Climate on the equilibrium line altitudes of glaciers: theoretical background behind Ahlmann's P/T diagram

• Main Authors: Ohmura, Atsumu, Boettcher, Maxi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: International Glaciological Society 2018
• Subjects: accumulation; glacier mass balance; Ice and climate; ice/atmosphere interactions; Surface mass budget; Ahlmann; Ela; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/274034; https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000268451

The climatic condition that prevails at a glacier equilibrium line altitude (ELA) is often parameterized in terms of summer air temperature (T) and annual precipitation (P). This simple parameterization was initially proposed by Hans W:son Ahlmann. The physical background of the relationship between...