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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Main Authors: Rowan, AV, Nicholson, LI, Quincey, DJ, Gibson, MJ, Irvine-Fynn, TDL, Watson, CS, Wagnon, P, Rounce, DR, Thompson, SS, Porter, PR, Glasser, NF
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/187548/
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/187548/1/seasonally-stable-temperature-gradients-through-supraglacial-debris-in-the-everest-region-of-nepal-central-himalaya.pdf
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spelling ftleedsuniv:oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:187548 2023-05-15T16:57:39+02:00 Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya Rowan, AV Nicholson, LI Quincey, DJ Gibson, MJ Irvine-Fynn, TDL Watson, CS Wagnon, P Rounce, DR Thompson, SS Porter, PR Glasser, NF 2021-02 text https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/187548/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/187548/1/seasonally-stable-temperature-gradients-through-supraglacial-debris-in-the-everest-region-of-nepal-central-himalaya.pdf en eng Cambridge University Press https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/187548/1/seasonally-stable-temperature-gradients-through-supraglacial-debris-in-the-everest-region-of-nepal-central-himalaya.pdf Rowan, AV, Nicholson, LI, Quincey, DJ orcid.org/0000-0002-7602-7926 et al. (8 more authors) (2021) Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya. Journal of Glaciology, 67 (261). pp. 170-181. ISSN 0022-1430 cc_by_4 CC-BY Article NonPeerReviewed 2021 ftleedsuniv 2023-01-30T22:47:11Z 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 White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York)
institution Open Polar
collection White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York)
op_collection_id ftleedsuniv
language English
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 Rowan, AV
Nicholson, LI
Quincey, DJ
Gibson, MJ
Irvine-Fynn, TDL
Watson, CS
Wagnon, P
Rounce, DR
Thompson, SS
Porter, PR
Glasser, NF
spellingShingle Rowan, AV
Nicholson, LI
Quincey, DJ
Gibson, MJ
Irvine-Fynn, TDL
Watson, CS
Wagnon, P
Rounce, DR
Thompson, SS
Porter, PR
Glasser, NF
Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya
author_facet Rowan, AV
Nicholson, LI
Quincey, DJ
Gibson, MJ
Irvine-Fynn, TDL
Watson, CS
Wagnon, P
Rounce, DR
Thompson, SS
Porter, PR
Glasser, NF
author_sort Rowan, AV
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://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/187548/
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/187548/1/seasonally-stable-temperature-gradients-through-supraglacial-debris-in-the-everest-region-of-nepal-central-himalaya.pdf
genre Journal of Glaciology
genre_facet Journal of Glaciology
op_relation https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/187548/1/seasonally-stable-temperature-gradients-through-supraglacial-debris-in-the-everest-region-of-nepal-central-himalaya.pdf
Rowan, AV, Nicholson, LI, Quincey, DJ orcid.org/0000-0002-7602-7926 et al. (8 more authors) (2021) Seasonally stable temperature gradients through supraglacial debris in the Everest region of Nepal, Central Himalaya. Journal of Glaciology, 67 (261). pp. 170-181. ISSN 0022-1430
op_rights cc_by_4
op_rightsnorm CC-BY
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