Articles | Volume 15, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1157-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1157-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
03 Mar 2021
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 03 Mar 2021
| 03 Mar 2021
The case of a southern European glacier which survived Roman and medieval warm periods but is disappearing under recent warming
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología – CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
Miguel Bartolomé
Departamento de Geología, Museo de Ciencias Naturales – CSIC, Madrid, Spain
Juan Ignacio López-Moreno
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología – CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
Jorge Pey
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología – CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
Fundación Agencia Aragonesa para la Investigación y el Desarrollo, ARAID, Zaragoza, Spain
Juan Pablo Corella
CIEMAT – Environmental Department (DMA), Avenida Complutense 40, Madrid, Spain
Jordi García-Orellana
Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,
Barcelona, Spain
Carlos Sancho
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
deceased
María Leunda
Institute of Plant Sciences & Oeschger Centre for Climate Change
Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Graciela Gil-Romera
Ecology Research Group, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología – CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
Penélope González-Sampériz
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología – CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
Carlos Pérez-Mejías
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Francisco Navarro
Departamento de Matemática Aplicada a las TIC, ETSI de
Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Jaime Otero-García
Departamento de Matemática Aplicada a las TIC, ETSI de
Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Javier Lapazaran
Departamento de Matemática Aplicada a las TIC, ETSI de
Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Esteban Alonso-González
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología – CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
Cristina Cid
Departamento de Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología – CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
Jerónimo López-Martínez
Departamento de Geología y Geoquímica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Belén Oliva-Urcia
Departamento de Geología y Geoquímica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Sérgio Henrique Faria
Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, Spain
Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
María José Sierra
CIEMAT – Environmental Department (DMA), Avenida Complutense 40, Madrid, Spain
Rocío Millán
CIEMAT – Environmental Department (DMA), Avenida Complutense 40, Madrid, Spain
Xavier Querol
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research – CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
Andrés Alastuey
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research – CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
José M. García-Ruíz
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología – CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
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Cited
14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Glacial Ice Age Shapes Microbiome Composition in a Receding Southern European Glacier E. Garcia-Lopez et al. 10.3389/fmicb.2021.714537
- Response of Very Small Glaciers to Climate Variations and Change: Examples from the Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria E. Gachev 10.3390/atmos13060859
- Cold-loving microorganisms in Antarctic glaciers: a review of South Shetland archipelago glaciers V. Muñoz-Hisado et al. 10.1017/S0954102025000100
- Pyrenean glaciers are disappearing fast: state of the glaciers after the extreme mass losses in 2022 and 2023 E. Izagirre et al. 10.1007/s10113-024-02333-1
- Reconstructing hydroclimate changes over the past 2500 years using speleothems from Pyrenean caves (NE Spain) M. Bartolomé et al. 10.5194/cp-20-467-2024
- The hidden microbial ecosystem in the perennial ice from a Pyrenean ice cave F. Ruiz-Blas et al. 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1110091
- The last deglaciation in the central Pyrenees: The 47 ka Pllan d’Están paleolake record (Ésera valley) I. Vidaller et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2024.108059
- Small is strong: Post-LIA resilience of Europe's Southernmost glaciers assessed by geophysical methods A. Onaca et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2022.106143
- Record summer rains in 2019 led to massive loss of surface and cave ice in SE Europe A. Perşoiu et al. 10.5194/tc-15-2383-2021
- Holocene glacier evolution in the Pyrenees based on 36Cl cosmic-ray exposure dating (Troumouse Cirque, Pyrenees National Park) D. Verfaillie et al. 10.1007/s42990-025-00175-5
- Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain N. González-Santacruz et al. 10.1017/aog.2023.66
- Numerical simulations of recent and future evolution of Monte Perdido glacier A. Mateos-García et al. 10.18172/cig.5816
- Development of a low-temperature immersion microscopy technique for ice research B. Muniozguren-Arostegi et al. 10.1017/aog.2023.74
- Trends in temperature and precipitation at high and low elevations in the main mountain ranges of the Iberian Peninsula (1894–2020): The Sierra Nevada and the Pyrenees J. Sigro et al. 10.1002/joc.8487
14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Glacial Ice Age Shapes Microbiome Composition in a Receding Southern European Glacier E. Garcia-Lopez et al. 10.3389/fmicb.2021.714537
- Response of Very Small Glaciers to Climate Variations and Change: Examples from the Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria E. Gachev 10.3390/atmos13060859
- Cold-loving microorganisms in Antarctic glaciers: a review of South Shetland archipelago glaciers V. Muñoz-Hisado et al. 10.1017/S0954102025000100
- Pyrenean glaciers are disappearing fast: state of the glaciers after the extreme mass losses in 2022 and 2023 E. Izagirre et al. 10.1007/s10113-024-02333-1
- Reconstructing hydroclimate changes over the past 2500 years using speleothems from Pyrenean caves (NE Spain) M. Bartolomé et al. 10.5194/cp-20-467-2024
- The hidden microbial ecosystem in the perennial ice from a Pyrenean ice cave F. Ruiz-Blas et al. 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1110091
- The last deglaciation in the central Pyrenees: The 47 ka Pllan d’Están paleolake record (Ésera valley) I. Vidaller et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2024.108059
- Small is strong: Post-LIA resilience of Europe's Southernmost glaciers assessed by geophysical methods A. Onaca et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2022.106143
- Record summer rains in 2019 led to massive loss of surface and cave ice in SE Europe A. Perşoiu et al. 10.5194/tc-15-2383-2021
- Holocene glacier evolution in the Pyrenees based on 36Cl cosmic-ray exposure dating (Troumouse Cirque, Pyrenees National Park) D. Verfaillie et al. 10.1007/s42990-025-00175-5
- Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain N. González-Santacruz et al. 10.1017/aog.2023.66
- Numerical simulations of recent and future evolution of Monte Perdido glacier A. Mateos-García et al. 10.18172/cig.5816
- Development of a low-temperature immersion microscopy technique for ice research B. Muniozguren-Arostegi et al. 10.1017/aog.2023.74
- Trends in temperature and precipitation at high and low elevations in the main mountain ranges of the Iberian Peninsula (1894–2020): The Sierra Nevada and the Pyrenees J. Sigro et al. 10.1002/joc.8487
Discussed (final revised paper)
Latest update: 13 Jul 2025
Short summary
Our study of the chronological sequence of Monte Perdido Glacier in the Central Pyrenees (Spain) reveals that, although the intense warming associated with the Roman period or Medieval Climate Anomaly produced important ice mass losses, it was insufficient to make this glacier disappear. By contrast, recent global warming has melted away almost 600 years of ice accumulated since the Little Ice Age, jeopardising the survival of this and other southern European glaciers over the next few decades.
Our study of the chronological sequence of Monte Perdido Glacier in the Central Pyrenees (Spain)...
