Brief communication: Growth and decay of an ice stupa in alpine conditions – a simple model driven by energy-flux observations over a glacier surface

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: J. Oerlemans, S. Balasubramanian, C. Clavuot, F. Keller
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2021
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; Stupa; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3007-2021; https://doaj.org/article/d5e9f38500b04c86bf146a5d0d7e8827

We present a simple model to calculate the evolution of an ice stupa (artificial ice reservoir). The model is formulated for a cone geometry and driven by energy balance measurements over a glacier surface for a 5-year period. An “exposure factor” is introduced to deal with the fact that an ice stup...