Articles | Volume 15, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-265-2021
© 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-15-265-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Debris cover and the thinning of Kennicott Glacier, Alaska: in situ measurements, automated ice cliff delineation and distributed melt estimates
Department of Geological Sciences and Institute of Arctic and Alpine
Research, University of Colorado Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473
Potsdam, Germany
William H. Armstrong
Department of Geological Sciences and Institute of Arctic and Alpine
Research, University of Colorado Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA
Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Appalachian State
University, 033 Rankin Science West, ASU Box 32067, Boone, NC 28608-2067,
USA
Robert S. Anderson
Department of Geological Sciences and Institute of Arctic and Alpine
Research, University of Colorado Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA
Pascal Buri
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, 2156 Koyukuk
Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
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Cited
49 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Stream hydrology controls on ice cliff evolution and survival on debris-covered glaciers E. Petersen et al.
- Modelling supraglacial debris-cover evolution from the single-glacier to the regional scale: an application to High Mountain Asia L. Compagno et al.
- Empirical and thermal resistance approaches for debris thickness estimation on the Hoksar Glacier, Kashmir Himalaya I. Ali et al.
- Debris-cover impact on glacier melting in the Upper Indus Basin B. Nabi et al.
- Influence of debris cover on the glacier melting in the Himalaya S. Romshoo et al.
- Understanding Complex Debris-Covered Glaciers: Concepts, Issues, and Research Directions D. Huo et al.
- Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers J. Ferguson & A. Vieli
- A reassessment of ice cliff dynamics upon debris-covered glaciers G. Evatt et al.
- Understanding the point mass balance and surface ice velocity for the debris-covered glacier, Panchi II, western Himalaya (India) S. Vatsal et al.
- Steep ice – progress and future challenges in research on ice cliffs J. Steiner et al.
- DebDaB: a database of supraglacial debris thickness and physical properties A. Fontrodona-Bach et al.
- The Significance of Convection in Supraglacial Debris Revealed Through Novel Analysis of Thermistor Profiles E. Petersen et al.
- Be‐10 Dating of Ice‐Marginal Moraines in the Khumbu Valley, Nepal, Central Himalaya, Reveals the Response of Monsoon‐Influenced Glaciers to Holocene Climate Change J. Hornsey et al.
- The Causes of Debris-Covered Glacier Thinning: Evidence for the Importance of Ice Dynamics From Kennicott Glacier, Alaska L. Anderson et al.
- Ice-flux divergence and strain rates reveal compressive-flow hotspots on Gangotri glacier A. Islam et al.
- What Can Thermal Imagery Tell Us About Glacier Melt Below Rock Debris? S. Herreid
- Glacier mass balance and its climatic and nonclimatic drivers in the Ladakh region during 2000–2021 from remote sensing data A. Mandal et al.
- Thinning and surface mass balance patterns of two neighbouring debris-covered glaciers in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau C. Zhao et al.
- Distributed Global Debris Thickness Estimates Reveal Debris Significantly Impacts Glacier Mass Balance D. Rounce et al.
- An 85-year record of glacier change and refined projections for Kennicott and Root Glaciers, Alaska A. Wells et al.
- Quantifying short-term backwasting rates of a supraglacial ice cliff at Machoi Glacier in the Indian Himalaya P. Singh et al.
- Debris-covered glacier systems and associated glacial lake outburst flood hazards: challenges and prospects A. Racoviteanu et al.
- The Role of Differential Ablation and Dynamic Detachment in Driving Accelerating Mass Loss From a Debris‐Covered Himalayan Glacier A. Rowan et al.
- Cryokarst–induced dynamics of the Gangotri glacier, central Himalaya B. Yousuf et al.
- Estimation of ice ablation on a debris-covered glacier from vertical debris-temperature profiles S. Laha et al.
- The Challenge of Non-Stationary Feedbacks in Modeling the Response of Debris-Covered Glaciers to Climate Forcing L. Nicholson et al.
- A Comparative Study of Methods for Estimating the Thickness of Glacial Debris: A Case Study of the Koxkar Glacier in the Tian Shan Mountains J. Liu et al.
- Using thermal UAV imagery to model distributed debris thicknesses and sub-debris melt rates on debris-covered glaciers R. Bisset et al.
- DCG-MIP: the Debris-Covered Glacier melt Model Intercomparison exPeriment F. Pellicciotti et al.
- Short-Term Variability in Alaska Ice-Marginal Lake Area: Implications for Long-Term Studies A. Hengst et al.
- Contrasting Changes of Debris-Free Glacier and Debris-Covered Glacier in Southeastern Tibetan Plateau C. Zhao et al.
- Controls on Ice Cliff Distribution and Characteristics on Debris‐Covered Glaciers M. Kneib et al.
- A Comparative Study of Artificial Intelligence Classification Models for Analyzing Vitiligo Effects in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Images P. Fagundes et al.
- Controls on the relative melt rates of debris-covered glacier surfaces E. Miles et al.
- Impact of Image-Processing Routines on Mapping Glacier Surface Facies from Svalbard and the Himalayas Using Pixel-Based Methods S. Jawak et al.
- Deriving seasonal and annual surface mass balance for debris-covered glaciers from flow-corrected satellite stereo DEM time series S. Bhushan et al.
- Recent Evolution of Glaciers in the Manaslu Region of Nepal From Satellite Imagery and UAV Data (1970–2019) A. Racoviteanu et al.
- Topographic controls on ice flow and recession for Juneau Icefield (Alaska/British Columbia) B. Davies et al.
- Comparing the evolution of debris-free and debris-covered glaciers during the end of the Lateglacial and the Holocene in Dudh Koshi basin, Everest region, Nepal V. Jomelli et al.
- Surface composition of debris-covered glaciers across the Himalaya using linear spectral unmixing of Landsat 8 OLI imagery A. Racoviteanu et al.
- A low-cost and open-source approach for supraglacial debris thickness mapping using UAV-based infrared thermography J. Messmer & A. Groos
- Geodetic mass balance reveals enhanced up-glacier thinning in four major High Mountain Asia glaciers A. Mandal et al.
- Modelling seasonal fluctuations and aspect characteristics of ice-cliff melt on the debris-covered Trakarding Glacier, Rolwaling Valley, Nepal Himalaya Y. Sato et al.
- Interannual Dynamics of Ice Cliff Populations on Debris‐Covered Glaciers From Remote Sensing Observations and Stochastic Modeling M. Kneib et al.
- Sub-seasonal variability of supraglacial ice cliff melt rates and associated processes from time-lapse photogrammetry M. Kneib et al.
- Will landscape responses reduce glacier sensitivity to climate change in High Mountain Asia? S. Harrison et al.
- The formation of glacier dirt cones R. Strickland & M. Covington
- Debris cover effect on the evolution of Northern Caucasus glaciers in the 21st century T. Postnikova et al.
- The Rise and Fall of Alaska and Yukon Glaciers Detected by TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason‐2 Altimeters Using a Novel Glacier‐Threshold Method D. Tao et al.
49 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Stream hydrology controls on ice cliff evolution and survival on debris-covered glaciers E. Petersen et al.
- Modelling supraglacial debris-cover evolution from the single-glacier to the regional scale: an application to High Mountain Asia L. Compagno et al.
- Empirical and thermal resistance approaches for debris thickness estimation on the Hoksar Glacier, Kashmir Himalaya I. Ali et al.
- Debris-cover impact on glacier melting in the Upper Indus Basin B. Nabi et al.
- Influence of debris cover on the glacier melting in the Himalaya S. Romshoo et al.
- Understanding Complex Debris-Covered Glaciers: Concepts, Issues, and Research Directions D. Huo et al.
- Modelling steady states and the transient response of debris-covered glaciers J. Ferguson & A. Vieli
- A reassessment of ice cliff dynamics upon debris-covered glaciers G. Evatt et al.
- Understanding the point mass balance and surface ice velocity for the debris-covered glacier, Panchi II, western Himalaya (India) S. Vatsal et al.
- Steep ice – progress and future challenges in research on ice cliffs J. Steiner et al.
- DebDaB: a database of supraglacial debris thickness and physical properties A. Fontrodona-Bach et al.
- The Significance of Convection in Supraglacial Debris Revealed Through Novel Analysis of Thermistor Profiles E. Petersen et al.
- Be‐10 Dating of Ice‐Marginal Moraines in the Khumbu Valley, Nepal, Central Himalaya, Reveals the Response of Monsoon‐Influenced Glaciers to Holocene Climate Change J. Hornsey et al.
- The Causes of Debris-Covered Glacier Thinning: Evidence for the Importance of Ice Dynamics From Kennicott Glacier, Alaska L. Anderson et al.
- Ice-flux divergence and strain rates reveal compressive-flow hotspots on Gangotri glacier A. Islam et al.
- What Can Thermal Imagery Tell Us About Glacier Melt Below Rock Debris? S. Herreid
- Glacier mass balance and its climatic and nonclimatic drivers in the Ladakh region during 2000–2021 from remote sensing data A. Mandal et al.
- Thinning and surface mass balance patterns of two neighbouring debris-covered glaciers in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau C. Zhao et al.
- Distributed Global Debris Thickness Estimates Reveal Debris Significantly Impacts Glacier Mass Balance D. Rounce et al.
- An 85-year record of glacier change and refined projections for Kennicott and Root Glaciers, Alaska A. Wells et al.
- Quantifying short-term backwasting rates of a supraglacial ice cliff at Machoi Glacier in the Indian Himalaya P. Singh et al.
- Debris-covered glacier systems and associated glacial lake outburst flood hazards: challenges and prospects A. Racoviteanu et al.
- The Role of Differential Ablation and Dynamic Detachment in Driving Accelerating Mass Loss From a Debris‐Covered Himalayan Glacier A. Rowan et al.
- Cryokarst–induced dynamics of the Gangotri glacier, central Himalaya B. Yousuf et al.
- Estimation of ice ablation on a debris-covered glacier from vertical debris-temperature profiles S. Laha et al.
- The Challenge of Non-Stationary Feedbacks in Modeling the Response of Debris-Covered Glaciers to Climate Forcing L. Nicholson et al.
- A Comparative Study of Methods for Estimating the Thickness of Glacial Debris: A Case Study of the Koxkar Glacier in the Tian Shan Mountains J. Liu et al.
- Using thermal UAV imagery to model distributed debris thicknesses and sub-debris melt rates on debris-covered glaciers R. Bisset et al.
- DCG-MIP: the Debris-Covered Glacier melt Model Intercomparison exPeriment F. Pellicciotti et al.
- Short-Term Variability in Alaska Ice-Marginal Lake Area: Implications for Long-Term Studies A. Hengst et al.
- Contrasting Changes of Debris-Free Glacier and Debris-Covered Glacier in Southeastern Tibetan Plateau C. Zhao et al.
- Controls on Ice Cliff Distribution and Characteristics on Debris‐Covered Glaciers M. Kneib et al.
- A Comparative Study of Artificial Intelligence Classification Models for Analyzing Vitiligo Effects in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Images P. Fagundes et al.
- Controls on the relative melt rates of debris-covered glacier surfaces E. Miles et al.
- Impact of Image-Processing Routines on Mapping Glacier Surface Facies from Svalbard and the Himalayas Using Pixel-Based Methods S. Jawak et al.
- Deriving seasonal and annual surface mass balance for debris-covered glaciers from flow-corrected satellite stereo DEM time series S. Bhushan et al.
- Recent Evolution of Glaciers in the Manaslu Region of Nepal From Satellite Imagery and UAV Data (1970–2019) A. Racoviteanu et al.
- Topographic controls on ice flow and recession for Juneau Icefield (Alaska/British Columbia) B. Davies et al.
- Comparing the evolution of debris-free and debris-covered glaciers during the end of the Lateglacial and the Holocene in Dudh Koshi basin, Everest region, Nepal V. Jomelli et al.
- Surface composition of debris-covered glaciers across the Himalaya using linear spectral unmixing of Landsat 8 OLI imagery A. Racoviteanu et al.
- A low-cost and open-source approach for supraglacial debris thickness mapping using UAV-based infrared thermography J. Messmer & A. Groos
- Geodetic mass balance reveals enhanced up-glacier thinning in four major High Mountain Asia glaciers A. Mandal et al.
- Modelling seasonal fluctuations and aspect characteristics of ice-cliff melt on the debris-covered Trakarding Glacier, Rolwaling Valley, Nepal Himalaya Y. Sato et al.
- Interannual Dynamics of Ice Cliff Populations on Debris‐Covered Glaciers From Remote Sensing Observations and Stochastic Modeling M. Kneib et al.
- Sub-seasonal variability of supraglacial ice cliff melt rates and associated processes from time-lapse photogrammetry M. Kneib et al.
- Will landscape responses reduce glacier sensitivity to climate change in High Mountain Asia? S. Harrison et al.
- The formation of glacier dirt cones R. Strickland & M. Covington
- Debris cover effect on the evolution of Northern Caucasus glaciers in the 21st century T. Postnikova et al.
- The Rise and Fall of Alaska and Yukon Glaciers Detected by TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason‐2 Altimeters Using a Novel Glacier‐Threshold Method D. Tao et al.
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 18 May 2026
Short summary
Many glaciers are thinning rapidly beneath debris cover (loose rock) that reduces melt, including Kennicott Glacier in Alaska. This contradiction has been explained by melt hotspots, such as ice cliffs, scattered within the debris cover. However, at Kennicott Glacier declining ice flow explains the rapid thinning. Through this study, Kennicott Glacier is now the first glacier in Alaska, and the largest glacier globally, where melt across its debris-covered tongue has been rigorously quantified.
Many glaciers are thinning rapidly beneath debris cover (loose rock) that reduces melt,...