Snow and ice balance in britain at the present time, and during the last glacial maximum and late glacial periods

Abstract

Simple parameterizations are used to estimate monthly mean ablation of snow and ice, and also the distribution of monthly mean precipitation in Britain. Together these enable estimates to be made of snow storage at various levels and the gradients of days with snow cover with elevation. Small semi-permanent snow patches below the regional snow line are included in the discussion. The theoretical estimates fit the actual observations very closely. A similar approach is then used to estimate snow balances for the British Devensian ice sheets. Probable snow accumulation/elevation relationships are produced for 24,000 yr BP. Estimates suggest that the British ice sheet was just in balance at the time of its maximum advance around 18,000 yr BP. The growth and decay of British ice sheets are considered and two stable states are suggested for ice-age climates, one without an ice-sheet and the other with a massive ice-sheet.KEYWORDS Ablation Days with snow cover Devensian ice-sheets Formation and decay of ice-sheets Ice-sheet mass balance Ice-sheet stability Snow balance