Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula
The South Shetland Islands are located at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP). This region was subject to strong warming trends in the atmospheric surface layer. Surface air temperature increased about 3 K in 50 years, concurrent with retreating glacier fronts, an increase in melt areas...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2018
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1211-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00006844 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00006801/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/1211/2018/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf |
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Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA |
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English |
topic |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
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article Verlagsveröffentlichung Falk, Ulrike López, Damián A. Silva-Busso, Adrián Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
topic_facet |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
description |
The South Shetland Islands are located at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP). This region was subject to strong warming trends in the atmospheric surface layer. Surface air temperature increased about 3 K in 50 years, concurrent with retreating glacier fronts, an increase in melt areas, ice surface lowering and rapid break-up and disintegration of ice shelves. The positive trend in surface air temperature has currently come to a halt. Observed surface air temperature lapse rates show a high variability during winter months (standard deviations up to ±1.0K(100m)-1) and a distinct spatial heterogeneity reflecting the impact of synoptic weather patterns. The increased mesocyclonic activity during the wintertime over the past decades in the study area results in intensified advection of warm, moist air with high temperatures and rain and leads to melt conditions on the ice cap, fixating surface air temperatures to the melting point. Its impact on winter accumulation results in the observed negative mass balance estimates. Six years of continuous glaciological measurements on mass balance stake transects as well as 5 years of climatological data time series are presented and a spatially distributed glacier energy balance melt model adapted and run based on these multi-year data sets. The glaciological surface mass balance model is generally in good agreement with observations, except for atmospheric conditions promoting snow drift by high wind speeds, turbulence-driven snow deposition and snow layer erosion by rain. No drift in the difference between simulated mass balance and mass balance measurements can be seen over the course of the 5-year model run period. The winter accumulation does not suffice to compensate for the high variability in summer ablation. The results are analysed to assess changes in meltwater input to the coastal waters, specific glacier mass balance and the equilibrium line altitude (ELA). The Fourcade Glacier catchment drains into Potter cove, has an area of 23.6 km2 and is glacierized to 93.8 %. Annual discharge from Fourcade Glacier into Potter Cove is estimated to q¯=25±6hm3yr-1 with the standard deviation of 8 % annotating the high interannual variability. The average ELA calculated from our own glaciological observations on Fourcade Glacier over the time period 2010 to 2015 amounts to 260±20 m. Published studies suggest rather stable conditions of slightly negative glacier mass balance until the mid-1980s with an ELA of approx. 150 m. The calculated accumulation area ratio suggests dramatic changes in the future extent of the inland ice cap for the South Shetland Islands. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Falk, Ulrike López, Damián A. Silva-Busso, Adrián |
author_facet |
Falk, Ulrike López, Damián A. Silva-Busso, Adrián |
author_sort |
Falk, Ulrike |
title |
Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on king george island, antarctic peninsula |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1211-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00006844 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00006801/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/1211/2018/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) ENVELOPE(-62.490,-62.490,-64.612,-64.612) ENVELOPE(-58.666,-58.666,-62.216,-62.216) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ela Fourcade Fourcade Glacier King George Island Potter Cove South Shetland Islands The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ela Fourcade Fourcade Glacier King George Island Potter Cove South Shetland Islands The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice cap Ice Shelves King George Island South Shetland Islands The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice cap Ice Shelves King George Island South Shetland Islands The Cryosphere |
op_relation |
The Cryosphere -- ˜Theœ Cryosphere -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2393169 -- http://www.the-cryosphere.net/ -- 1994-0424 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1211-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00006844 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00006801/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/1211/2018/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1211-2018 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1211 |
op_container_end_page |
1232 |
_version_ |
1766058152420179968 |
spelling |
ftnonlinearchiv:oai:noa.gwlb.de:cop_mods_00006844 2023-05-15T13:34:49+02:00 Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula Falk, Ulrike López, Damián A. Silva-Busso, Adrián 2018-04 electronic https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1211-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00006844 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00006801/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/1211/2018/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf eng eng Copernicus Publications The Cryosphere -- ˜Theœ Cryosphere -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2393169 -- http://www.the-cryosphere.net/ -- 1994-0424 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1211-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00006844 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00006801/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/1211/2018/tc-12-1211-2018.pdf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess CC-BY article Verlagsveröffentlichung article Text doc-type:article 2018 ftnonlinearchiv https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1211-2018 2022-02-08T22:58:50Z The South Shetland Islands are located at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP). This region was subject to strong warming trends in the atmospheric surface layer. Surface air temperature increased about 3 K in 50 years, concurrent with retreating glacier fronts, an increase in melt areas, ice surface lowering and rapid break-up and disintegration of ice shelves. The positive trend in surface air temperature has currently come to a halt. Observed surface air temperature lapse rates show a high variability during winter months (standard deviations up to ±1.0K(100m)-1) and a distinct spatial heterogeneity reflecting the impact of synoptic weather patterns. The increased mesocyclonic activity during the wintertime over the past decades in the study area results in intensified advection of warm, moist air with high temperatures and rain and leads to melt conditions on the ice cap, fixating surface air temperatures to the melting point. Its impact on winter accumulation results in the observed negative mass balance estimates. Six years of continuous glaciological measurements on mass balance stake transects as well as 5 years of climatological data time series are presented and a spatially distributed glacier energy balance melt model adapted and run based on these multi-year data sets. The glaciological surface mass balance model is generally in good agreement with observations, except for atmospheric conditions promoting snow drift by high wind speeds, turbulence-driven snow deposition and snow layer erosion by rain. No drift in the difference between simulated mass balance and mass balance measurements can be seen over the course of the 5-year model run period. The winter accumulation does not suffice to compensate for the high variability in summer ablation. The results are analysed to assess changes in meltwater input to the coastal waters, specific glacier mass balance and the equilibrium line altitude (ELA). The Fourcade Glacier catchment drains into Potter cove, has an area of 23.6 km2 and is glacierized to 93.8 %. Annual discharge from Fourcade Glacier into Potter Cove is estimated to q¯=25±6hm3yr-1 with the standard deviation of 8 % annotating the high interannual variability. The average ELA calculated from our own glaciological observations on Fourcade Glacier over the time period 2010 to 2015 amounts to 260±20 m. Published studies suggest rather stable conditions of slightly negative glacier mass balance until the mid-1980s with an ELA of approx. 150 m. The calculated accumulation area ratio suggests dramatic changes in the future extent of the inland ice cap for the South Shetland Islands. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice cap Ice Shelves King George Island South Shetland Islands The Cryosphere Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) Fourcade ENVELOPE(-62.490,-62.490,-64.612,-64.612) Fourcade Glacier ENVELOPE(-58.666,-58.666,-62.216,-62.216) King George Island Potter Cove South Shetland Islands The Antarctic The Cryosphere 12 4 1211 1232 |