Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1697-2022
© Author(s) 2022. 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-16-1697-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 May 2022
Research article |
| 06 May 2022
| 06 May 2022
Modelling supraglacial debris-cover evolution from the single-glacier to the regional scale: an application to High Mountain Asia
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Matthias Huss
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Evan Stewart Miles
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Michael James McCarthy
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Harry Zekollari
Department of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Laboratoire de Glaciologie, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Amaury Dehecq
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Francesca Pellicciotti
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Daniel Farinotti
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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Sandra Wells, Ivan Utkin, Ian J. Hewitt, Daniel Farinotti, and Mauro A. Werder
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4310, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4310, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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We present GlaDS-2, a new subglacial drainage model that builds upon GlaDS by including the regimes of ice uplift and free-surface flow. We demonstrate its capabilities by simulating the rapid drainage of a supraglacial lake, both for a synthetic setup and for North Lake in Greenland. Our results show the formation of a traveling subglacial water blister inducing transient ice uplift, which align well with observations, and capture free-surface flow at the ice margins and in the proglacial zone.
Nora Bergner, Grace Marsh, Kevin Barry, Larissa Lacher, Alexander Böhmländer, Joanna Alden, Carina Ahlqvist, Ianina Altshuler, Lisa Bröder, Daniel Farinotti, Lionel Favre, Coline Guillosson, Benjamin Heutte, Kristina Höhler, Roman Pohorsky, Julian Weng, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 10557–10585, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-10557-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-10557-2026, 2026
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Dust from Greenlandic glacial outwash plains can form ice in clouds, a process relevant for climate. Its ice-nucleating activity varies strongly and is largely controlled by small amounts of biological material. During summer, the influence on atmospheric ice-nucleating particles is mostly local. Lower activity compared to other high-latitude dust sources highlights the need to account for regional differences in Arctic dust.
Amaury Dehecq, Friedrich Knuth, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Livia Piermattei, Camillo Ressl, Adina Racoviteanu, Robert McNabb, David Shean, and Luc Godin
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIX-B2-2026, 9–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIX-B2-2026-9-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIX-B2-2026-9-2026, 2026
Yacouba Nouhou Chaweye, Guillaume Favreau, Amaury Dehecq, Marie Boucher, Boukari Issoufou Ousmane, Rabilou Abdou Mahaman, and Yahaya Nazoumou
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4118, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4118, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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This study provides an empirical yet finely documented example highlighting a significant but often overlooked or misunderstood trade-off between land restoration strategies and groundwater sustainability in drylands at a global scale. It emphasizes that interventions to achieve climate change adaptation and land restoration goals may inadvertently compromise fragile water resources when hydrological feedbacks are not sufficiently considered.
Michelle Marie Worek, David Wachs, Anja Eichler, Matthias Huss, Raphael Moser, Sabina Brütsch, Sönke Szidat, Margit Schwikowski, and Theo Manuel Jenk
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3356, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3356, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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To assess whether current glacier loss in the Alps is unprecedented, we drilled ice cores from the Tödi summit glacier in Switzerland. We dated the ice with radionuclides and modelling, finding that the surface ice is from about 1960, and the deepest ice is 10,000 years old. Our results show that summit glaciers can preserve very old ice through warm periods, indicating local factors matter more than elevation, and some cold-based glaciers at risk of melting may preserve ancient climate data.
Janosch Beer, Mylène Jacquemart, Matthias Huss, Ilaria Santin, Gabriela Clara Racz, Christophe Ogier, Saskia Gindraux, Leo Hösli, Raphael Moser, James Irving, Mauro Fischer, and Daniel Farinotti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3042, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3042, 2026
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Small Alpine glaciers can exhibit a mix of cold and temperate ice, a polythermal structure, which can promote hazardous conditions. We drilled into six small Swiss glaciers and measured ice temperatures in boreholes. We found polythermal conditions in three of six sites and show that the thermal structure is linked to firn cover loss. Our results suggest that polythermal glaciers may be more common in the Alps than previously recognised.
Ilaria Santin, Huw J. Horgan, Raphael Moser, Nanna Bjørnholt Karlsson, Faezeh M. Nick, Andreas Vieli, Anja Rutishauser, Hansruedi Maurer, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 20, 3435–3441, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3435-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3435-2026, 2026
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Ice thickness near Greenland’s coast is still poorly measured, yet it is vital for predicting sea level rise. We flew a helicopter ice-penetrating radar over three outlet glaciers in southern Greenland and mapped the glacier bed where basal reflections were clear. We measured ice up to about 340 meters thick, with reliable penetration typically to about 300 meters, providing new constraints that can improve regional bed maps.
Jing Zhang, Yang Lei, Laurane Charrier, Amaury Dehecq, Alex S. Gardner, Luke Copland, and Christine Dow
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2541, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2541, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Satellites can measure how fast glaciers move, which helps scientists understand ice loss and rising sea levels. However, these measurements have rarely been checked against ground-based observations on small mountain glaciers. We compared satellite-derived glacier speeds against precise ground measurements. The satellite data generally agreed well with ground observations. Our results help scientists use satellite glacier velocity data more reliably.
Shaoting Ren, Evan S. Miles, Michael McCarthy, Achille Jouberton, Thomas E. Shaw, Pascal Buri, Marin Kneib, Prateek Gantayat, Anneli Guthke, and Francesca Pellicciotti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2524, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2524, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Local meteorology is curial to understand glaciers’ response to climate change, yet is hard to quantify due to rare measurements. By combining physical modeling and satellite observations, this study develops a new inference framework to accurately estimate on-glacier temperature and precipitation, therefore derive reliable seasonal glacier melt. Reliable accuracy of this framework paves a way to map these key two meteorological variables for regional and global unmonitored glacier.
Aaron Cremona, Matthias Huss, Johannes Marian Landmann, Mauro Marty, Marijn van der Meer, Christian Ginzler, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 20, 3111–3130, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3111-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3111-2026, 2026
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Our study provides daily mass balance estimates for every Swiss glacier from 2010–2024 using modelling, remote sensing observations, and machine learning. Over the period, Swiss glaciers lost nearly a quarter of their ice volume. The approach enables investigating the spatio-temporal variability of glacier mass balance in relation to the driving climatic factors.
Maud Bernat, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Romain Hugonnet, Joaquin M. C. Belart, Naomi Ochwat, Peter Kuipers Munneke, Elizabeth Case, Ted Scambos, Louis-Marie Gauer, and David Youssefi
The Cryosphere, 20, 3025–3049, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3025-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3025-2026, 2026
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The Antarctic Peninsula is a mountainous region containing an ice sheet and peripheral glaciers. Differences remain between the methods used to estimate its mass changes. We use thousands of digital elevation models derived from high resolution stereoscopic images to calculate a new estimate of mass changes. We find that between 2007 and 2021, the ice sheet lost -28±6Gt/a and its peripheral glaciers -14±3Gt/a. We highlight the importance of resolving fine-scale changes in complex coastal areas.
Megan C. James, Tamsin L. Edwards, Tom Matthews, Alexander T. Bradley, James F. O'Neill, and Harry Zekollari
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2069, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2069, 2026
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As the climate warms, glaciers are shrinking, contributing to sea-level rise, natural hazards and water insecurity. We show for one case study – the very long-term response of Iceland’s glaciers to global warming – that large uncertainties arise from the poorly known parameters within models. This is usually overlooked, but we show neglecting it underestimates uncertainty in our glacier model by as much as 90 %, highlighting the importance of accounting for it in future glacier projections.
Mustafo Safarov, Junli Li, Evan Miles, Majid Gulayozov, Ruonan Li, Ali Fazylov, Kamoliddin Nazirzoda, Firdavs Vosidov, Murodkhudzha Murodov, Hofiz Navruzshoev, and Ardamehr Halimov
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1923, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1923, 2026
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This study investigates a rapidly surging glacier in the Pamir Mountains using daily satellite imagery and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data. It reveals that surge-driven ice detachment can rapidly displace ice downstream and transform valley morphology. The findings show that even small glaciers can cause large, rapid environmental impacts and highlight the need for high-frequency observations to understand glacier instability and improve hazard assessment in a warming climate.
Francesca Pellicciotti, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, David R. Rounce, Catriona L. Fyffe, Leif S. Anderson, Álvaro Ayala, Ben W. Brock, Pascal Buri, Stefan Fugger, Koji Fujita, Prateek Gantayat, Alexander R. Groos, Walter Immerzeel, Marin Kneib, Christoph Mayer, Shelley MacDonell, Michael McCarthy, James McPhee, Evan Miles, Heather Purdie, Ekaterina Rets, Akiko Sakai, Thomas E. Shaw, Jakob Steiner, Patrick Wagnon, and Alex Winter-Billington
The Cryosphere, 20, 1895–1928, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026, 2026
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Rock debris covers many of the world glaciers, modifying the transfer of atmospheric energy to the debris and into the ice. Models of different complexity simulate this process, and we compare 15 models at 9 sites to show that the most complex models at the debris-atmosphere interface have the highest performance. However, we lack debris properties and their derivation from measurements is ambiguous, hindering global modelling and calling for both model development and data collection.
Marin Kneib, Patrick Wagnon, Laurent Arnaud, Louise Balmas, Olivier Laarman, Bruno Jourdain, Amaury Dehecq, Emmanuel Lemeur, Fanny Brun, Andrea Kneib-Walter, Ilaria Santin, Laurane Charrier, Thierry Faug, Giulia Mazzotti, Antoine Rabatel, Delphine Six, and Daniel Farinotti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-786, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-786, 2026
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Avalanches are vital for glacier survival, yet their impact is difficult to quantify. We used low-cost cameras and drones to monitor an avalanche cone in the French Alps for two years. By accounting for ice flow, we found that avalanches can deposit 30 meters of snow annually – 50 times more than normal snowfall. This high-frequency data reveals that these cones fill until reaching a specific steepness, after which new snow slides further down to the base.
Laurane Charrier, Nathan Lioret, Fanny Brun, Amaury Dehecq, Romain Millan, Anuar Togaibekov, Andrea Walpersdorf, Diego Cusicanqui, and Antoine Rabatel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-946, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-946, 2026
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Sub-annual glacier surface velocity derived from remote sensing images are receiving increasing attention. In the meantime, systematic seasonal errors (i.e. biases) have been reported in time series derived from optical images on various landforms, such as landslides or dunes. The extent to which such biases affect glacier velocity maps remains poorly investigated. Here, we propose characterizing the amplitude and spatial distribution of these seasonal biases.
Jakob Steiner, William Armstrong, Will Kochtitzky, Robert McNabb, Rodrigo Aguayo, Tobias Bolch, Fabien Maussion, Vibhor Agarwal, Iestyn Barr, Nathaniel R. Baurley, Mike Cloutier, Katelyn DeWater, Frank Donachie, Yoann Drocourt, Siddhi Garg, Gunjan Joshi, Byron Guzman, Stanislav Kutuzov, Thomas Loriaux, Caleb Mathias, Brian Menounos, Evan Miles, Aleksandra Osika, Kaleigh Potter, Adina Racoviteanu, Brianna Rick, Miles Sterner, Guy D. Tallentire, Levan Tielidze, Rebecca White, Kunpeng Wu, and Whyjay Zheng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 1665–1681, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1665-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1665-2026, 2026
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Many mountain glaciers around the world flow into lakes – exactly how many however, has never been mapped. Across a large team of experts we have now identified all glaciers that end in lakes. Only about 1% do so, but they are generally larger than those which end on land. This is important to understand, as lakes can influence the behaviour of glacier ice, including how fast it disappears. This new dataset allows us to better model glaciers at a global scale, accounting for the effect of lakes.
Christophe Ogier, Mauro A. Werder, Olivier Gagliardini, Ilaria Santin, Raphael Moser, Romain Hugonnet, Antoine Blanc, and Daniel Farinotti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-466, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-466, 2026
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In June 2024, a destructive flood impacted the village of La Bérarde in the French Alps. Rain, snowmelt, and the drainage of a surface lake on a glacier cannot fully explain the flood magnitude. We used glacier topography to estimate how much water could also have been stored beneath the glacier before the event. Our results show that large volumes of hidden water may have existed and could have amplified the flood, highlighting an overlooked hazard in debris-covered mountain glaciers.
Vijaya Kumar Thota, Thorsten Seehaus, Friedrich Knuth, Amaury Dehecq, Christian Salewski, David Farías-Barahona, and Matthias H. Braun
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 597–615, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-597-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-597-2026, 2026
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We reconstruct historical topography for a rapidly warming Antarctic region with limited existing data. Using approximately 2000 aerial photographs from the year 1989 over the western Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands, we created detailed elevation models and orthoimages that have high accuracy compared to recent satellite data. This open dataset aids tracking historical ice loss and its role in sea level rise.
Marit van Tiel, Matthias Huss, Massimiliano Zappa, Tobias Jonas, and Daniel Farinotti
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 23–43, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-23-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-23-2026, 2026
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The summer of 2022 was extremely warm and dry in Europe, severely impacting water availability. We calculated water balance anomalies for 88 glacierized catchments in Switzerland, showing that glaciers played a crucial role in alleviating the drought situation by melting at record rates, partially compensating for the lack of rain and snowmelt. By comparing 2022 with past extreme years, we show that while glacier meltwater remains essential during droughts, its contribution is declining.
Alexandra von der Esch, Matthias Huss, Marit van Tiel, Justine Berg, and Daniel Farinotti
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 6761–6780, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6761-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6761-2025, 2025
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Glaciers are vital water sources, especially in alpine regions. Using the Glacier Evolution Runoff Model (GERM), we examined how forcing data and model resolution impact glacio-hydrological model results. We find that precipitation biases greatly affect results, and coarse resolutions miss critical small-scale details. This highlights the trade-offs between computational efficiency and model accuracy, emphasizing the need for high-resolution data and precise calibration for reliable predictions.
Laura Gabriel, Marian Hertrich, Christophe Ogier, Mike Müller-Petke, Raphael Moser, Hansruedi Maurer, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 19, 6261–6281, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6261-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6261-2025, 2025
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Surface nuclear magnetic resonance (SNMR) is a geophysical technique directly sensitive to liquid water. We expand the limited applications of SNMR on glaciers by detecting water within Rhonegletscher, Switzerland. By carefully processing the data to reduce noise, we identified signals indicating a water layer near the base of the glacier, surrounded by ice with low water content. Our findings, validated by radar measurements, show SNMR's potential and limitations in studying water in glaciers.
Kamilla Hauknes Sjursen, Jordi Bolibar, Marijn van der Meer, Liss Marie Andreassen, Julian Peter Biesheuvel, Thorben Dunse, Matthias Huss, Fabien Maussion, David R. Rounce, and Brandon Tober
The Cryosphere, 19, 5801–5826, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5801-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5801-2025, 2025
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Understanding glacier mass changes is crucial for assessing freshwater availability in many regions of the world. We present the Mass Balance Machine, a machine learning model that learns from sparse measurements of glacier mass change to make predictions on unmonitored glaciers. Using data from Norway, we show that the model provides accurate estimates of mass changes at different spatiotemporal scales. Our findings show that machine learning can be a valuable tool to improve such predictions.
Orie Sasaki, Evan S. Miles, Francesca Pellicciotti, Akiko Sakai, and Koji Fujita
The Cryosphere, 19, 5283–5298, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5283-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5283-2025, 2025
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This study adapts a method to detect snowline altitude (SLA) using Google Earth Engine with high-resolution satellite imagery. Applying this method to five glaciated watersheds in the Himalayas reveals regional consistencies and differences in snow dynamics, as well as 20-year trends of snowline increases (3 catchments) and decreases (1) and no trend (1). We investigate the controls of these dynamics by analyzing climatic factors and topographic characteristics.
Luc Beraud, Fanny Brun, Amaury Dehecq, Romain Hugonnet, and Prashant Shekhar
The Cryosphere, 19, 5075–5094, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5075-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5075-2025, 2025
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This study introduces a new workflow to process the elevation time series of glacier surges, an ice flow instability. Applied to a dense, 20-year satellite dataset of glacier surface elevation, the method filters and interpolates these changes on a monthly scale, revealing detailed patterns and estimates of mass transport. The dataset produced by this method allows for a more accurate and a remarkably detailed description of glacier surges at the scale of a large region.
Laurane Charrier, Amaury Dehecq, Lei Guo, Fanny Brun, Romain Millan, Nathan Lioret, Luke Copland, Nathan Maier, Christine Dow, and Paul Halas
The Cryosphere, 19, 4555–4583, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-4555-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-4555-2025, 2025
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While global annual glacier velocities are openly accessible, sub-annual velocity time series are still lacking. This hinders our ability to understand flow processes and the integration of these observations in numerical models. We introduce an open source Python package called TICOI (Temporal Inversion using linear Combinations of Observations, and Interpolation) to fuse multi-temporal and multi-sensor image-pair velocities produced by different processing chains to produce standardized sub-annual velocity products.
Bastien Ruols, Johanna Klahold, Daniel Farinotti, and James Irving
The Cryosphere, 19, 4045–4059, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-4045-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-4045-2025, 2025
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We demonstrate the use of a drone-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system to gather high-resolution, high-density 4D data over a near-terminus glacier collapse feature. We monitor the growth of an air cavity and the evolution of the subglacial drainage system, providing insights into the dynamics of the collapse event. This work highlights potential future applications of drone-based GPR for monitoring glaciers, in particular in regions which are inaccessible by surface-based methods.
Alex S. Gardner, Chad A. Greene, Joseph H. Kennedy, Mark A. Fahnestock, Maria Liukis, Luis A. López, Yang Lei, Ted A. Scambos, and Amaury Dehecq
The Cryosphere, 19, 3517–3533, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3517-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3517-2025, 2025
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The NASA MEaSUREs Inter-mission Time Series of Land Ice Velocity and Elevation (ITS_LIVE) project provides glacier and ice sheet velocity products for the full Landsat, Sentinel-1, and Sentinel-2 satellite archives and will soon include data from the NISAR satellite. This paper describes the ITS_LIVE processing chain and gives guidance for working with the cloud-optimized glacier and ice sheet velocity products.
Samar Minallah, William H. Lipscomb, Gunter Leguy, and Harry Zekollari
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 5467–5486, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-5467-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-5467-2025, 2025
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We developed a new modeling framework within an Earth system model to study mountain glacier evolution under different climate scenarios, applied here to the European Alps. Substantial Alpine glacier mass loss is projected under current climate conditions, with near-total loss under further warming. This is the first use of a 3D, higher-order ice-flow model for regional glacier simulations, enabling assessment of coupled land ice–Earth system processes.
Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, Lars Groeneveld, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy, Thomas Shaw, Vicente Melo Velasco, and Francesca Pellicciotti
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 4213–4234, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025, 2025
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Glaciers with a layer of rocky debris on their surfaces are distinct from clean-ice glaciers, with debris mostly insulating the glacier ice. However, debris data are scarce. We present the Debris Database (DebDaB), a database of debris thickness and physical properties of debris, with data from 84 glaciers in 13 global glacier regions compiled from 172 sources and including previously unpublished data. DebDaB serves as an open central repository for the scientific community to do research on debris-covered glaciers.
Magali Ponds, Sarah Hanus, Harry Zekollari, Marie-Claire ten Veldhuis, Gerrit Schoups, Roland Kaitna, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3545–3568, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3545-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3545-2025, 2025
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This research examines how future climate changes impact root zone storage, a key hydrological model parameter. Root zone storage – the soil water accessible to plants – adapts to climate but is often kept constant in models. We estimated climate-adapted storage in six Austrian Alps catchments. While storage increased, streamflow projections showed minimal change, which suggests that dynamic root zone representation is less critical in humid regions but warrants further study in arid areas.
Ian Delaney, Andrew J. Tedstone, Mauro A. Werder, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 19, 2779–2795, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2779-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2779-2025, 2025
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Sediment transport capacity depends on water velocity and channel width. In rivers, water discharge changes affect flow depth, width, and velocity. Yet, under glaciers, discharge variations alter velocity more than channel shape. Due to these differences, this study shows that sediment transport capacity under glaciers varies widely and peaks before water flow, creating a complex relationship. Understanding these dynamics helps interpret sediment discharge from glaciers in different climates.
Jane Walden, Mylène Jacquemart, Bretwood Higman, Romain Hugonnet, Andrea Manconi, and Daniel Farinotti
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2045–2073, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2045-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2045-2025, 2025
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We studied eight glacier-adjacent landslides in Alaska and found that slope movement increased at four sites as the glacier retreated past the landslide area. Movement at other sites may be due to heavy precipitation or increased glacier thinning, and two sites showed little to no motion. We suggest that landslides near waterbodies may be especially vulnerable to acceleration, which we guess is due to faster retreat rates of water-terminating glaciers and changing water flow in the slope.
Inés Dussaillant, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Etienne Berthier, Jacqueline Bannwart, Frank Paul, and Michael Zemp
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1977–2006, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1977-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1977-2025, 2025
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Our research observes glacier mass changes worldwide from 1976 to 2024, revealing an alarming increase in melt, especially in the last decade and the record year of 2023. By combining field and satellite observations, we provide annual mass changes for all glaciers in the world, showing significant contributions to global sea level rise. This work underscores the need for ongoing local monitoring and global climate action to mitigate the effects of glacier loss and its broader environmental impacts.
Kaian Shahateet, Johannes J. Fürst, Francisco Navarro, Thorsten Seehaus, Daniel Farinotti, and Matthias Braun
The Cryosphere, 19, 1577–1597, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1577-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1577-2025, 2025
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In the present work, we provide a new ice thickness reconstruction of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet north of 70º S using inversion modeling. This model consists of two steps: the first uses basic assumptions of the rheology of the glacier, and the second uses mass conservation to improve the reconstruction where the assumptions made previously are expected to fail. Validation with independent data showed that our reconstruction improved compared to other reconstructions that are available.
Finn Wimberly, Lizz Ultee, Lilian Schuster, Matthias Huss, David R. Rounce, Fabien Maussion, Sloan Coats, Jonathan Mackay, and Erik Holmgren
The Cryosphere, 19, 1491–1511, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1491-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1491-2025, 2025
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Glacier models have historically been used to understand glacier melt’s contribution to sea level rise. The capacity to project seasonal glacier runoff is a relatively recent development for these models. In this study we provide the first model intercomparison of runoff projections for the glacier evolution models capable of simulating future runoff globally. We compare model projections from 2000 to 2100 for all major river basins larger than 3000 km2 with over 30 km2 of initial glacier cover.
Janneke van Ginkel, Fabian Walter, Fabian Lindner, Miroslav Hallo, Matthias Huss, and Donat Fäh
The Cryosphere, 19, 1469–1490, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1469-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1469-2025, 2025
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This study on Glacier de la Plaine Morte in Switzerland employs various passive seismic analysis methods to identify complex hydraulic behaviours at the ice–bedrock interface. In 4 months of seismic records, we detect spatio-temporal variations in the glacier's basal interface, following the drainage of an ice-marginal lake. We identify a low-velocity layer, whose properties are determined using modelling techniques. This low-velocity layer results from temporary water storage subglacially.
Marijn van der Meer, Harry Zekollari, Matthias Huss, Jordi Bolibar, Kamilla Hauknes Sjursen, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 19, 805–826, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-805-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-805-2025, 2025
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Glacier retreat poses big challenges, making understanding how climate affects glaciers vital. But glacier measurements worldwide are limited. We created a simple machine-learning model called miniML-MB, which estimates annual changes in glacier mass in the Swiss Alps. As input, miniML-MB uses two climate variables: average temperature (May–Aug) and total precipitation (Oct–Feb). Our model can accurately predict glacier mass from 1961 to 2021 but struggles for extreme years (2022 and 2023).
Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle
The Cryosphere, 19, 219–247, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-219-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-219-2025, 2025
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We reconstruct the evolution of terminus position, ice thickness, and surface flow velocity of the reference Abramov glacier (Kyrgyzstan) from 1968 to present. We describe a front pulsation in the early 2000s and the multi-annual present-day buildup of a new pulsation. Such dynamic instabilities can challenge the representativity of Abramov as a reference glacier. For our work we used satellite‑based optical remote sensing from multiple platforms, including recently declassified archives.
Mette K. Gillespie, Liss M. Andreassen, Matthias Huss, Simon de Villiers, Kamilla H. Sjursen, Jostein Aasen, Jostein Bakke, Jan M. Cederstrøm, Hallgeir Elvehøy, Bjarne Kjøllmoen, Even Loe, Marte Meland, Kjetil Melvold, Sigurd D. Nerhus, Torgeir O. Røthe, Eivind W. N. Støren, Kåre Øst, and Jacob C. Yde
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5799–5825, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5799-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5799-2024, 2024
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We present an extensive ice thickness dataset from Jostedalsbreen ice cap that will serve as a baseline for future studies of regional climate-induced change. Results show that Jostedalsbreen currently (~2020) has a maximum ice thickness of ~630 m, a mean ice thickness of 154 ± 22 m and an ice volume of 70.6 ±10.2 km3. Ice of less than 50 m thickness covers two narrow regions of Jostedalsbreen, and the ice cap is likely to separate into three parts in a warming climate.
Marin Kneib, Amaury Dehecq, Adrien Gilbert, Auguste Basset, Evan S. Miles, Guillaume Jouvet, Bruno Jourdain, Etienne Ducasse, Luc Beraud, Antoine Rabatel, Jérémie Mouginot, Guillem Carcanade, Olivier Laarman, Fanny Brun, and Delphine Six
The Cryosphere, 18, 5965–5983, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5965-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5965-2024, 2024
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Avalanches contribute to increasing the accumulation on mountain glaciers by redistributing snow from surrounding mountains slopes. Here we quantified the contribution of avalanches to the mass balance of Argentière Glacier in the French Alps, by combining satellite and field observations to model the glacier dynamics. We show that the contribution of avalanches locally increases the accumulation by 60–70 % and that accounting for this effect results in less ice loss by the end of the century.
Harry Zekollari, Matthias Huss, Lilian Schuster, Fabien Maussion, David R. Rounce, Rodrigo Aguayo, Nicolas Champollion, Loris Compagno, Romain Hugonnet, Ben Marzeion, Seyedhamidreza Mojtabavi, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 18, 5045–5066, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5045-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5045-2024, 2024
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Glaciers are major contributors to sea-level rise and act as key water resources. Here, we model the global evolution of glaciers under the latest generation of climate scenarios. We show that the type of observations used for model calibration can strongly affect the projections at the local scale. Our newly projected 21st century global mass loss is higher than the current community estimate as reported in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Inés Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Andreas Kääb, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Désirée Treichler, Anja Wendt, and Ruitang Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 3195–3230, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, 2024
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Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world. In the present study, we compared the results produced from two different types of satellite data between different research groups and against validation measurements from aeroplanes. We found a large spread between individual results but showed that the group ensemble can be used to reliably estimate glacier elevation changes and related errors from satellite data.
Marin Kneib, Amaury Dehecq, Fanny Brun, Fatima Karbou, Laurane Charrier, Silvan Leinss, Patrick Wagnon, and Fabien Maussion
The Cryosphere, 18, 2809–2830, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2809-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2809-2024, 2024
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Avalanches are important for the mass balance of mountain glaciers, but few data exist on where and when they occur and which glaciers they affect the most. We developed an approach to map avalanches over large glaciated areas and long periods of time using satellite radar data. The application of this method to various regions in the Alps and High Mountain Asia reveals the variability of avalanches on these glaciers and provides key data to better represent these processes in glacier models.
Jérôme Lopez-Saez, Christophe Corona, Lenka Slamova, Matthias Huss, Valérie Daux, Kurt Nicolussi, and Markus Stoffel
Clim. Past, 20, 1251–1267, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1251-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1251-2024, 2024
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Glaciers in the European Alps have been retreating since the 1850s. Monitoring glacier mass balance is vital for understanding global changes, but only a few glaciers have long-term data. This study aims to reconstruct the mass balance of the Silvretta Glacier in the Swiss Alps using stable isotopes and tree ring proxies. Results indicate increased glacier mass until the 19th century, followed by a sharp decline after the Little Ice Age with accelerated losses due to anthropogenic warming.
Chuanxi Zhao, Wei Yang, Evan Miles, Matthew Westoby, Marin Kneib, Yongjie Wang, Zhen He, and Francesca Pellicciotti
The Cryosphere, 17, 3895–3913, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3895-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3895-2023, 2023
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This paper quantifies the thinning and surface mass balance of two neighbouring debris-covered glaciers in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau during different seasons, based on high spatio-temporal resolution UAV-derived (unpiloted aerial
vehicle) data and in situ observations. Through a comparison approach and high-precision results, we identify that the glacier dynamic and debris thickness are strongly related to the future fate of the debris-covered glaciers in this region.
Anja Løkkegaard, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Christian Zdanowicz, Gary D. Clow, Martin P. Lüthi, Samuel H. Doyle, Henrik H. Thomsen, David Fisher, Joel Harper, Andy Aschwanden, Bo M. Vinther, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Harry Zekollari, Toby Meierbachtol, Ian McDowell, Neil Humphrey, Anne Solgaard, Nanna B. Karlsson, Shfaqat A. Khan, Benjamin Hills, Robert Law, Bryn Hubbard, Poul Christoffersen, Mylène Jacquemart, Julien Seguinot, Robert S. Fausto, and William T. Colgan
The Cryosphere, 17, 3829–3845, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3829-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3829-2023, 2023
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This study presents a database compiling 95 ice temperature profiles from the Greenland ice sheet and peripheral ice caps. Ice viscosity and hence ice flow are highly sensitive to ice temperature. To highlight the value of the database in evaluating ice flow simulations, profiles from the Greenland ice sheet are compared to a modeled temperature field. Reoccurring discrepancies between modeled and observed temperatures provide insight on the difficulties faced when simulating ice temperatures.
Fanny Brun, Owen King, Marion Réveillet, Charles Amory, Anton Planchot, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Kévin Fourteau, Julien Brondex, Marie Dumont, Christoph Mayer, Silvan Leinss, Romain Hugonnet, and Patrick Wagnon
The Cryosphere, 17, 3251–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, 2023
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The South Col Glacier is a small body of ice and snow located on the southern ridge of Mt. Everest. A recent study proposed that South Col Glacier is rapidly losing mass. In this study, we examined the glacier thickness change for the period 1984–2017 and found no thickness change. To reconcile these results, we investigate wind erosion and surface energy and mass balance and find that melt is unlikely a dominant process, contrary to previous findings.
Lander Van Tricht, Harry Zekollari, Matthias Huss, Daniel Farinotti, and Philippe Huybrechts
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-87, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-87, 2023
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Detailed 3D models can be applied for well-studied glaciers, whereas simplified approaches are used for regional/global assessments. We conducted a comparison of six Tien Shan glaciers employing different models and investigated the impact of in-situ measurements. Our results reveal that the choice of mass balance and ice flow model as well as calibration have minimal impact on the projected volume. The initial ice thickness exerts the greatest influence on the future remaining ice volume.
Lei Guo, Jia Li, Amaury Dehecq, Zhiwei Li, Xin Li, and Jianjun Zhu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2841–2861, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2841-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2841-2023, 2023
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We established a new inventory of surging glaciers across High Mountain Asia based on glacier elevation changes and morphological changes during 1970s–2020. A total of 890 surging and 336 probably or possibly surging glaciers were identified. Compared to the most recent inventory, this one incorporates 253 previously unidentified surging glaciers. Our results demonstrate a more widespread surge behavior in HMA and find that surging glaciers are prone to have steeper slopes than non-surging ones.
Christian Sommer, Johannes J. Fürst, Matthias Huss, and Matthias H. Braun
The Cryosphere, 17, 2285–2303, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2285-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2285-2023, 2023
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Knowledge on the volume of glaciers is important to project future runoff. Here, we present a novel approach to reconstruct the regional ice thickness distribution from easily available remote-sensing data. We show that past ice thickness, derived from spaceborne glacier area and elevation datasets, can constrain the estimated ice thickness. Based on the unique glaciological database of the European Alps, the approach will be most beneficial in regions without direct thickness measurements.
Aaron Cremona, Matthias Huss, Johannes Marian Landmann, Joël Borner, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 17, 1895–1912, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1895-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1895-2023, 2023
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Summer heat waves have a substantial impact on glacier melt as emphasized by the extreme summer of 2022. This study presents a novel approach for detecting extreme glacier melt events at the regional scale based on the combination of automatically retrieved point mass balance observations and modelling approaches. The in-depth analysis of summer 2022 evidences the strong correspondence between heat waves and extreme melt events and demonstrates their significance for seasonal melt.
Matteo Guidicelli, Matthias Huss, Marco Gabella, and Nadine Salzmann
The Cryosphere, 17, 977–1002, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-977-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-977-2023, 2023
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Spatio-temporal reconstruction of winter glacier mass balance is important for assessing long-term impacts of climate change. However, high-altitude regions significantly lack reliable observations, which is limiting the calibration of glaciological and hydrological models. We aim at improving knowledge on the spatio-temporal variations in winter glacier mass balance by exploring the combination of data from reanalyses and direct snow accumulation observations on glaciers with machine learning.
Fabian Walter, Elias Hodel, Erik S. Mannerfelt, Kristen Cook, Michael Dietze, Livia Estermann, Michaela Wenner, Daniel Farinotti, Martin Fengler, Lukas Hammerschmidt, Flavia Hänsli, Jacob Hirschberg, Brian McArdell, and Peter Molnar
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4011–4018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-4011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-4011-2022, 2022
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Debris flows are dangerous sediment–water mixtures in steep terrain. Their formation takes place in poorly accessible terrain where instrumentation cannot be installed. Here we propose to monitor such source terrain with an autonomous drone for mapping sediments which were left behind by debris flows or may contribute to future events. Short flight intervals elucidate changes of such sediments, providing important information for landscape evolution and the likelihood of future debris flows.
Pau Wiersma, Jerom Aerts, Harry Zekollari, Markus Hrachowitz, Niels Drost, Matthias Huss, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, and Rolf Hut
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5971–5986, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5971-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5971-2022, 2022
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We test whether coupling a global glacier model (GloGEM) with a global hydrological model (PCR-GLOBWB 2) leads to a more realistic glacier representation and to improved basin runoff simulations across 25 large-scale basins. The coupling does lead to improved glacier representation, mainly by accounting for glacier flow and net glacier mass loss, and to improved basin runoff simulations, mostly in strongly glacier-influenced basins, which is where the coupling has the most impact.
Marin Kneib, Evan S. Miles, Pascal Buri, Stefan Fugger, Michael McCarthy, Thomas E. Shaw, Zhao Chuanxi, Martin Truffer, Matthew J. Westoby, Wei Yang, and Francesca Pellicciotti
The Cryosphere, 16, 4701–4725, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4701-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4701-2022, 2022
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Ice cliffs are believed to be important contributors to the melt of debris-covered glaciers, but this has rarely been quantified as the cliffs can disappear or rapidly expand within a few weeks. We used photogrammetry techniques to quantify the weekly evolution and melt of four cliffs. We found that their behaviour and melt during the monsoon is strongly controlled by supraglacial debris, streams and ponds, thus providing valuable insights on the melt and evolution of debris-covered glaciers.
Erik Schytt Mannerfelt, Amaury Dehecq, Romain Hugonnet, Elias Hodel, Matthias Huss, Andreas Bauder, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 16, 3249–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3249-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3249-2022, 2022
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How glaciers have responded to climate change over the last 20 years is well-known, but earlier data are much more scarce. We change this in Switzerland by using 22 000 photographs taken from mountain tops between the world wars and find a halving of Swiss glacier volume since 1931. This was done through new automated processing techniques that we created. The data are interesting for more than just glaciers, such as mapping forest changes, landslides, and human impacts on the terrain.
Lea Geibel, Matthias Huss, Claudia Kurzböck, Elias Hodel, Andreas Bauder, and Daniel Farinotti
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3293–3312, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3293-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3293-2022, 2022
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Glacier monitoring in Switzerland started in the 19th century, providing exceptional data series documenting snow accumulation and ice melt. Raw point observations of surface mass balance have, however, never been systematically compiled so far, including complete metadata. Here, we present an extensive dataset with more than 60 000 point observations of surface mass balance covering 60 Swiss glaciers and almost 140 years, promoting a better understanding of the drivers of recent glacier change.
Tim Steffen, Matthias Huss, Rebekka Estermann, Elias Hodel, and Daniel Farinotti
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 723–741, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-723-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-723-2022, 2022
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Climate change is rapidly altering high-alpine landscapes. The formation of new lakes in areas becoming ice free due to glacier retreat is one of the many consequences of this process. Here, we provide an estimate for the number, size, time of emergence, and sediment infill of future glacier lakes that will emerge in the Swiss Alps. We estimate that up to ~ 680 potential lakes could form over the course of the 21st century, with the potential to hold a total water volume of up to ~ 1.16 km3.
Stefan Fugger, Catriona L. Fyffe, Simone Fatichi, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy, Thomas E. Shaw, Baohong Ding, Wei Yang, Patrick Wagnon, Walter Immerzeel, Qiao Liu, and Francesca Pellicciotti
The Cryosphere, 16, 1631–1652, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022, 2022
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The monsoon is important for the shrinking and growing of glaciers in the Himalaya during summer. We calculate the melt of seven glaciers in the region using a complex glacier melt model and weather data. We find that monsoonal weather affects glaciers that are covered with a layer of rocky debris and glaciers without such a layer in different ways. It is important to take so-called turbulent fluxes into account. This knowledge is vital for predicting the future of the Himalayan glaciers.
Adrien Michel, Bettina Schaefli, Nander Wever, Harry Zekollari, Michael Lehning, and Hendrik Huwald
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1063–1087, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1063-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1063-2022, 2022
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This study presents an extensive study of climate change impacts on river temperature in Switzerland. Results show that, even for low-emission scenarios, water temperature increase will lead to adverse effects for both ecosystems and socio-economic sectors throughout the 21st century. For high-emission scenarios, the effect will worsen. This study also shows that water seasonal warming will be different between the Alpine regions and the lowlands. Finally, efficiency of models is assessed.
Yan Zhong, Qiao Liu, Matthew Westoby, Yong Nie, Francesca Pellicciotti, Bo Zhang, Jialun Cai, Guoxiang Liu, Haijun Liao, and Xuyang Lu
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 23–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-23-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-23-2022, 2022
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Slope failures exist in many paraglacial regions and are the main manifestation of the interaction between debris-covered glaciers and slopes. We mapped paraglacial slope failures (PSFs) along the Hailuogou Glacier (HLG), Mt. Gongga, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. We argue that the formation, evolution, and current status of these typical PSFs are generally related to glacier history and paraglacial geomorphological adjustments, and influenced by the fluctuation of climate conditions.
Christophe Ogier, Mauro A. Werder, Matthias Huss, Isabelle Kull, David Hodel, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 15, 5133–5150, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5133-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5133-2021, 2021
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Glacier-dammed lakes are prone to draining rapidly when the ice dam breaks and constitute a serious threat to populations downstream. Such a lake drainage can proceed through an open-air channel at the glacier surface. In this study, we present what we believe to be the most complete dataset to date of an ice-dammed lake drainage through such an open-air channel. We provide new insights for future glacier-dammed lake drainage modelling studies and hazard assessments.
Johannes Marian Landmann, Hans Rudolf Künsch, Matthias Huss, Christophe Ogier, Markus Kalisch, and Daniel Farinotti
The Cryosphere, 15, 5017–5040, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5017-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5017-2021, 2021
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In this study, we (1) acquire real-time information on point glacier mass balance with autonomous real-time cameras and (2) assimilate these observations into a mass balance model ensemble driven by meteorological input. For doing so, we use a customized particle filter that we designed for the specific purposes of our study. We find melt rates of up to 0.12 m water equivalent per day and show that our assimilation method has a higher performance than reference mass balance models.
Lander Van Tricht, Philippe Huybrechts, Jonas Van Breedam, Alexander Vanhulle, Kristof Van Oost, and Harry Zekollari
The Cryosphere, 15, 4445–4464, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4445-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4445-2021, 2021
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We conducted innovative research on the use of drones to determine the surface mass balance (SMB) of two glaciers. Considering appropriate spatial scales, we succeeded in determining the SMB in the ablation area with large accuracy. Consequently, we are convinced that our method and the use of drones to monitor the mass balance of a glacier’s ablation area can be an add-on to stake measurements in order to obtain a broader picture of the heterogeneity of the SMB of glaciers.
Cited articles
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Short summary
We present a new approach for modelling debris area and thickness evolution. We implement the module into a combined mass-balance ice-flow model, and we apply it using different climate scenarios to project the future evolution of all glaciers in High Mountain Asia. We show that glacier geometry, volume, and flow velocity evolve differently when modelling explicitly debris cover compared to glacier evolution without the debris-cover module, demonstrating the importance of accounting for debris.
We present a new approach for modelling debris area and thickness evolution. We implement the...
