Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya
Rock debris covers ~30% of glacier ablation areas in the Central Himalaya and modifies the impact of atmospheric conditions on mass balance. The thermal properties of supraglacial debris are diurnally variable but remain poorly constrained for monsoon-influenced glaciers over the timescale of the ab...
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2021
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b6e4617e68c44be0bb191246b33b1526 2023-05-15T16:57:34+02:00 Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya Ann V. Rowan Lindsey I. Nicholson Duncan J. Quincey Morgan J. Gibson Tristram D.L. Irvine-Fynn C. Scott Watson Patrick Wagnon David R. Rounce Sarah S. Thompson Philip R. Porter Neil F. Glasser 2021-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.100 https://doaj.org/article/b6e4617e68c44be0bb191246b33b1526 EN eng Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143020001008/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2020.100 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/b6e4617e68c44be0bb191246b33b1526 Journal of Glaciology, Vol 67, Pp 170-181 (2021) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.100 2023-03-12T01:30:57Z Rock debris covers ~30% of glacier ablation areas in the Central Himalaya and modifies the impact of atmospheric conditions on mass balance. The thermal properties of supraglacial debris are diurnally variable but remain poorly constrained for monsoon-influenced glaciers over the timescale of the ablation season. We measured vertical debris profile temperatures at 12 sites on four glaciers in the Everest region with debris thickness ranging from 0.08 to 2.8 m. Typically, the length of the ice ablation season beneath supraglacial debris was 160 days (15 May to 22 October)—a month longer than the monsoon season. Debris temperature gradients were approximately linear (r2 > 0.83), measured as −40°C m–1 where debris was up to 0.1 m thick, −20°C m–1 for debris 0.1–0.5 m thick, and −4°C m–1 for debris greater than 0.5 m thick. Our results demonstrate that the influence of supraglacial debris on the temperature of the underlying ice surface, and therefore melt, is stable at a seasonal timescale and can be estimated from near-surface temperature. These results have the potential to greatly improve the representation of ablation in calculations of debris-covered glacier mass balance and projections of their response to climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Glaciology 67 261 170 181 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Ann V. Rowan Lindsey I. Nicholson Duncan J. Quincey Morgan J. Gibson Tristram D.L. Irvine-Fynn C. Scott Watson Patrick Wagnon David R. Rounce Sarah S. Thompson Philip R. Porter Neil F. Glasser Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
Rock debris covers ~30% of glacier ablation areas in the Central Himalaya and modifies the impact of atmospheric conditions on mass balance. The thermal properties of supraglacial debris are diurnally variable but remain poorly constrained for monsoon-influenced glaciers over the timescale of the ablation season. We measured vertical debris profile temperatures at 12 sites on four glaciers in the Everest region with debris thickness ranging from 0.08 to 2.8 m. Typically, the length of the ice ablation season beneath supraglacial debris was 160 days (15 May to 22 October)—a month longer than the monsoon season. Debris temperature gradients were approximately linear (r2 > 0.83), measured as −40°C m–1 where debris was up to 0.1 m thick, −20°C m–1 for debris 0.1–0.5 m thick, and −4°C m–1 for debris greater than 0.5 m thick. Our results demonstrate that the influence of supraglacial debris on the temperature of the underlying ice surface, and therefore melt, is stable at a seasonal timescale and can be estimated from near-surface temperature. These results have the potential to greatly improve the representation of ablation in calculations of debris-covered glacier mass balance and projections of their response to climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ann V. Rowan Lindsey I. Nicholson Duncan J. Quincey Morgan J. Gibson Tristram D.L. Irvine-Fynn C. Scott Watson Patrick Wagnon David R. Rounce Sarah S. Thompson Philip R. Porter Neil F. Glasser |
author_facet |
Ann V. Rowan Lindsey I. Nicholson Duncan J. Quincey Morgan J. Gibson Tristram D.L. Irvine-Fynn C. Scott Watson Patrick Wagnon David R. Rounce Sarah S. Thompson Philip R. Porter Neil F. Glasser |
author_sort |
Ann V. Rowan |
title |
Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya |
title_short |
Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya |
title_full |
Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya |
title_fullStr |
Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya |
title_sort |
seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the everest region of nepal, central himalaya |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.100 https://doaj.org/article/b6e4617e68c44be0bb191246b33b1526 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology, Vol 67, Pp 170-181 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143020001008/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2020.100 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/b6e4617e68c44be0bb191246b33b1526 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.100 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
67 |
container_issue |
261 |
container_start_page |
170 |
op_container_end_page |
181 |
_version_ |
1766049136326475776 |