Assessment of liquid and solid water storage in rock glaciers versus glacier ice in the Austrian Alps

Wagner, Thomas; Kainz, Simon; Fischer, Andrea; Avian, Michael; Krainer, Karl; Winkler, Gerfried

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149593

Cited by 46 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Rock glaciers have received much scientific attention from geomorphological, climatic, and kinematic perspectives [89][90][91][92][93][94][95], but only a few studies focused on quantifying their hydrological behaviour from surface and subsurface perspectives, e.g., [72,[96][97][98]. This limited number of study results, often conducted in challenging field conditions which limit investigation methods, results in continued uncertainty as to their potential hydrological roles.…”

Section: Rock Glacier Volume Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Mountain Permafrost Hydrology—A Practical Review Following Studies from the Andes

et al. 2022

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Climate change is expected to reduce water security in arid mountain regions around the world. Vulnerable water supplies in semi-arid zones, such as the Dry Andes, are projected to be further stressed through changes in air temperature, precipitation patterns, sublimation, and evapotranspiration. Together with glacier recession this will negatively impact water availability. While glacier hydrology has been the focus of scientific research for a long time, relatively little is known about the hydrology of mountain permafrost. In contrast to glaciers, where ice is at the surface and directly affected by atmospheric conditions, the behaviour of permafrost and ground ice is more complex, as other factors, such as variable surficial sediments, vegetation cover, or shallow groundwater flow, influence heat transfer and time scales over which changes occur. The effects of permafrost on water flow paths have been studied in lowland areas, with limited research in the mountains. An understanding of how permafrost degradation and associated melt of ground ice (where present) contribute to streamflow in mountain regions is still lacking. Mountain permafrost, particularly rock glaciers, is often conceptualized as a (frozen) water reservoir; however, rates of permafrost ground ice melt and the contribution to water budgets are rarely considered. Additionally, ground ice and permafrost are not directly visible at the surface; hence, uncertainties related to their three-dimensional extent are orders of magnitude higher than those for glaciers. Ground ice volume within permafrost must always be approximated, further complicating estimations of its response to climate change. This review summarizes current understanding of mountain permafrost hydrology, discusses challenges and limitations, and provides suggestions for areas of future research, using the Dry Andes as a basis.

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Section: Rock Glacier Volume Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Mountain Permafrost Hydrology—A Practical Review Following Studies from the Andes

et al. 2022

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“…The landscape is characterized by rugged terrain of glacial and periglacial origin, including steep slopes and crests, interrupted by relatively flat areas covered by talus, moraines, and periglacial sediments. The area shows an exceptionally high rock glacier density (56 % areal coverage), as well as small remnants of cirque glaciers in its uppermost parts (Kerschner, 1982;Krainer and Ribis, 2012;Wagner et al, 2020Wagner et al, , 2021a.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In terms of landslide initiation, the steep slopes and large sediment accumulations provided by active rock glacier fronts pose a serious hazard. Active rock glaciers, i. e. distinct sediment accumulations consisting of ice-debris mixtures slowly creeping downhill, constitute important periglacial landforms regarding sediment dynamics and hydrology due to their large sediment transfer capability, pronounced water storage capacity, and wide-spread occurrence in mountainous terrain Winkler et al, 2018;Jones et al, 2019b;Hayashi, 2020;Wagner et al, 2020Wagner et al, , 2021a. Common deformation rates are on the order of decimeters to meters per year, accelerating across the European Alps in response to climate change (Kääb et al, 2007;Roer et al, 2008;Beniston et al, 2018;Groh and Blöthe, 2019;Hock et al, 2019;Kenner et al, 2020;Fleischer et al, 2021;Fox-Kemper et al, 2021;Marcer et al, 2021).…”

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confidence: 99%

The role of thermokarst evolution in debris flow initiation (Hüttekar Rock Glacier, Austrian Alps)

Kainz

Wagner

Krainer

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Abstract. A rapid sequence of cascading events involving thermokarst lake outburst, rock glacier front failure, debris flow development and river blockage hit Radurschl Valley (Ötztal Alps, Tyrol) on 13 August 2019. Compounding effects from multivariate permafrost degradation and drainage network development initiated the complex process chain. The debris flow dammed the main river of the valley, impounding a water volume of 120,000 m3 that was partly drained by excavation to prevent a potentially catastrophic outburst flood. Since the environmental forces inducing the debris flow evolved under ambiguous conditions, potentially destabilizing factors were analyzed systematically to deduce the failure mechanism and establish a basis for multi hazard assessment in similar settings. Identification and evaluation of individual factors revealed a critical combination of topographical and sedimentological disposition, climate, and weather patterns driving the evolution of thermokarst and debris flow. Progressively changing groundwater flow and storage patterns characterizing the hydraulic configuration within the frozen sediment accumulation governed the slope stability of the rock glacier front. The large amount of mobilizable sediment, dynamically changing internal structure, and substantial water flow along a rapidly evolving channel network eroded into the permafrost body, render active rock glaciers complex multi hazard elements in periglacial, mountainous environments.

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“…They estimate a ratio of rock glacier to clean‐ice glacier water volume equivalent of 1:456 globally with semi‐arid regions such as South East Asia having a ratio of 1:57. In the Austrian Alps this ratio is estimated as ~1:12 12 . Few studies have examined the future evolution of runoff contribution from rock glaciers, but some suggest that the future contribution from them and other permafrost features may increase under future climate warming 13,14 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature evolution and runoff contribution of three rock glaciers in Switzerland under future climate forcing

Pruessner

Huss

Farinotti

2022

Permafrost & Periglacial

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With ongoing climate change water availability in the source regions of alpine streams are at stake. In particular, dry mountain regions which currently rely on glacial meltwater will need to adapt. Since rock glaciers are more resilient to climate change and occur in nearly all high-mountain catchments around the globe with some form of glacierization, it is of interest to investigate their contribution to runoff under different climate scenarios. Three well-monitored rock glacier sites in the Swiss Alps (Murtèl, Ritigraben, and Schafberg) have been investigated under the climate change scenarios corresponding to low, medium and high greenhouse gas emissions to determine how their runoff contribution is affected. By the end of the 21st century, runoff from permafrost melting could account for 5-12% (12.0% for Murtèl, 7.0% for Ritigraben, and 5.0% for Schafberg) of monthly catchment runoff at maximum in an average year, and up to 50% in extreme years. For the low-emission scenario, little change in the runoff contribution from rock glaciers is found, while the mediumemission scenario shows increased variability and a shift in the seasonal runoff peak to earlier in the year. The high-emission scenario indicates a further increase in the variability of the permafrost runoff contribution and also the development of a secondary seasonal peak in autumn, most prominently in the late century. K E Y W O R D S future climate scenario, rock glacier, runoff contribution, thermal regime 1 | INTRODUCTION With ongoing climate change, clean-ice glaciers are retreating fast 1and their runoff regimes will change from one dominated by ice melt to one dominated by snowmelt. [2][3][4] In the long term, however, glacier retreat will lead to a reduction in total runoff. 5 This has important consequences for regions which currently rely on glacier runoff for their water supply, such as Central Asia or parts of the Andes. 6 Adaptation strategies will need to be developed, possibly relying on artificial measures such as an increased use of reservoirs and dams. 7,8 Additionally, while glacial runoff often constitutes the largest contribution to catchment runoff, contributions from other sources such as rock glaciers are worth investigating. This opens the question of whether they can make up some of the loss expected from decreased glacial runoff.Rock glaciers occur in nearly all high mountain environments with some form of glacierization, and they are believed to be more resilient to climate change due to the cooling properties of their blocky surface layer. 9,10 Jones et al 11 estimate that 83 ± 17 Gt of water is stored within rock glaciers globally. They estimate a ratio of rock glacier to clean-ice glacier water volume equivalent of 1:456 globally with semiarid regions such as South East Asia having a ratio of 1:57. In the Austrian Alps this ratio is estimated as $1:12. 12 Few studies have

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Assessment of liquid and solid water storage in rock glaciers versus glacier ice in the Austrian Alps

Cited by 46 publications

References 49 publications

Mountain Permafrost Hydrology—A Practical Review Following Studies from the Andes

Mountain Permafrost Hydrology—A Practical Review Following Studies from the Andes

The role of thermokarst evolution in debris flow initiation (Hüttekar Rock Glacier, Austrian Alps)

Temperature evolution and runoff contribution of three rock glaciers in Switzerland under future climate forcing

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