Assessing glacier melt contribution to streamflow at Universidad Glacier, central Andes of Chile

Bravo, Claudio; Loriaux, Thomas; Rivera, Andrés; Brock, Benjamin

doi:10.5194/hess-21-3249-2017

Cited by 42 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…in the lower part of the tongue. Our result of 0-1 m w.e.a −1 (−10-0 m w.e.a −1 ∆Z over 2000-2013) of ice elevation loss rate in the accumulation area are in agreement with the simulated melt rate from Bravo et al [29] and observations from the 2013/14 year. Consistently negative geodetic ∆Z may stem from out-of-balance vertical component of ice flow, a factor not accounted by ablation stake measurements or melt rate modeling.…”

Section: Glacier Change Detectionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…One of them is Tinguiririca River, which is fed by Universidad Glacier via the San Andrés tributary river [27]. It was estimated that Universidad Glacier's meltwater contributed up to 20% of flow in the Tinguiririca River basin in 2010 [29]. This value can be expected to rise with continuous warming of the climate in the area [30] and as the glacier mass balance was increasingly negative between 2012 and 2014 [27].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…the surface mass balance was positive in the hydrological year 2012-2013 (up to +2 m w.e.a −1 ), but negative in 2013-2014 (−4-0 m w.e.a −1 ); however the stakes used for this study were absent in areas of Z increase in the highest parts of the basins. Additionally, Bravo et al [29] modeled melt of Universidad Glacier with a temperature index model tuned to field measurements in the ablation zone. They concluded that ice melt provided over 80% of discharge to the proglacial river, with the rest attributed to snowmelt.…”

Section: Glacier Change Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A similar pattern can be observed in the ablation zone where emergent ice flow is not high enough to compensate for ice loss due to extremely high melt, reaching 8-11 m w.e. in the terminal part of the glacier in 2009-2010 season [29]. Kinnard et al [27] showed that the surface mass balance at the ablation stakes at low to mid altitudes was −5 m w.e.a −1 and −10 m w.e.a −1 in 2012-2013 and between −6 m w.e.a −1 and −14 m w.e.a −1 in 2013-2014 hydrological years.…”

Section: Glacier Change Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance Assessment of TanDEM-X DEM for Mountain Glacier Elevation Change Detection

et al. 2019

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TanDEM-X digital elevation model (DEM) is a global DEM released by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) at outstanding resolution of 12 m. However, the procedure for its creation involves the combination of several DEMs from acquisitions spread between 2011 and 2014, which casts doubt on its value for precise glaciological change detection studies. In this work we present TanDEM-X DEM as a high-quality product ready for use in glaciological studies. We compare it to Aerial Laser Scanning (ALS)-based dataset from April 2013 (1 m), used as the ground-truth reference, and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) V003 DEM and SRTM v3 DEM (both 30 m), serving as representations of past glacier states. We use a method of sub-pixel coregistration of DEMs by Nuth and Kääb (2011) to determine the geometric accuracy of the products. In addition, we propose a slope-aspect heatmap-based workflow to remove the errors resulting from radar shadowing over steep terrain. Elevation difference maps obtained by subtraction of DEMs are analyzed to obtain accuracy assessments and glacier mass balance reconstructions. The vertical accuracy (± standard deviation) of TanDEM-X DEM over non-glacierized area is very good at 0.02 ± 3.48 m. Nevertheless, steep areas introduce large errors and their filtering is required for reliable results. The 30 m version of TanDEM-X DEM performs worse than the finer product, but its accuracy, −0.08 ± 7.57 m, is better than that of SRTM and ASTER. The ASTER DEM contains errors, possibly resulting from imperfect DEM creation from stereopairs over uniform ice surface. Universidad Glacier has been losing mass at a rate of −0.44 ± 0.08 m of water equivalent per year between 2000 and 2013. This value is in general agreement with previously reported mass balance estimated with the glaciological method for 2012–2014.

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Section: Glacier Change Detectionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Glacier Change Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Glacier Change Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance Assessment of TanDEM-X DEM for Mountain Glacier Elevation Change Detection

et al. 2019

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“…The complete set of equations used for the calculations of the turbulent fluxes is presented in Bravo et al (2017) and references therein.…”

Section: 1029/2018jd028857mentioning

confidence: 99%

Air Temperature Characteristics, Distribution, and Impact on Modeled Ablation for the South Patagonia Icefield

et al. 2019

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The glaciers of Patagonia are the largest in South America and are shrinking rapidly, raising concerns about their contribution to sea level rise in the face of ongoing climatic change. However, modeling studies forecasting future glacier recession are limited by the scarcity of measured on‐glacier air temperatures and thus tend to use spatially and temporally constant lapse rates. This study presents 9 months of air temperature observations. The network consists of five automatic weather stations and three on‐glacier air temperature sensors installed on the South Patagonia Icefield along a transect at 48°45′S. Observed lapse rates are, overall, steeper on the east (−0.0072 °C/m) compared to the west (−0.0055 °C/m) and vary between the lower section (tongue, ablation zone) and the upper section (plateau, accumulation zone) of the glaciers. Warmer off‐glacier temperatures are found in the east compared to the west for similar elevations. However, on‐glacier observations suggest that the glacier cooling effect is higher in the east compared to the west. Through application of distributed temperature‐index and point‐scale energy balance models we show that modeled ablation rates vary by up to 60%, depending on the air temperature extrapolation method applied, and that melt is overestimated and sublimation is underestimated if the glacier cooling effect is not included in the distributed air temperature data. These results can improve current and future modeling efforts of the energy and mass balance of the whole South Patagonia Icefield.

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Interannual variability in glacier contribution to runoff from a high‐elevation Andean catchment: understanding the role of debris cover in glacier hydrology

Burger

Ayala

Farías

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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We present a field‐data rich modelling analysis to reconstruct the climatic forcing, glacier response, and runoff generation from a high‐elevation catchment in central Chile over the period 2000–2015 to provide insights into the differing contributions of debris‐covered and debris‐free glaciers under current and future changing climatic conditions. Model simulations with the physically based glacio‐hydrological model TOPKAPI‐ETH reveal a period of neutral or slightly positive mass balance between 2000 and 2010, followed by a transition to increasingly large annual mass losses, associated with a recent mega drought. Mass losses commence earlier, and are more severe, for a heavily debris‐covered glacier, most likely due to its strong dependence on snow avalanche accumulation, which has declined in recent years. Catchment runoff shows a marked decreasing trend over the study period, but with high interannual variability directly linked to winter snow accumulation, and high contribution from ice melt in dry periods and drought conditions. The study demonstrates the importance of incorporating local‐scale processes such as snow avalanche accumulation and spatially variable debris thickness, in understanding the responses of different glacier types to climate change. We highlight the increased dependency of runoff from high Andean catchments on the diminishing resource of glacier ice during dry years.

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Assessing glacier melt contribution to streamflow at Universidad Glacier, central Andes of Chile

Cited by 42 publications

References 61 publications

Performance Assessment of TanDEM-X DEM for Mountain Glacier Elevation Change Detection

Performance Assessment of TanDEM-X DEM for Mountain Glacier Elevation Change Detection

Air Temperature Characteristics, Distribution, and Impact on Modeled Ablation for the South Patagonia Icefield

Interannual variability in glacier contribution to runoff from a high‐elevation Andean catchment: understanding the role of debris cover in glacier hydrology

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