzerland |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.22 https://doaj.org/article/72345adfe90243edb436edd1685ae885 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology, Vol 67, Pp 697-713 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143021000228/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2021.22 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/72345adfe90243edb436edd1685ae885 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.22 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
67 |
container_issue |
264 |
container_start_page |
697 |
op_container_end_page |
713 |
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1766049105731125248 |