Multi-year evolution of 75 snow and ice deposits in Schachtdolines and Shafts of recently deglaciated karst terrain: Observations from Mount Canin-Kanin, Julian Alps, Europe

Securo, Andrea; Gobbo, Costanza Del; Colucci, Renato R.

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108434

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…LiDAR is an active remote sensing technique that uses a laser pulse and its two-way travel time to reconstruct the surrounding scene. It can be used to monitor surface elevation changes at different scales, depending on the sensor and platform used (e.g., Knoll and Kerschner, 2009;Fischer et al, 2016;Okyay et al, 2019;Securo et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Glaciers of the Dolomites: last 40 years of melting

Securo,

Del Gobbo,

Baccolo

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Small Alpine glaciers located below the regional equilibrium line altitude are experiencing considerable ice losses and are expected to fragment into smaller glacial bodies and eventually disappear. Monitoring such glaciers through remote sensing is often challenging because of the incompatibility between their size and the spatial resolution of satellites. The Italian Dolomites (S-E Alps) are a region clearly illustrating such challenges and where no long-term glacier mass balance data are available. This renowned Alpine sector hosted tens of glaciers up until a few decades ago, with now only twelve remaining. This study presents a multi-decadal (1980s–2023) estimation of surface elevation change and geodetic mass balance of the current mountain glaciers present in the area. Calculations are based on geodetic data: high resolution and accuracy is obtained with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Structure from Motion (SfM) and airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), from 2010 to 2023. SfM on historical aerial imagery is used for previous decades. We found an average cumulative surface elevation change of -28.7 m from 1980s to 2023, 33 % of which between 2010–2023. The average mass balance rate for the whole period is -0.64 ± 0.05 m w.e. yr-1, varies significantly between sites, and is negative with a smaller amplitude than the Alpine reference glaciers mass balance. Regionally, 66 % of the entire volume loss is related to the Marmolada Glacier alone. Mass losses are accompanied by areal reductions evidencing that the Dolomites are rapidly losing their glaciers. This study aims to address the existing lack of multi-decadal data for the Dolomites by providing a quantitative account of the current state of these small glacial bodies.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Glaciers of the Dolomites: last 40 years of melting

Securo,

Del Gobbo,

Baccolo

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Chemistry of Cave Ice: Two Examples from Slovenia

Smith,

Lyons,

Welch

et al. 2023

Environmental &Amp; Engineering Geoscience

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cave ice can contain a wealth of paleo-climatic and geochemical information that is rapidly being lost with the melting of the temperate zone cryosphere. The karst areas of Slovenia host over 260 ice caves. We collected samples for stable water isotope, major ion, and nutrient analyses from two Slovenian ice caves. Samples included two shallow ice cores in Snežna Cave, collected ∼5 m apart, and an ice face profile in Ivačičeva Cave. All ice isotopic ratios reflected modern precipitation that could be described by high-elevation meteoric water lines. An offset suggested that fractionation and mixing processes of melted ice affected the isotopic signals. Cation concentrations of ice in both caves showed Ca ≫ Mg > Na > K. The high Ca2+ and Mg2+ contents and elevated HCO3− concentrations indicate that CaCO3 dissolution within the local karst landscape is a primary control on ice chemistry. Low concentrations and inconsistent profile patterns of other major ions and nutrients suggest atmospheric deposition and vadose zone leaching were also primary sources of ions to the ice. Differences in Cl− and SO42− profile concentrations at similar depths in Snežna Cave imply that ice melting, water mixing, and re-freezing processes can affect the primary climatic signal stored in the ice. While temperate ice caves can be repositories of climatic information, secondary diagenetic processes that affect ice chemical composition alter the original signal. In addition to chemical analysis, physical processes within the caves must be studied at a small spatial scale to understand and interpret ice chemistry.

show abstract

Multi-year evolution of 75 snow and ice deposits in Schachtdolines and Shafts of recently deglaciated karst terrain: Observations from Mount Canin-Kanin, Julian Alps, Europe

Cited by 2 publications

References 51 publications

The Glaciers of the Dolomites: last 40 years of melting

The Glaciers of the Dolomites: last 40 years of melting

The Chemistry of Cave Ice: Two Examples from Slovenia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About