Cold firn and ice of high-altitude glaciers in the Alps: measurements and distribution modelling
| Autor: | Martin Hoelzle, Regula Frauenfelder, Martin Laternser, Stephan Suter, Wilfried Haeberli |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | University of Zurich, Laternser, Martin |
| Rok vydání: | 2001 |
| Předmět: |
Hydrology
010506 paleontology geography geography.geographical_feature_category 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Firn 1904 Earth-Surface Processes Glacier Effects of high altitude on humans Deep hole Atmospheric sciences 01 natural sciences 10122 Institute of Geography Altitude Latent heat Temperate climate 910 Geography & travel Meltwater Geology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Earth-Surface Processes |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Glaciology. 47:85-96 |
| ISSN: | 1727-5652 0022-1430 |
| DOI: | 10.3189/172756501781832566 |
| Popis: | The thermal regime of high-altitude accumulation areas in the Swiss Alps was systematically investigated on the Jungfraufirn, Bernese Alps, on the Breithornplateau, Valais Alps, and on Grenzgletscher, Valais Alps. In 1991, 1992 and 1994, temperatures were measured in a deep hole (120 m deep) and in several shallow holes (14–30 m deep). Whereas the wide névé of the Jungfraufirn at 3400–3600 m a.s.l. and the 3800 m high Breithornplateau seems to be predominantly temperate, cold firn and ice temperatures were measured throughout on Grenzgletscher (3900–4450 m a.s.l.). Mean firn temperatures on Grenzgletscher vary strongly and range between −3° and −14°C. A comparison between the measured temperature profiles and a one-dimensional heat-conduction calculation shows that the release of latent heat by penetrating and refreezing meltwater decisively influences the thermal pattern of the firn pack. A multiple linear regression model, based on measured firn temperatures from the European Alps and the parameters altitude and aspect, yields aspect-dependent lower boundaries for the occurrence of cold firn ranging between 3400 (northerly aspects) and 4150 m a.s.l. (southerly aspects). A total of 120 glaciers with cold-firn areas are found when applying the model to glacier inventory data from the European Alps. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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