Snowmelt Evolution Mapping Using an Energy Balance Approach over an Alpine Terrain

Mittaz, Catherine; Imhof, Markus; Hoelzle, Martin; Haeberli, Wilfried

doi:10.1080/15230430.2002.12003494

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…For Murtèl‐Corvatsch, the summit station at Piz Corvatsch, for Schilthorn, the stations of Mürren and Interlaken were used, corrected by the elevation difference as described in Stocker‐Mittaz et al . [] and Scherler et al . [].…”

Section: Data and Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The site is characterized by a relatively thick layer (approximately 5 m) of fine-grained debris (see Table 1) over strongly jointed bedrock [Hauck, 2001]. Mean annual air temperature (MAAT, averaged over 1999(MAAT, averaged over -2008 is À2.6 C. Mean annual precipitation in the area is around 2700 mm [Schwarb et al, 2001;Mittaz et al, 2002]. The simulated 1-D profile discussed below (section 5) corresponds to the location of a 14 m deep borehole located on a narrow platform at 2900 m above sea level (asl) in the north facing slope, which is inclined by 30 , where temperatures are measured at different depths since 1998.…”

Section: Schilthornmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hourly values of precipitation have been obtained from meteorological stations of MeteoSwiss in the proximity of the study sites. For Murtèl-Corvatsch, the summit station at Piz Corvatsch, for Schilthorn, the stations of Mürren and Interlaken were used, corrected by the elevation difference as described in Stocker- Mittaz et al [2002] and Scherler et al [2010]. [Haeberli et al, 1988;PERMOS, 2009].…”

Section: Site Specific Measurements 311 Meteorological Time Seriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeled sensitivity of two alpine permafrost sites to RCM‐based climate scenarios

et al. 2013

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[1] Climate change as projected by contemporary general circulation models (GCMs) and regional climate models (RCMs) will have a great impact on high latitude and high mountain permafrost. A process-based one-dimensional permafrost model is used to evaluate the sensitivity of two characteristic alpine permafrost sites to changes in climate for a 110 year time period starting 1991 and ending 2100 using output time series of six different GCM-RCM model chains. Statistical analysis of the RCM climate variables and output of the impact model has been conducted to gain insight into the sensitivity of the active layer to changes in climatic conditions. Strong sensitivity to climate change was found for the active layer thickness (ALT) at Schilthorn, which increased by up to 100% before most of the models pointed to a degradation of the permafrost around the year 2020. The sensitivity of the ALT at the rock glacier site Murtèl is less pronounced; permafrost degradation is slower and sets in only around 2070. At both sites, the thermal evolution is linked to an increase in unfrozen water content within the permafrost body. Multiple linear regression analysis shows a strong model dependency of ALT on ice content and summer soil surface temperatures and to a less significant degree on snow cover timing and duration. The ALT at Schilthorn is influenced by the ALT of the preceding year, while at Murtèl, the ALT is influenced by the ALT of up to 15 preceding years.

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Section: Data and Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Schilthornmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Site Specific Measurements 311 Meteorological Time Seriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeled sensitivity of two alpine permafrost sites to RCM‐based climate scenarios

et al. 2013

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“…However, this simplification has little impact on the annual mass balance as Greuell and Oerlemans (1987) have shown. The sensible heat flux only depends on the temperature difference between the air and the glacier surface and the latent heat flux additionally includes water vapor pressure and air pressure, which have both fixed climatic mean values at sea level (relative humidity 80%, 1013 hPa), but are allowed to vary with elevation and temperature according to Mittaz et al (2002). Turbulent fluxes are calculated using exchange coefficients that do not depend on wind speed but vary with distance from the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) in order to consider an increased surface roughness down glacier (Oerlemans 1991).…”

Section: B the Distributed Mass Balance Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forcing a Distributed Glacier Mass Balance Model with the Regional Climate Model REMO. Part II: Downscaling Strategy and Results for Two Swiss Glaciers

Paul

Kotlarski

2010

Journal of Climate

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Distributed glacier mass balance models are efficient tools for the assessment of climate change impacts on glaciers at regional scales and at high spatial resolution (25-100 m). In general, these models are driven by time series of meteorological parameters that are obtained from a climate station near a glacier or from climate model output. Because most glaciers are located in rugged mountain topography with a high spatial and temporal variability of the meteorological conditions, the challenge is to distribute the point data from a climate station or the gridbox values from a regional climate model (RCM) in an appropriate way to the terrain. Here an approach is presented that uses normalized grids at the resolution of the mass balance model to capture the spatial variability, and time series from a climate station (Robiei) and an RCM Regional Model (REMO) to provide a temporal forcing for the mass balance model. The test site near Nufenen Pass (Swiss Alps) covers two glaciers with direct mass balance measurements that are used to demonstrate the approach. The meteorological parameters (temperature, global radiation, and precipitation) are obtained for the years 1997-99 (at daily steps) from the climate station Robiei (1898 m MSL) and one grid box of the RCM REMO. The results of the mass balance model agree closely with the measured values and the specific differences in mass balance between the two glaciers and the two balance years are well captured. Despite the disparities in the meteorological forcing from the climate station and REMO, there are only small differences in the modeled mass balances. This gives confidence that the developed approach of coupling the coarse-resolution (18 km) RCM with the high-resolution (25 m) mass balance model is suitable and can be applied to other regions as well as to RCM scenario runs.

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“…In steeper slopes, this probability falls rapidly. The landscape of the highest sector of the Maladeta Massif is dominated by ridges, cliffs and steep slopes, which hinder glacier development as here snow cannot accumulate properly, while avalanches transport the snow to lower sectors of the slopes (Mittaz et al, 2002). For this reason, Brozovic et al (1997) claim that the existence of very steep slopes in the glaciated altitudinal range represents a drawback for glaciar development in the Northwestern Himalaya and Karakoram.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glacier development and topographic context

López‐Moreno

Bravo

Chueca-Cía

et al. 2006

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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This paper analyses the topographic context of the remaining glaciated areas in the Maladeta Massif (Central Spanish Pyrenees). These ice-covered surfaces have been incorporated into a geographic information system (GIS) in an attempt at correlating the presence of ice with a range of topographic variables obtained from a digital elevation model. The use of generalized additive models and binary regression tree models enabled us (i) to quantify the spatial variability in the distribution of glaciers attributable to characteristics of the local terrain, (ii) to investigate the interaction between the variables that account for the ice cover distribution and (iii) to map the probability of glacier development. Our results show that although the development of glaciers depends on regional climate conditions, the topographic context is of paramount importance in determining the location, extent, shape and recent evolution of each glacial body. Thus, the joint effect of altitude, exposure to incoming solar radiation, slope and mean curvature is able to explain more than 70 per cent of the observed variance.

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Snowmelt Evolution Mapping Using an Energy Balance Approach over an Alpine Terrain

Cited by 24 publications

References 18 publications

Modeled sensitivity of two alpine permafrost sites to RCM‐based climate scenarios

Modeled sensitivity of two alpine permafrost sites to RCM‐based climate scenarios

Forcing a Distributed Glacier Mass Balance Model with the Regional Climate Model REMO. Part II: Downscaling Strategy and Results for Two Swiss Glaciers

Glacier development and topographic context

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