Modelling runoff from highly glacierized alpine drainage basins in a changing climate

Huss, Matthias; Farinotti, Daniel; Bauder, Andreas; Funk, Martin

doi:10.1002/hyp.7055

Cited by 363 publications

(364 citation statements)

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“…The approach of first mapping clean ice and then adding debris-covered glacier parts allows separating these two surface types. This provides valuable information for various modeling applications concerning for example the modeling of future glacier development (Quincey et al, 2007) and melt water production (e.g., Huss et al, 2008;Kaser et al, 2010). Coherence images have the potential to be also used for the mapping of rock glaciers, but this must be verified first.…”

Section: Debris Cover Mapping With Coherence Imagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compilation of a glacier inventory for the western Himalayas from satellite data: methods, challenges, and results

Frey

Paul

Strozzi

2012

Remote Sensing of Environment

198

148

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Due to their sensitive reaction to changes in climatic conditions, glaciers have been selected as an essential climate variable (ECV). Although a large amount of ice is located in the Himalayas, this region is yet only sparsely represented in global glacier databases. Accordingly, a sound and comprehensive change assessment or determination of water resources was not yet possible. In this study, we present a new glacier inventory for the western Himalayas, compiled from Landsat ETM+ scenes acquired between 2000 and 2002, coherence images from ALOS PALSAR image pairs, the SRTM digital elevation model (DEM) and the ASTER Global DEM (GDEM). Several specific challenges for glacier mapping were found in this region and addressed. They are related to debris cover, orographic clouds, locally variable snow conditions, and creeping permafrost features in cold-dry regions. Additional to seven topographic parameters that are obtained from the ASTER GDEM for each glacier, we also determined the relative amount of debris cover on the glacier surface. The inventory contains 11,400 glaciers larger than 0.02 km2, which cover a total area of 9,310 km2. Analysis of the inventory data revealed characteristic patterns of mean glacier elevation and relative debris cover amounts that might be related to the governing climatic conditions. The full dataset will be freely available in the GLIMS glacier database to foster further analyses and modeling of the glaciers in this region. AbstractDue to their sensitive reaction to changes in climatic conditions, glaciers have been selected as an essential climate variable (ECV). Although a large amount of ice is located in the Himalayas, this region is yet only sparsely represented in global glacier databases. Accordingly, a sound and comprehensive change assessment or determination of water resources was not yet possible. In this study, we present a new glacier inventory for the western Himalayas, compiled from Landsat ETM+ scenes acquired between 2000 and 2002, coherence images from ALOS PALSAR image pairs, the SRTM digital elevation model (DEM) and the ASTER Global DEM (GDEM). Several specific challenges for glacier mapping were found in this region and addressed. They are related to debris cover, orographic clouds, locally variable snow conditions, and creeping permafrost features in cold-dry regions. Additional to seven topographic parameters that are obtained from the ASTER GDEM for each glacier, we also determined the relative amount of debris cover on the glacier surface. The inventory contains 11,400 glaciers larger than 0.02 km 2 , which cover a total area of 9,310 km 2 . Analysis of the inventory data revealed characteristic patterns of mean glacier elevation and relative debris cover amounts that might be related to the governing climatic conditions. The full dataset will be freely available in the GLIMS glacier database to foster further analyses and modeling of the glaciers in this region.

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Section: Debris Cover Mapping With Coherence Imagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compilation of a glacier inventory for the western Himalayas from satellite data: methods, challenges, and results

Frey

Paul

Strozzi

2012

Remote Sensing of Environment

198

148

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“…No additional variables, such as the radiation budget or cloudiness were considered. Changes in monthly temperature and precipitation relative to the period 1961-1990 were evaluated and superimposed on detrended daily meteorological station data of randomly chosen years (see also Huss et al, 2008b). Thus, 35 meteorological time series at daily resolution were established for 2011-2100.…”

Section: Future Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The calculation of future glacier mass balance is based on a spatially distributed model (25 × 25 m grid) for snow accumulation, snow-and ice melt, and 3-D glacier geometry change (Huss et al, 2008b). The model does neither include changes in supra-glacial debris coverage, nor positive feedbacks due to surface albedo decrease and proglacial lake formation.…”

Section: Future Glacier Mass Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

Extrapolating glacier mass balance to the mountain-range scale: the European Alps 1900–2100

2012

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Abstract. This study addresses the extrapolation of in-situ glacier mass balance measurements to the mountain-range scale and aims at deriving time series of area-averaged mass balance and ice volume change for all glaciers in the European Alps for the period 1900-2100. Long-term mass balance series for 50 Swiss glaciers based on a combination of field data and modelling, and WGMS data for glaciers in Austria, France and Italy are used. A complete glacier inventory is available for the year 2003. Mass balance extrapolation is performed based on (1) arithmetic averaging, (2) glacier hypsometry, and (3) multiple regression. Given a sufficient number of data series, multiple regression with variables describing glacier geometry performs best in reproducing observed spatial mass balance variability. Future mass changes are calculated by driving a combined model for mass balance and glacier geometry with GCM ensembles based on four emission scenarios. Mean glacier mass balance in the European Alps is −0.31 ± 0.04 m w.e. a −1 in 1900-2011, and −1 m w.e. a −1 over the last decade. Total ice volume change since 1900 is −96 ± 13 km 3 ; annual values vary between −5.9 km 3 (1947) and +3.9 km 3 (1977). Mean mass balances are expected to be around −1.3 m w.e. a −1 by 2050. Model results indicate a glacier area reduction of 4-18 % relative to 2003 for the end of the 21st century.

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“…The model is designed to calculate the runoff from highly glacierized drainage basins and includes components for computing snow accumulation distribution, snow and ice melt based on the temperature-index approach, evaporation, and runoff routing. All components of GERM are described in Huss et al (2008b). The model is forced by daily temperature and precipitation, and is calibrated and validated using different field data.…”

Section: Glacier Evolution Runoff Model (Germ)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The h-parameterization, initially proposed by Huss et al (2008b), is a function relating the elevation of the glacier surface h to the surface elevation change h (equivalent to ice thickness change) occurring over a given time interval. Typically, elevation changes are small in the accumulation area and largest near the terminus of mountain glaciers ( Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future high-mountain hydrology: a new parameterization of glacier retreat

Huss

Jouvet

Farinotti

et al. 2010

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

225

210

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Abstract. Global warming is expected to significantly affect the runoff regime of mountainous catchments. Simple methods for calculating future glacier change in hydrological models are required in order to reliably assess economic impacts of changes in the water cycle over the next decades. Models for temporal and spatial glacier evolution need to describe the climate forcing acting on the glacier, and ice flow dynamics. Flow models, however, demand considerable computational resources and field data input and are moreover not applicable on the regional scale. Here, we propose a simple parameterization for calculating the change in glacier surface elevation and area, which is mass conserving and suited for hydrological modelling. The h-parameterization is an empirical glacier-specific function derived from observations in the past that can easily be applied to large samples of glaciers. We compare the h-parameterization to results of a 3-D finite-element ice flow model. As case studies, the evolution of two Alpine glaciers of different size over the period 2008-2100 is investigated using regional climate scenarios. The parameterization closely reproduces the distributed ice thickness change, as well as glacier area and length predicted by the ice flow model. This indicates that for the purpose of transient runoff forecasts, future glacier geometry change can be approximated using a simple parameterization instead of complex ice flow modelling. Furthermore, we analyse alpine glacier response to 21st century climate change and consequent shifts in the runoff regime of a highly glacierized catchment using the proposed methods.

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Modelling runoff from highly glacierized alpine drainage basins in a changing climate

Cited by 363 publications

References 50 publications

Compilation of a glacier inventory for the western Himalayas from satellite data: methods, challenges, and results

Compilation of a glacier inventory for the western Himalayas from satellite data: methods, challenges, and results

Extrapolating glacier mass balance to the mountain-range scale: the European Alps 1900–2100

Future high-mountain hydrology: a new parameterization of glacier retreat

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