Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-357
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-357
21 Jan 2021
 | 21 Jan 2021
Status: this discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal The Cryosphere (TC). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.

A local model of snow-firn dynamics and application to Colle Gnifetti site

Fabiola Banfi and Carlo De Michele

Abstract. The regulating role of glaciers on catchment run-off is of fundamental importance in sustaining people living in low lying areas. The reduction in glacierized areas under the effect of climate change disrupts the distribution and amount of run-off, threatening water supply, agriculture and hydropower. The prediction of these changes requires models that integrate hydrological, nivological and glaciological processes. In this work we propose a local model that combines the nivological and glaciological scales, developed with the aim of a subsequent integration in hydrological distributed models. The model was derived from mass balance, momentum balance and rheological equations and describes the formation and evolution of the snowpack and the firn below it. The model was applied at the site of Colle Gnifetti (Monte Rosa massif, 4400–4550 m a.s.l.). We obtained an average net accumulation of 0.26 · 103 kg m−2 y−1 to be compared with the observed net annual accumulation that increases from about 0.15 · 103 kg m−2 y−1 to about 1.2 · 103 kg m−2 y−1 moving from the north facing to the south facing slope. The model results confirm the strong influence of wind on snow accumulation and densification, observed also from ice cores. The conserved precipitation is made up mainly of snow deposited between May and September, when temperatures above melting point are also observed. Even tough the variability of annual snow accumulation is not well reproduced by the model, the modelled and observed firn densities show a good agreement up to the depth reached by the model with the available input data.

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Fabiola Banfi and Carlo De Michele

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • CC1: 'Comment on tc-2020-357', Enrico Mattea, 11 Feb 2021
  • RC1: 'Comment on tc-2020-357', Anonymous Referee #1, 03 Mar 2021
  • RC2: 'Comment on tc-2020-357', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Mar 2021

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • CC1: 'Comment on tc-2020-357', Enrico Mattea, 11 Feb 2021
  • RC1: 'Comment on tc-2020-357', Anonymous Referee #1, 03 Mar 2021
  • RC2: 'Comment on tc-2020-357', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Mar 2021
Fabiola Banfi and Carlo De Michele
Fabiola Banfi and Carlo De Michele

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Short summary
Climate changes require a dynamic description of glaciers in hydrological models. In this study we focus on the local modeling of snow and firn. We tested our model at the site of Colle Gnifetti, 4400–4550 m a.s.l. The model shows that wind erodes all the precipitation of the cold months, while snow is in part conserved between May and September, since higher temperatures protect snow from erosion. We also compared modeled and observed firn density obtaining a satisfying agreement.