Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers
Debris-covered glaciers are commonly found in alpine landscapes of high relief and play an increasingly important role in a warming climate. As a result of the insulating effect of supraglacial debris, their response to changes in climate is less direct and their dynamic behaviour more complex than...
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Copernicus Publications
2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3377/2021/tc-15-3377-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/f591154dc50e4a308633bb050a1637d4 |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:f591154dc50e4a308633bb050a1637d4 2023-05-15T18:32:17+02:00 Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers J. C. Ferguson A. Vieli 2021-07-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3377/2021/tc-15-3377-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/f591154dc50e4a308633bb050a1637d4 en eng Copernicus Publications doi:10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3377/2021/tc-15-3377-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/f591154dc50e4a308633bb050a1637d4 undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 3377-3399 (2021) geo envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2021 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021 2023-01-22T19:26:17Z Debris-covered glaciers are commonly found in alpine landscapes of high relief and play an increasingly important role in a warming climate. As a result of the insulating effect of supraglacial debris, their response to changes in climate is less direct and their dynamic behaviour more complex than for debris-free glaciers. Due to a lack of observations, here we use numerical modelling to explore the dynamic interactions between debris cover and geometry evolution for an idealized glacier over centennial timescales. The main goal of this study is to understand the effects of debris cover on the glacier's transient response. To do so, we use a numerical model that couples ice flow, debris transport, and its insulating effect on surface mass balance and thereby captures dynamic feedbacks that affect the volume and length evolution. In a second step we incorporate the effects of cryokarst features such as ice cliffs and supraglacial ponds on the dynamical behaviour. Our modelling indicates that thick debris cover delays both the volume response and especially the length response to a warming climate signal. Including debris dynamics therefore results in glaciers with extended debris-covered tongues and that tend to advance or stagnate in length in response to a fluctuating climate at century timescales and hence remember the cold periods more than the warm. However, when including even a relatively small amount of melt enhancing cryokarst features in the model, the length is more responsive to periods of warming and results in substantial mass loss and thinning on debris-covered tongues, as is also observed. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Unknown The Cryosphere 15 7 3377 3399 |
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geo envir J. C. Ferguson A. Vieli Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers |
topic_facet |
geo envir |
description |
Debris-covered glaciers are commonly found in alpine landscapes of high relief and play an increasingly important role in a warming climate. As a result of the insulating effect of supraglacial debris, their response to changes in climate is less direct and their dynamic behaviour more complex than for debris-free glaciers. Due to a lack of observations, here we use numerical modelling to explore the dynamic interactions between debris cover and geometry evolution for an idealized glacier over centennial timescales. The main goal of this study is to understand the effects of debris cover on the glacier's transient response. To do so, we use a numerical model that couples ice flow, debris transport, and its insulating effect on surface mass balance and thereby captures dynamic feedbacks that affect the volume and length evolution. In a second step we incorporate the effects of cryokarst features such as ice cliffs and supraglacial ponds on the dynamical behaviour. Our modelling indicates that thick debris cover delays both the volume response and especially the length response to a warming climate signal. Including debris dynamics therefore results in glaciers with extended debris-covered tongues and that tend to advance or stagnate in length in response to a fluctuating climate at century timescales and hence remember the cold periods more than the warm. However, when including even a relatively small amount of melt enhancing cryokarst features in the model, the length is more responsive to periods of warming and results in substantial mass loss and thinning on debris-covered tongues, as is also observed. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. C. Ferguson A. Vieli |
author_facet |
J. C. Ferguson A. Vieli |
author_sort |
J. C. Ferguson |
title |
Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers |
title_short |
Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers |
title_full |
Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers |
title_fullStr |
Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers |
title_sort |
modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3377/2021/tc-15-3377-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/f591154dc50e4a308633bb050a1637d4 |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 3377-3399 (2021) |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3377/2021/tc-15-3377-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/article/f591154dc50e4a308633bb050a1637d4 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
3377 |
op_container_end_page |
3399 |
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