Articles | Volume 19, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-19-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-19-19-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 Jan 2025
Research article |
| 08 Jan 2025
| 08 Jan 2025
A quasi-one-dimensional ice mélange flow model based on continuum descriptions of granular materials
Department of Natural Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, AK, USA
Alexander A. Robel
School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Justin C. Burton
Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Kavinda Nissanka
Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Lynn M. Kaluzienski, Jason M. Amundson, Jamie N. Womble, Andrew K. Bliss, and Linnea E. Pearson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2950, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2950, 2024
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Icebergs in fjords serve as important habitat for marine mammals. This study examines the dynamics of iceberg habit in a glacier-fjord system and its impact on harbor seal life-history events such as pupping and molting (shedding). By combining velocity tracking from time-lapse cameras with aerial surveys, we analyzed iceberg movement and linked it to seal abundance and distribution in the fjord. Our work reveals that plume dynamics can influence seal populations over daily to annual timescales.
Amy Jenson, Jason M. Amundson, Jonathan Kingslake, and Eran Hood
The Cryosphere, 16, 333–347, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-333-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-333-2022, 2022
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Outburst floods are sudden releases of water from glacial environments. As glaciers retreat, changes in glacier and basin geometry impact outburst flood characteristics. We combine a glacier flow model describing glacier retreat with an outburst flood model to explore how ice dam height, glacier length, and remnant ice in a basin influence outburst floods. We find storage capacity is the greatest indicator of flood magnitude, and the flood onset mechanism is a significant indicator of duration.
Evan Carnahan, Jason M. Amundson, and Eran Hood
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1667–1681, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1667-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1667-2019, 2019
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We model the effects of glacier dynamics, climate, and plant succession on annual streamflow during glacier retreat. Streamflow initially increases as the glacier melts, but eventually decreases to below preretreat levels due to increases in evapotranspiration. Glacier dynamics largely controls early variations in streamflow, whereas plant succession plays a progressively larger roll throughout. We show that glacier dynamics and landscape evolution are equally important in predicting streamflow.
Kelly M. Brunt, Thomas A. Neumann, Jason M. Amundson, Jeffrey L. Kavanaugh, Mahsa S. Moussavi, Kaitlin M. Walsh, William B. Cook, and Thorsten Markus
The Cryosphere, 10, 1707–1719, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1707-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1707-2016, 2016
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This paper highlights results from a 2014 airborne laser altimetry campaign over Alaskan glaciers. The study was conducted in support of a NASA satellite mission (ICESat-2, scheduled to launch in 2017). The study indicates that the planned beam configuration for ICESat-2 is ideal for determining local slope, which is critical for the determination of ice-sheet elevation change. Results also suggest that ICESat-2 will contribute significantly to glacier studies in the mid-latitudes.
Vincent Verjans, Alexander A. Robel, Lizz Ultee, Helene Seroussi, Andrew F. Thompson, Lars Ackerman, Youngmin Choi, and Uta Krebs-Kanzow
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4067, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4067, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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This study examines how random variations in climate may influence future ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet. We find that random climate variations are important for predicting future ice loss from the entire Greenland Ice Sheet over the next 20–30 years, but relatively unimportant after that period. Thus, uncertainty in sea level projections from the effect of climate variability on Greenland may play a role in coastal decision-making about sea level rise over the next few decades.
Samuel T. Kodama, Tamara Pico, Alexander A. Robel, John Erich Christian, Natalya Gomez, Casey Vigilia, Evelyn Powell, Jessica Gagliardi, Slawek Tulaczyk, and Terrence Blackburn
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3465, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3465, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Glacial isostatic adjustment (gravitational, rotational, and solid Earth responses to changes in ice load) slows the retreat of marine-terminating ice sheets. However, the models that reveal this interaction use coarse resolution bathymetry, missing potential impacts of small length scale topographic highs. We pair a high-resolution bathymetry model with a simple model of grounding line stability to predict zones of potential grounding line stability in the Ross Sea over the past deglaciation.
Lynn M. Kaluzienski, Jason M. Amundson, Jamie N. Womble, Andrew K. Bliss, and Linnea E. Pearson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2950, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2950, 2024
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Icebergs in fjords serve as important habitat for marine mammals. This study examines the dynamics of iceberg habit in a glacier-fjord system and its impact on harbor seal life-history events such as pupping and molting (shedding). By combining velocity tracking from time-lapse cameras with aerial surveys, we analyzed iceberg movement and linked it to seal abundance and distribution in the fjord. Our work reveals that plume dynamics can influence seal populations over daily to annual timescales.
Meghana Ranganathan, Alexander A. Robel, Alexander Huth, and Ravindra Duddu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1850, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1850, 2024
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The rate of ice loss from ice sheets is controlled by the flow of ice from the center of the ice sheet and internal fracturing of the ice. These are coupled – fractures can reduce the viscosity of ice and enable more rapid flow, and rapid flow can cause fracturing of ice. We present a simplified way of representing damage that is applicable to long-timescale flow estimates. Using this model, we find that including fracturing into an ice sheet simulation can increase the loss of ice by 13–29 %.
Madeline S. Mamer, Alexander A. Robel, Chris C. K. Lai, Earle Wilson, and Peter Washam
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1970, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1970, 2024
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In this work, we simulate estuary-like seawater intrusions into the subglacial hydrologic system for marine outlet glaciers. We find the largest controls on seawater intrusion are the subglacial space geometry and meltwater discharge velocity. Further, we highlight the importance of extending ocean-forced ice loss to grounded portions of the ice sheet, which is currently not represented in models coupling ice sheets to ocean dynamics.
Ziad Rashed, Alexander Robel, and Helene Seroussi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1435, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1435, 2024
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Sermeq Kujalleq, Greenland's largest glacier, has significantly retreated since the late 1990s in response to warming ocean temperatures. Using a large ensemble approach, our simulations show that the retreat is mainly initiated by the arrival of warm water but sustained and accelerated by the glacier's position over deeper bed troughs and vigorous calving. We highlight the need for models of ice mélange to project glacier behavior under rapid calving regimes.
Alexander A. Robel, Vincent Verjans, and Aminat A. Ambelorun
The Cryosphere, 18, 2613–2623, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2613-2024, 2024
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The average size of many glaciers and ice sheets changes when noise is added to the system. The reasons for this drift in glacier state is intrinsic to the dynamics of how ice flows and the bumpiness of the Earth's surface. We argue that not including noise in projections of ice sheet evolution over coming decades and centuries is a pervasive source of bias in these computer models, and so realistic variability in glacier and climate processes must be included in models.
Lizz Ultee, Alexander A. Robel, and Stefano Castruccio
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 1041–1057, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1041-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1041-2024, 2024
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The surface mass balance (SMB) of an ice sheet describes the net gain or loss of mass from ice sheets (such as those in Greenland and Antarctica) through interaction with the atmosphere. We developed a statistical method to generate a wide range of SMB fields that reflect the best understanding of SMB processes. Efficiently sampling the variability of SMB will help us understand sources of uncertainty in ice sheet model projections.
Vincent Verjans, Alexander A. Robel, Helene Seroussi, Lizz Ultee, and Andrew F. Thompson
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 8269–8293, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-8269-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-8269-2022, 2022
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We describe the development of the first large-scale ice sheet model that accounts for stochasticity in a range of processes. Stochasticity allows the impacts of inherently uncertain processes on ice sheets to be represented. This includes climatic uncertainty, as the climate is inherently chaotic. Furthermore, stochastic capabilities also encompass poorly constrained glaciological processes that display strong variability at fine spatiotemporal scales. We present the model and test experiments.
John Erich Christian, Alexander A. Robel, and Ginny Catania
The Cryosphere, 16, 2725–2743, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2725-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2725-2022, 2022
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Marine-terminating glaciers have recently retreated dramatically, but the role of anthropogenic forcing remains uncertain. We use idealized model simulations to develop a framework for assessing the probability of rapid retreat in the context of natural climate variability. Our analyses show that century-scale anthropogenic trends can substantially increase the probability of retreats. This provides a roadmap for future work to formally assess the role of human activity in recent glacier change.
Alexander A. Robel, Earle Wilson, and Helene Seroussi
The Cryosphere, 16, 451–469, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-451-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-451-2022, 2022
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Warm seawater may intrude as a thin layer below glaciers in contact with the ocean. Mathematical theory predicts that this intrusion may extend over distances of kilometers under realistic conditions. Computer models demonstrate that if this warm seawater causes melting of a glacier bottom, it can cause rates of glacier ice loss and sea level rise to be up to 2 times faster in response to potential future ocean warming.
Amy Jenson, Jason M. Amundson, Jonathan Kingslake, and Eran Hood
The Cryosphere, 16, 333–347, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-333-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-333-2022, 2022
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Outburst floods are sudden releases of water from glacial environments. As glaciers retreat, changes in glacier and basin geometry impact outburst flood characteristics. We combine a glacier flow model describing glacier retreat with an outburst flood model to explore how ice dam height, glacier length, and remnant ice in a basin influence outburst floods. We find storage capacity is the greatest indicator of flood magnitude, and the flood onset mechanism is a significant indicator of duration.
John Erich Christian, Alexander A. Robel, Cristian Proistosescu, Gerard Roe, Michelle Koutnik, and Knut Christianson
The Cryosphere, 14, 2515–2535, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2515-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2515-2020, 2020
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We use simple, physics-based models to compare how marine-terminating glaciers respond to changes at their marine margin vs. inland surface melt. Initial glacier retreat is more rapid for ocean changes than for inland changes, but in both cases, glaciers will continue responding for millennia. We analyze several implications of these differing pathways of change. In particular, natural ocean variability must be better understood to correctly identify the anthropogenic role in glacier retreat.
Evan Carnahan, Jason M. Amundson, and Eran Hood
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1667–1681, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1667-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1667-2019, 2019
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We model the effects of glacier dynamics, climate, and plant succession on annual streamflow during glacier retreat. Streamflow initially increases as the glacier melts, but eventually decreases to below preretreat levels due to increases in evapotranspiration. Glacier dynamics largely controls early variations in streamflow, whereas plant succession plays a progressively larger roll throughout. We show that glacier dynamics and landscape evolution are equally important in predicting streamflow.
Alexander A. Robel, Christian Schoof, and Eli Tziperman
The Cryosphere, 10, 1883–1896, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1883-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1883-2016, 2016
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Portions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet edge that rest on upward-sloping beds have the potential to collapse irreversibly and raise global sea level. Using a numerical model, we show that changes in the slipperiness of sediments beneath fast-flowing ice streams can cause them to persist on upward-sloping beds for hundreds to thousands of years before reversing direction. This type of behavior is important to consider as a possibility when interpreting observations of ongoing ice sheet change.
Kelly M. Brunt, Thomas A. Neumann, Jason M. Amundson, Jeffrey L. Kavanaugh, Mahsa S. Moussavi, Kaitlin M. Walsh, William B. Cook, and Thorsten Markus
The Cryosphere, 10, 1707–1719, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1707-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1707-2016, 2016
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This paper highlights results from a 2014 airborne laser altimetry campaign over Alaskan glaciers. The study was conducted in support of a NASA satellite mission (ICESat-2, scheduled to launch in 2017). The study indicates that the planned beam configuration for ICESat-2 is ideal for determining local slope, which is critical for the determination of ice-sheet elevation change. Results also suggest that ICESat-2 will contribute significantly to glacier studies in the mid-latitudes.
Related subject area
Discipline: Glaciers | Subject: Glaciers
Linking glacier retreat with climate change on the Tibetan Plateau through satellite remote sensing
Twenty-first century global glacier evolution under CMIP6 scenarios and the role of glacier-specific observations
Physics-aware Machine Learning for Glacier Ice Thickness Estimation: A Case Study for Svalbard
Modelling the historical and future evolution of six ice masses in the Tien Shan, Central Asia, using a 3D ice-flow model
Thinning and surface mass balance patterns of two neighbouring debris-covered glaciers in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Everest South Col Glacier did not thin during the period 1984–2017
Meltwater runoff and glacier mass balance in the high Arctic: 1991–2022 simulations for Svalbard
Impact of tides on calving patterns at Kronebreen, Svalbard – insights from three-dimensional ice dynamical modelling
Brief communication: Glacier mapping and change estimation using very high-resolution declassified Hexagon KH-9 panoramic stereo imagery (1971–1984)
Brief communication: Estimating the ice thickness of the Müller Ice Cap to support selection of a drill site
Glacier geometry and flow speed determine how Arctic marine-terminating glaciers respond to lubricated beds
A regionally resolved inventory of High Mountain Asia surge-type glaciers, derived from a multi-factor remote sensing approach
Towards ice-thickness inversion: an evaluation of global digital elevation models (DEMs) in the glacierized Tibetan Plateau
Record summer rains in 2019 led to massive loss of surface and cave ice in SE Europe
Evolution of the firn pack of Kaskawulsh Glacier, Yukon: meltwater effects, densification, and the development of a perennial firn aquifer
Full crystallographic orientation (c and a axes) of warm, coarse-grained ice in a shear-dominated setting: a case study, Storglaciären, Sweden
Contribution of calving to frontal ablation quantified from seismic and hydroacoustic observations calibrated with lidar volume measurements
Brief communication: Updated GAMDAM glacier inventory over high-mountain Asia
Ice cliff contribution to the tongue-wide ablation of Changri Nup Glacier, Nepal, central Himalaya
Fumeng Zhao, Wenping Gong, Silvia Bianchini, and Zhongkang Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 5595–5612, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5595-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5595-2024, 2024
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Glacier retreat patterns and climatic drivers on the Tibetan Plateau are uncertain at finer resolutions. This study introduces a new glacier-mapping method covering 1988 to 2022, using downscaled air temperature and precipitation data. It quantifies the impacts of annual and seasonal temperature and precipitation on retreat. Results show rapid and varied retreat: annual temperature and spring precipitation influence retreat in the west and northwest, respectively.
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.
Viola Steidl, Jonathan L. Bamber, and Xiao Xiang Zhu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1732, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1732, 2024
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Glacier ice thickness is difficult to measure directly but is essential for glacier evolution modelling. In this work, we employ a novel approach combining physical knowledge and data-driven machine learning to estimate the ice thickness of multiple glaciers in Spitsbergen, Barentsøya, and Edgeøya in Svalbard. We identify challenges for the physics-aware machine learning model and opportunities for improving the accuracy and physical consistency that would also apply to other geophysical tasks.
Lander Van Tricht and Philippe Huybrechts
The Cryosphere, 17, 4463–4485, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4463-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4463-2023, 2023
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We modelled the historical and future evolution of six ice masses in the Tien Shan, Central Asia, with a 3D ice-flow model under the newest climate scenarios. We show that in all scenarios the ice masses retreat significantly but with large differences. It is highlighted that, because the main precipitation occurs in spring and summer, the ice masses respond to climate change with an accelerating retreat. In all scenarios, the total runoff peaks before 2050, with a (drastic) decrease afterwards.
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.
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.
Louise Steffensen Schmidt, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Erin Emily Thomas, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 17, 2941–2963, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2941-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2941-2023, 2023
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Here, we present high-resolution simulations of glacier mass balance (the gain and loss of ice over a year) and runoff on Svalbard from 1991–2022, one of the fastest warming regions in the Arctic. The simulations are created using the CryoGrid community model. We find a small overall loss of mass over the simulation period of −0.08 m yr−1 but with no statistically significant trend. The average runoff was found to be 41 Gt yr−1, with a significant increasing trend of 6.3 Gt per decade.
Felicity A. Holmes, Eef van Dongen, Riko Noormets, Michał Pętlicki, and Nina Kirchner
The Cryosphere, 17, 1853–1872, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1853-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1853-2023, 2023
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Glaciers which end in bodies of water can lose mass through melting below the waterline, as well as by the breaking off of icebergs. We use a numerical model to simulate the breaking off of icebergs at Kronebreen, a glacier in Svalbard, and find that both melting below the waterline and tides are important for iceberg production. In addition, we compare the modelled glacier front to observations and show that melting below the waterline can lead to undercuts of up to around 25 m.
Sajid Ghuffar, Owen King, Grégoire Guillet, Ewelina Rupnik, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 17, 1299–1306, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1299-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1299-2023, 2023
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The panoramic cameras (PCs) on board Hexagon KH-9 satellite missions from 1971–1984 captured very high-resolution stereo imagery with up to 60 cm spatial resolution. This study explores the potential of this imagery for glacier mapping and change estimation. The high resolution of KH-9PC leads to higher-quality DEMs which better resolve the accumulation region of glaciers in comparison to the KH-9 mapping camera, and KH-9PC imagery can be useful in several Earth observation applications.
Ann-Sofie Priergaard Zinck and Aslak Grinsted
The Cryosphere, 16, 1399–1407, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1399-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1399-2022, 2022
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The Müller Ice Cap will soon set the scene for a new drilling project. To obtain an ice core with stratified layers and a good time resolution, thickness estimates are necessary for the planning. Here we present a new and fast method of estimating ice thicknesses from sparse data and compare it to an existing ice flow model. We find that the new semi-empirical method is insensitive to mass balance, is computationally fast, and provides good fits when compared to radar measurements.
Whyjay Zheng
The Cryosphere, 16, 1431–1445, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1431-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1431-2022, 2022
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A glacier can speed up when surface water reaches the glacier's bottom via crevasses and reduces sliding friction. This paper builds up a physical model and finds that thick and fast-flowing glaciers are sensitive to this friction disruption. The data from Greenland and Austfonna (Svalbard) glaciers over 20 years support the model prediction. To estimate the projected sea-level rise better, these sensitive glaciers should be frequently monitored for potential future instabilities.
Gregoire Guillet, Owen King, Mingyang Lv, Sajid Ghuffar, Douglas Benn, Duncan Quincey, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 16, 603–623, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-603-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-603-2022, 2022
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Surging glaciers show cyclical changes in flow behavior – between slow and fast flow – and can have drastic impacts on settlements in their vicinity.
One of the clusters of surging glaciers worldwide is High Mountain Asia (HMA).
We present an inventory of surging glaciers in HMA, identified from satellite imagery. We show that the number of surging glaciers was underestimated and that they represent 20 % of the area covered by glaciers in HMA, before discussing new physics for glacier surges.
Wenfeng Chen, Tandong Yao, Guoqing Zhang, Fei Li, Guoxiong Zheng, Yushan Zhou, and Fenglin Xu
The Cryosphere, 16, 197–218, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-197-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-197-2022, 2022
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A digital elevation model (DEM) is a prerequisite for estimating regional glacier thickness. Our study first compared six widely used global DEMs over the glacierized Tibetan Plateau by using ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite) laser altimetry data. Our results show that NASADEM had the best accuracy. We conclude that NASADEM would be the best choice for ice-thickness estimation over the Tibetan Plateau through an intercomparison of four ice-thickness inversion models.
Aurel Perşoiu, Nenad Buzjak, Alexandru Onaca, Christos Pennos, Yorgos Sotiriadis, Monica Ionita, Stavros Zachariadis, Michael Styllas, Jure Kosutnik, Alexandru Hegyi, and Valerija Butorac
The Cryosphere, 15, 2383–2399, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2383-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2383-2021, 2021
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Extreme precipitation events in summer 2019 led to catastrophic loss of cave and surface ice in SE Europe at levels unprecedented during the last century. The projected continuous warming and increase in precipitation extremes could pose an additional threat to glaciers in southern Europe, resulting in a potentially ice-free SE Europe by the middle of the next decade (2035 CE).
Naomi E. Ochwat, Shawn J. Marshall, Brian J. Moorman, Alison S. Criscitiello, and Luke Copland
The Cryosphere, 15, 2021–2040, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2021-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2021-2021, 2021
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In May 2018 we drilled into Kaskawulsh Glacier to study how it is being affected by climate warming and used models to investigate the evolution of the firn since the 1960s. We found that the accumulation zone has experienced increased melting that has refrozen as ice layers and has formed a perennial firn aquifer. These results better inform climate-induced changes on northern glaciers and variables to take into account when estimating glacier mass change using remote-sensing methods.
Morgan E. Monz, Peter J. Hudleston, David J. Prior, Zachary Michels, Sheng Fan, Marianne Negrini, Pat J. Langhorne, and Chao Qi
The Cryosphere, 15, 303–324, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-303-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-303-2021, 2021
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We present full crystallographic orientations of warm, coarse-grained ice deformed in a shear setting, enabling better characterization of how crystals in glacial ice preferentially align as ice flows. A commonly noted c-axis pattern, with several favored orientations, may result from bias due to overcounting large crystals with complex 3D shapes. A new sample preparation method effectively increases the sample size and reduces bias, resulting in a simpler pattern consistent with the ice flow.
Andreas Köhler, Michał Pętlicki, Pierre-Marie Lefeuvre, Giuseppa Buscaino, Christopher Nuth, and Christian Weidle
The Cryosphere, 13, 3117–3137, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3117-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3117-2019, 2019
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Ice loss at the front of glaciers can be observed with high temporal resolution using seismometers. We combine seismic and underwater sound measurements of iceberg calving at Kronebreen, a glacier in Svalbard, with laser scanning of the glacier front. We develop a method to determine calving ice loss directly from seismic and underwater calving signals. This allowed us to quantify the contribution of calving to the total ice loss at the glacier front, which also includes underwater melting.
Akiko Sakai
The Cryosphere, 13, 2043–2049, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2043-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2043-2019, 2019
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The Glacier Area Mapping for Discharge from the Asian Mountains (GAMDAM) glacier inventory was updated to revise the underestimated glacier area in the first version. The total number and area of glaciers are 134 770 and 100 693 ± 11 790 km2 from 453 Landsat images, which were carefully selected for the period from 1990 to 2010, to avoid mountain shadow, cloud cover, and seasonal snow cover.
Fanny Brun, Patrick Wagnon, Etienne Berthier, Joseph M. Shea, Walter W. Immerzeel, Philip D. A. Kraaijenbrink, Christian Vincent, Camille Reverchon, Dibas Shrestha, and Yves Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 12, 3439–3457, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3439-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3439-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
On debris-covered glaciers, steep ice cliffs experience dramatically enhanced melt compared with the surrounding debris-covered ice. Using field measurements, UAV data and submetre satellite imagery, we estimate the cliff contribution to 2 years of ablation on a debris-covered tongue in Nepal, carefully taking into account ice dynamics. While they occupy only 7 to 8 % of the tongue surface, ice cliffs contributed to 23 to 24 % of the total tongue ablation.
Cited articles
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Short summary
Some fjords contain dense packs of icebergs referred to as ice mélange. Ice mélange can affect the stability of marine-terminating glaciers by resisting the calving of new icebergs and by modifying fjord currents and water properties. We have developed the first numerical model of ice mélange that captures its granular nature and that is suitable for long-timescale simulations. The model is capable of explaining why some glaciers are more strongly influenced by ice mélange than others.
Some fjords contain dense packs of icebergs referred to as ice mélange. Ice mélange can affect...
