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Summary MB & Climate ∆ (Response Times Vary (Can estimate response…
Summary MB & Climate ∆
Glacier mass balance
= intimately related to climate
Variations MB & ELA --> reflect climate ∆
Numerical models used
to examine these relations
Models reveal/help interpret trends
Widespread glacier retreat in response to global warming
∴ Enable prediction of future trends
Complex Relation
Mass Balance
-Climate
Glaciers may also respond to non-climatic stimuli which area poorly understood
Response Times Vary
Can estimate response times of glaciers to climate ∆
--> via modelling of kinematic waves propagating a morphological ∆ downglacier
How long for given glacier to advance/ rereat in response to given ∆ ?
Typical response time
AIS - 1000 yrs
Small valley glaciers - tens of yrs
Mass Balance
= related to various glaciological variables:
glacier health
glacier kinetics / activity
velocity pattern
We have considered glaciers in equilibrium in most of above
Various pros/cons of different methods of estimating MB
esp. wrt sampling resolution (spatial & temporal)