Articles | Volume 19, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-423-2025
© 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-19-423-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
29 Jan 2025
Research article |
| 29 Jan 2025
| 29 Jan 2025
Separating snow and ice melt using water stable isotopes and glacio-hydrological modelling: towards improving the application of isotope analyses in highly glacierized catchments
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Mauro Fischer
Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Stuart N. Lane
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Bettina Schaefli
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Anna E. Sikorska-Senoner, Bettina Schaefli, and Jan Seibert
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Moctar Dembélé, Bettina Schaefli, Nick van de Giesen, and Grégoire Mariéthoz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5379–5406, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5379-2020, 2020
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Short summary
Based on extensive field observations in a highly glacierized catchment in the Swiss Alps, we develop a combined isotopic and glacio-hydrological model. We show that water stable isotopes may help to better constrain model parameters, especially those linked to water transfer. However, we highlight that separating snow and ice melt for temperate glaciers based on isotope mixing models alone is not advised and should only be considered if their isotopic signatures have clearly different values.
Based on extensive field observations in a highly glacierized catchment in the Swiss Alps, we...
