Articles | Volume 19, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5201-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5201-2025
Research article
 | 
29 Oct 2025
Research article |  | 29 Oct 2025

Saharan dust impacts on the surface mass balance of Argentière Glacier (French Alps)

Léon Roussel, Marie Dumont, Marion Réveillet, Delphine Six, Marin Kneib, Pierre Nabat, Kévin Fourteau, Diego Monteiro, Simon Gascoin, Emmanuel Thibert, Antoine Rabatel, Jean-Emmanuel Sicart, Mylène Bonnefoy, Luc Piard, Olivier Laarman, Bruno Jourdain, Mathieu Fructus, Matthieu Vernay, and Matthieu Lafaysse

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Cited articles

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Berthier, E., Vincent, C., and Six, D.: Exceptional thinning through the entire altitudinal range of Mont-Blanc glaciers during the 2021/22 mass balance year, Journal of Glaciology., 70, e30, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.100, 2023. a
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Saharan dust deposits frequently turn alpine glaciers orange. Mineral dust reduces snow albedo and increases snow and glaciers melt rate. Using physical modeling, we quantified the impact of dust on the Argentière Glacier over the period 2019–2022. We found that the contribution of mineral dust to the melt represents between 8 % and 16 % of Argentière Glacier summer melt. At specific locations, the impact of dust over one year can rise to an equivalent of 1.2 m of melted ice.
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