Rain-On-Snow (ROS) events and their relations to snowpack and ice layer changes on small glaciers in Svalbard, the high Arctic

Sobota, Ireneusz; Weckwerth, Piotr; Grajewski, Tomasz

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125279

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Runoff simulation in plateau mountainous areas needs to be combined with models that consider snowmelt runoff (Yang et al, 2020). Previous studies have found that the Yarlung Zangbo River snow melt water accounts for 9.7% of the total runoff, the source area of the Yangtze River accounts for 13.6%, and the upper reaches of the Heihe River accounts for 16.1% (Sobota et al, 2020). This shows that the snowmelt runoff mechanism in the TP is obvious, and the impact of snow and glaciers on the hydrological cycle needs to be considered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the global water cycle, the accumulation and melting of snow plays a role in the redistribution of water during the year, and is the most important freshwater resource in spring in arid and semi-arid regions (Fan et al, 2015;Saarnio et al, 2018;Wu et al, 2018;Zhu et al, 2021). 10% of the global land surface is covered by permanent glaciers and snow, 34% of the area has seasonal snow, and the average snow coverage in the northern hemisphere is about 0.07% to 4.00% (Ahluwalia et al, 2021;Sobota et al, 2020;Thind et al, 2021). In the past 30 years, the area of snow in cold regions has been decreasing (Konya et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatio-Temporal Changes of Snow Cover and Its Relationship With Meteorological Factors on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Jin¹,

chen²

2021

Preprint

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The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (TP) is one of the most sensitive areas to climate change, and its ecological environment changes directly or indirectly reflect the global climate change trend. The snow cover ratio (SCR) is an important indicator reflecting the climate and environmental changes of the TP. The daily remote sensing data of snow cover on the TP from 2003 to 2014 were used to study the spatio-temporal distribution of snow cover on the TP. The results have shown that the average snowmelt day on the TP starts on the 103rd day and ends on the 223rd day of a year, and the snowmelt duration has a downward trend. Snow is mainly distributed in the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, Karakoram Mountains and Himalayas. The SCR in summer has a downward trend, while in autumn has a rising trend. This shows that the difference in SCR during the year has enlarged, increasing the risk of snowmelt floods. The SCR is highly correlated with temperature, but weakly correlated with precipitation. Using the long-term remote sensing data of snow cover, the distribution of glacier coverage on the TP can be extracted, in which glaciers on the TP account for about 1%. This research provides an important reference for in-depth understanding of the snow cover changes on the TP and their impact on the environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-Temporal Changes of Snow Cover and Its Relationship With Meteorological Factors on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Jin¹,

chen²

2021

Preprint

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“…On Irenebreen, snow accumulation increases from the glacier front towards two accumulation basins, and the mean snow density ranges from 264 to 401 kg m −3 [33,34]. The mean annual mass balance of Irenebreen in 2002-2020 was −1.05 m w.e.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The GPR data were processed and interpreted with Prism 2.61 software following basic guidelines for GPR data processing [43] (pp. [33][34][35][36][37]. The processing steps included a manually adjusted time-dependent signal gain function, background removal filter, Ormsby band-pass filter with a low frequency cut off at 10 MHz and a high frequency cut off at 71 MHz, and migration [43] (p. 36) using with the common midpoint method (CMP) determined GPR signal propagation speed.…”

Section: Gpr Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%

UAV and GPR Data Integration in Glacier Geometry Reconstruction: A Case Study from Irenebreen, Svalbard

et al. 2022

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Although measurements of thickness and internal structure of glaciers are substantial for the understanding of their evolution and response to climate change, detailed data about polythermal glaciers, are scarce. Here, we present the first ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurement data of Irenebreen, and high-resolution DEM and orthomosaic, obtained from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry. A combination of GPR and UAV data allowed for the reconstruction of the glacier geometry including thermal structure. We compare different methods of GPR signal propagation speed determination and argue that a common midpoint method (CMP) should be used if possible. Our observations reveal that Irenebreen is a polythermal glacier with a basal temperate ice layer, the volume of which volume reaches only 12% of the total glacier volume. We also observe the intense GPR signal scattering in two small zones in the ablation area and suggest that intense water percolation occurs in these places creating local areas of temperate ice. This finding emphasizes the possible formation of localised temperate ice zones in polythermal glaciers due to the coincidence of several factors. Our study demonstrates that a combination of UAV photogrammetry and GPR can be successfully applied and should be used for the high-resolution reconstruction of 3D geometries of small glaciers.

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“…Glaciers of the Kaffiøyra region are polythermal (Sobota, 2009(Sobota, , 2011. From the time of their extent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to 2015, the total area of this region's valley glaciers decreased by about 43.0% on average (Schuler et al, 2020;Sobota et al, 2020). Starting in 1909, the Waldemar Glacier was receding by 8 m a −1 , while in the years 1995-2009 it accelerated to 10 m a −1 and in the years 2000-2009 to 11 m a −1 (Sobota & Lankauf, 2010).…”

Section: Outwash Morphology and Surface Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where will widening occur in an outwash braidplain? A new approach to detecting controls on fluvial lateral erosion in a glacierized catchment (north‐western Spitsbergen, Svalbard)

Weckwerth

Sobota

Greń

2021

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The dynamics of fluvial system evolution depend on fluvial processes and their driving forces associated with climatic variations, which affect changes in the morphology of river channels and floodplains. Neither channel slope and morphology, nor the properties of fluvial sediment have previously been considered as determinants of active braidplain widening on outwash plains (formed from valley/alpine glaciers and confined by pre-existing topography) in the High Arctic region and in the forefields of retreating glaciers. Factors determining widening of braidplain activity of the Waldemar River outwash (north-western Spitsbergen, Svalbard) were analysed on the basis of geomorphological, sedimentological, glaciological and meteorological research, and indicate significant multiple correlations between meltwater discharge, precipitation, braidplain width, morphology of the braided channel and the textural features of braidplain deposits. The capability of multivariate adaptive regression splines to detect these relationships was described, and threshold values were identified. The results indicate that the rate of active braidplain widening is proportional to the meltwater outflow in proglacial rivers, which can decrease despite a growing rate of glacial ablation. A proposed model enables us to predict zones of braidplain prone to widening activity in the High Arctic (humid) outwash fans and plains as well as fans developed in arid intermountain basins. The necessary conditions to activate braidplain widening processes were (1) spatial changes in the outwash feeding system due to glacier terminus retreat and (2) crossing the thresholds in passive factors (S and d 50 ) controlling lateral erosion intensity. As a result, the braidplain reached a new dynamic equilibrium, in which high-magnitude-low-frequency extreme meltwater discharges were of particular importance in terms of braidplain dynamics and are the dominant controls on the pattern of distributary channels.

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Rain-On-Snow (ROS) events and their relations to snowpack and ice layer changes on small glaciers in Svalbard, the high Arctic

Cited by 21 publications

References 34 publications

Spatio-Temporal Changes of Snow Cover and Its Relationship With Meteorological Factors on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Spatio-Temporal Changes of Snow Cover and Its Relationship With Meteorological Factors on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

UAV and GPR Data Integration in Glacier Geometry Reconstruction: A Case Study from Irenebreen, Svalbard

Where will widening occur in an outwash braidplain? A new approach to detecting controls on fluvial lateral erosion in a glacierized catchment (north‐western Spitsbergen, Svalbard)

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