Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981
Producción Científica This paper analyzes the evolution of the Monte Perdido Glacier, the third largest glacier in the Pyrenees, from 1981 to the present. We assessed the evolution of the glacier's surface area by analysis of aerial photographs from 1981, 1999, and 2006, and changes in ice volu...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/40638 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016 |
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ftunivvalladolid:oai:uvadoc.uva.es:10324/40638 2023-05-15T18:32:14+02:00 Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981 López Moreno, Juan Ignacio Revuelto, Jesús Rico, Ibai Chueca Cía, Javier Julián, Asunción Serreta, Alfredo Serrano Cañadas, Enrique Vicente Serrano, Sergio Martín Azorin Molina, Cesar Alonso González, Esteban García Ruiz, José María 2016 application/pdf http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/40638 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016 eng eng Copernicus Publications https://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/681/2016/ https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016 The Cryosphere, 2016, vol. 10, n. 2. p. 681-694 1994-0424 http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/40638 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ © 2016 Copernicus Publications CC-BY-NC-ND Geomorfología - España - Monte Perdido Glaciers Glaciares Surface thinning Disminución de superficies Global change Cambio global info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2016 ftunivvalladolid https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016 2022-03-10T16:41:12Z Producción Científica This paper analyzes the evolution of the Monte Perdido Glacier, the third largest glacier in the Pyrenees, from 1981 to the present. We assessed the evolution of the glacier's surface area by analysis of aerial photographs from 1981, 1999, and 2006, and changes in ice volume by geodetic methods with digital elevation models (DEMs) generated from topographic maps (1981 and 1999), airborne lidar (2010) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014) data. We interpreted the changes in the glacier based on climate data from nearby meteorological stations. The results indicate that the degradation of this glacier accelerated after 1999. The rate of ice surface loss was almost three times greater during 1999–2006 than during earlier periods. Moreover, the rate of glacier thinning was 1.85 times faster during 1999–2010 (rate of surface elevation change = −8.98 ± 1.80 m, glacier-wide mass balance = −0.73 ± 0.14 m w.e. yr−1) than during 1981–1999 (rate of surface elevation change = −8.35 ± 2.12 m, glacier-wide mass balance = −0.42 ± 0.10 m w.e. yr−1). From 2011 to 2014, ice thinning continued at a slower rate (rate of surface elevation change = −1.93 ± 0.4 m yr−1, glacier-wide mass balance = −0.58 ± 0.36 m w.e. yr−1). This deceleration in ice thinning compared to the previous 17 years can be attributed, at least in part, to two consecutive anomalously wet winters and cool summers (2012–2013 and 2013–2014), counteracted to some degree by the intense thinning that occurred during the dry and warm 2011–2012 period. However, local climatic changes observed during the study period do not seem sufficient to explain the acceleration of ice thinning of this glacier, because precipitation and air temperature did not exhibit statistically significant trends during the study period. Rather, the accelerated degradation of this glacier in recent years can be explained by a strong disequilibrium between the glacier and the current climate, and likely by other factors affecting the energy balance (e.g., increased albedo in spring) and feedback mechanisms (e.g., heat emitted from recently exposed bedrock and debris covered areas). Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - IBERNIEVE (project CGL2014-52599-P) Ministerio de Agricultura y Pesca, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (project 844/2013) Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere UVaDOC - Repositorio Documental de la Universidad de Valladolid The Cryosphere 10 2 681 694 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
UVaDOC - Repositorio Documental de la Universidad de Valladolid |
op_collection_id |
ftunivvalladolid |
language |
English |
topic |
Geomorfología - España - Monte Perdido Glaciers Glaciares Surface thinning Disminución de superficies Global change Cambio global |
spellingShingle |
Geomorfología - España - Monte Perdido Glaciers Glaciares Surface thinning Disminución de superficies Global change Cambio global López Moreno, Juan Ignacio Revuelto, Jesús Rico, Ibai Chueca Cía, Javier Julián, Asunción Serreta, Alfredo Serrano Cañadas, Enrique Vicente Serrano, Sergio Martín Azorin Molina, Cesar Alonso González, Esteban García Ruiz, José María Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981 |
topic_facet |
Geomorfología - España - Monte Perdido Glaciers Glaciares Surface thinning Disminución de superficies Global change Cambio global |
description |
Producción Científica This paper analyzes the evolution of the Monte Perdido Glacier, the third largest glacier in the Pyrenees, from 1981 to the present. We assessed the evolution of the glacier's surface area by analysis of aerial photographs from 1981, 1999, and 2006, and changes in ice volume by geodetic methods with digital elevation models (DEMs) generated from topographic maps (1981 and 1999), airborne lidar (2010) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014) data. We interpreted the changes in the glacier based on climate data from nearby meteorological stations. The results indicate that the degradation of this glacier accelerated after 1999. The rate of ice surface loss was almost three times greater during 1999–2006 than during earlier periods. Moreover, the rate of glacier thinning was 1.85 times faster during 1999–2010 (rate of surface elevation change = −8.98 ± 1.80 m, glacier-wide mass balance = −0.73 ± 0.14 m w.e. yr−1) than during 1981–1999 (rate of surface elevation change = −8.35 ± 2.12 m, glacier-wide mass balance = −0.42 ± 0.10 m w.e. yr−1). From 2011 to 2014, ice thinning continued at a slower rate (rate of surface elevation change = −1.93 ± 0.4 m yr−1, glacier-wide mass balance = −0.58 ± 0.36 m w.e. yr−1). This deceleration in ice thinning compared to the previous 17 years can be attributed, at least in part, to two consecutive anomalously wet winters and cool summers (2012–2013 and 2013–2014), counteracted to some degree by the intense thinning that occurred during the dry and warm 2011–2012 period. However, local climatic changes observed during the study period do not seem sufficient to explain the acceleration of ice thinning of this glacier, because precipitation and air temperature did not exhibit statistically significant trends during the study period. Rather, the accelerated degradation of this glacier in recent years can be explained by a strong disequilibrium between the glacier and the current climate, and likely by other factors affecting the energy balance (e.g., increased albedo in spring) and feedback mechanisms (e.g., heat emitted from recently exposed bedrock and debris covered areas). Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - IBERNIEVE (project CGL2014-52599-P) Ministerio de Agricultura y Pesca, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (project 844/2013) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
López Moreno, Juan Ignacio Revuelto, Jesús Rico, Ibai Chueca Cía, Javier Julián, Asunción Serreta, Alfredo Serrano Cañadas, Enrique Vicente Serrano, Sergio Martín Azorin Molina, Cesar Alonso González, Esteban García Ruiz, José María |
author_facet |
López Moreno, Juan Ignacio Revuelto, Jesús Rico, Ibai Chueca Cía, Javier Julián, Asunción Serreta, Alfredo Serrano Cañadas, Enrique Vicente Serrano, Sergio Martín Azorin Molina, Cesar Alonso González, Esteban García Ruiz, José María |
author_sort |
López Moreno, Juan Ignacio |
title |
Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981 |
title_short |
Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981 |
title_full |
Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981 |
title_fullStr |
Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981 |
title_sort |
thinning of the monte perdido glacier in the spanish pyrenees since 1981 |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/40638 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016 |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_relation |
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/681/2016/ https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016 The Cryosphere, 2016, vol. 10, n. 2. p. 681-694 1994-0424 http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/40638 |
op_rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ © 2016 Copernicus Publications |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
10 |
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2 |
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681 |
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694 |
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1766216321302790144 |