ID:
publications-1763
Type:
Peer reviewed articles
Year:
2024
Authors:
Shaw, T. E., Buri, P., McCarthy, M., Miles, E. S., & Pellicciotti, F
Title:
Local controls on near-surface glacier cooling under warm atmospheric conditions
Venue/Journal:
Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres
DOI:
10.1029/2023jd040214
Research type:
AI & Machine Learning
Water System:
Precipitation & Ecological Systems
Technical Focus:
Abstract:
AbstractThe nearâsurface boundary layer can mediate the response of mountain glaciers to external climate, cooling the overlying air and promoting a densityâdriven glacier wind. The fundamental processes are conceptually well understood, though the magnitudes of cooling and presence of glacier winds are poorly quantified in space and time, increasing the forcing uncertainty for melt models. We utilize a new data set of onâglacier meteorological measurements on three neighboring glaciers in the Swiss Alps to explore their distinct response to regional climate under the extreme 2022 summer. We find that synoptic wind origins and local terrain modifications, not only glacier size, play an important role in the ability of a glacier to cool the nearâsurface air. Warm air intrusions from valley or synopticallyâdriven winds onto the glacier can occur between âŒ19% and 64% of the time and contribute between 3% and 81% of the total sensible heat flux to the surface during warm afternoon hours, depending on the fetch of the glacier flowline and its susceptibility to boundary layer erosion. In the context of extreme summer warmth, indicative of future conditions, the boundary layer cooling (up to 6.5°C cooler than its surroundings) and resultant katabatic wind flow are highly heterogeneous between the study glaciers, highlighting the complex and likely nonâlinear response of glaciers to an uncertain future.
Link with Projects:
772751
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