Bravo, C, Ross, AN orcid.org/0000-0002-8631-3512, Quincey, DJ orcid.org/0000-0002-7602-7926 et al. (2 more authors) (2022) Surface ablation and its drivers along a west–east transect of the Southern Patagonia Icefield. Journal of Glaciology, 68 (268). pp. 305-318. ISSN 0022-1430
Abstract
Glaciers in the Southern Patagonia Icefield (SPI) have been shrinking in recent decades, but due to a lack of field observations, understanding of the drivers of ablation is limited. We present a distributed surface energy balance model, forced with meteorological observations from a west–east transect located in the north of the SPI. Between October 2015 and June 2016, humid and warm on-glacier conditions prevailed on the western side compared to dry and cold conditions on the eastern side. Controls of ablation differ along the transect, although at glacier-wide scale sensible heat (mean of 72 W m−2 to the west and 51 W m−2 to the east) and net shortwave radiation (mean of 54 W m−2 to the west and 52 W m−2 to the east) provided the main energy sources. Net longwave radiation was an energy sink, while latent heat was the most spatially variable flux, being an energy sink in the east (−4 W m−2) and a source in the west (20 W m−2). Ablation was high, but at comparable elevations, it was greater to the west. These results provide new insights into the spatial variability of energy-balance fluxes and their control over the ablation of Patagonian glaciers.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Energy balance; glacier modelling; melt–surface |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst for Climate & Atmos Science (ICAS) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > River Basin Processes & Management (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 11 Aug 2021 09:07 |
Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2023 22:44 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/jog.2021.92 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:176927 |