El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influence on a Sajama volcano glacier (Bolivia) from 1963 to 1998 as seen from Landsat data and aerial photography

Arnaud, Yves; Muller, Frédéric; Vuille, Mathias; Ribstein, Pierre

doi:10.1029/2001jd900198

Cited by 41 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Our results are in accordance with our current understanding of the ENSO/glacier relationship in the Central and Tropical Andes (e.g. Arnaud et al, 2001;Favier et al, 2004;Francou et al, 2004;Vuille et al, 2008b;Veettil et al, 2014). However, we find a stronger SSTA → MB relationship than described in Vuille et al (2008b) and cannot confirm their exceptional years (1983 and 1994).…”

Section: Summary and Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…The influence of ENSO in the tropical and central Andes can be roughly summarized with prevailing warmer and drier conditions during El Niño phases, while colder and wetter conditions prevail during La Niña phases. As a result, studies dealing with ENSO's influence on tropical Andean glaciers reported a significant anti-correlation between Pacific sea-surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) and MB (Arnaud et al, 2001;Francou et al, 2004;Vuille et al, 2008b;Veettil et al, 2014). The extreme 1997/98 Niño year, for example, caused exceptional glacier melt in the outer tropics (Wagnon et al, 2001;Francou et al, 2003).…”

Section: F Maussion Et Al: Enso Influence On Shallap Glacier Cordimentioning

confidence: 99%

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ENSO influence on surface energy and mass balance at Shallap Glacier, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

et al. 2015

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Abstract. The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a major driver of climate variability in the tropical Andes, where recent Niño and Niña events left an observable footprint on glacier mass balance. The nature and strength of the relationship between ENSO and glacier mass balance, however, varies between regions and time periods, leaving several unanswered questions about its exact mechanisms. The starting point of this study is a 4-year long time series of distributed surface energy and mass balance (SEB/SMB) calculated using a process-based model driven by observations at Shallap Glacier (Cordillera Blanca, Peru). These data are used to calibrate a regression-based downscaling model that links the local SEB/SMB fluxes to atmospheric reanalysis variables on a monthly basis, allowing an unprecedented quantification of the ENSO influence on the SEB/SMB at climatological time scales (1980-2013. We find a stronger and steadier anti-correlation between Pacific sea-surface temperature (SST) and glacier mass balance than previously reported. This relationship is most pronounced during the wet season (December-May) and at low altitudes where Niño (Niña) events are accompanied with a snowfall deficit (excess) and a higher (lower) radiation energy input. We detect a weaker but significant ENSO anticorrelation with total precipitation (Niño dry signal) and positive correlation with the sensible heat flux, but find no ENSO influence on sublimation. Sensitivity analyses comparing several downscaling methods and reanalysis data sets resulted in stable mass balance correlations with Pacific SST but also revealed large uncertainties in computing the mass balance trend of the last decades. The newly introduced open-source downscaling tool can be applied easily to other glaciers in the tropics, opening new research possibilities on even longer time scales.

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Section: Summary and Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: F Maussion Et Al: Enso Influence On Shallap Glacier Cordimentioning

confidence: 99%

ENSO influence on surface energy and mass balance at Shallap Glacier, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

et al. 2015

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“…This strong interannual variability of summer precipitation has been described in a number of studies and there is a general agreement that a signi¢cant fraction of this variability is related to the El Nin ‹ o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon (e.g. Thompson et al, 1984;Aceituno, 1988;Ronchail, 1995;Lenters and Cook, 1999;Vuille, 1999;Vuille et al, 2000a;Arnaud et al, 2001;Garreaud and Aceituno, 2001). All of these studies concluded that El Nin ‹ o years (warm phase of ENSO) tend to be dry, while La Nin ‹ a years (ENSO cold phase) are often associated with wet conditions on the Altiplano.…”

Section: Interannual Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The climate of the Altiplano: observed current conditions and mechanisms of past changes

Garreaud

Vuille

Clement

2003

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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595

682

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The large-scale controls on the climate of the South American Altiplano are investigated using local observations, reanalysis data and general circulation model experiments. The objective is to gain understanding of causes of climate variability and climate change by relating mechanisms that operate on timescales ranging from the intraseasonal to the glacial^interglacial. Our results suggest that, on all timescales, the climatic conditions on the Altiplano are closely related to the upper-air circulation, with an easterly zonal flow aloft favoring wet conditions and westerly flow causing dry conditions. Different factors influence the upper-air circulation on the different timescales. Intraseasonal variability is a reflection of the position and intensity of the Bolivian High, which is modulated by Rossby waves emanating from the midlatitude South Pacific. The annual cycle of dry winter and wet summer conditions is caused by the seasonal expansion of the equatorial easterlies in the upper troposphere, rather than direct insolation forcing over the Altiplano or moisture changes in the source area. Interannual variability is primarily related to changes in the mean zonal flow over the Altiplano, reflecting changes in meridional baroclinicity between tropical and subtropical latitudes, which in turn is a response to sea-surface temperature changes in the tropical Pacific. Orbitally forced changes in the land^sea contrast drive continental-scale circulation changes, which significantly alter the zonal flow over the Altiplano. On glacial^interglacial timescales, the contrast in heating between northern and southern hemispheres during the glacial leads to upper-air easterly anomalies throughout the tropics. On modern timescales the marked submonthly, seasonal and interannual changes of moisture over the Altiplano cannot be accounted for by moisture changes in the humid tropical lowlands. However, the model experiments suggest that cooler conditions during a glacial reduce moisture availability from the tropical lowlands, which counteracts the effect of the upper-level circulation, resulting in little overall change in precipitation. This observational and modeling analysis provides a physical framework for relating the mechanisms of both internal and forced climate change on the Altiplano on a wide range of timescales. ß

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“…This last point will be the focus of a forthcoming paper. Finally, ENSO influence on Sajama Volcano glaciers has also been highlighted by Arnaud et al (2001), showing that the snow line elevation is related primarily to precipitation and to a lesser degree to temperature.…”

Section: Regional Forcing Of the Mass Balance Interannual Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Current state of glaciers in the tropical Andes: a multi-century perspective on glacier evolution and climate change

et al. 2013

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Abstract. The aim of this paper is to provide the community with a comprehensive overview of the studies of glaciers in the tropical Andes conducted in recent decades leading to the current status of the glaciers in the context of climate change. In terms of changes in surface area and length, we show that the glacier retreat in the tropical Andes over the last three decades is unprecedented since the maximum extension of the Little Ice Age (LIA, mid-17th-early 18th century). In terms of changes in mass balance, although there have been some sporadic gains on several glaciers, we show that the trend has been quite negative over the past 50 yr, with a mean mass balance deficit for glaciers in the tropical Andes that is slightly more negative than the one computed on a global scale. A break point in the trend appeared in the late 1970s with mean annual mass balance per year decreasing from −0.2 m w.e. in the period 1964-1975 to −0.76 m w.e. in the period 1976-2010. In addition, even if glaciers are currently retreating everywhere in the tropical Andes, it should be noted that this is much more pronounced on small glaciers at low altitudes that do not have a permanent accumulation zone, and which could disappear in the coming years/decades. Monthly mass balance measurements performed in Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia show that variability of the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean is the main factor governing variability of the mass balance at the decadal timescale. Precipitation did not display a significant trend in the tropical Andes in the 20th century, and consequently cannot explain the glacier recession.Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. A. Rabatel et al.: Current state of glaciers in the tropical AndesOn the other hand, temperature increased at a significant rate of 0.10 • C decade −1 in the last 70 yr. The higher frequency of El Niño events and changes in its spatial and temporal occurrence since the late 1970s together with a warming troposphere over the tropical Andes may thus explain much of the recent dramatic shrinkage of glaciers in this part of the world.

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El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influence on a Sajama volcano glacier (Bolivia) from 1963 to 1998 as seen from Landsat data and aerial photography

Abstract: Abstract. Sajama volcano, located in the Bolivian

Cited by 41 publications

References 32 publications

ENSO influence on surface energy and mass balance at Shallap Glacier, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

ENSO influence on surface energy and mass balance at Shallap Glacier, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

The climate of the Altiplano: observed current conditions and mechanisms of past changes

Current state of glaciers in the tropical Andes: a multi-century perspective on glacier evolution and climate change

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