Glacier-wide summer surface mass-balance calculation: hydrological balance applied to the Argentière and Mer de Glace drainage basins (Mont Blanc)

Viani, Alessandra; Condom, Thomas; Vincent, Christian; Rabatel, Antoine; Bacchi, Baldassare; Sicart, J.; Revuelto, Jesús; Six, Delphine; Zin, Isabella

doi:10.1017/jog.2018.7

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Chamonix climatology is classified as a Cfb Köpen-Geiger type with a mean annual precipitation of 1055 mm., and a mean annual temperature of 7.3 • C (observed in the 1981-2015 time period). The water discharge regime is strongly dependent on the snow melt dynamics during spring and early summer, with the major contribution of melt water from glacierized areas occurring during late summer and autumn; this is termed a nivo-glacial regime of river discharge [56]. The Mont Blanc and Aiguilles Rouges massifs are also highly spatially heterogeneous, having various slopes and aspects over a wide range of elevations in glacierized and non-glacierized areas; this affects the spatio-temporal evolution of snow and ice.…”

Section: Study Area and Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies in the same study area and nearby glaciers suggest that at high elevations the SAFRAN reanalysis may underestimate solid precipitation at ratios ranging from 1:1.2 at 2000 m.a.s.l. and 1:2.0 at 3200 m.a.s.l., with an average of 1:1.5 at the glacier scale [12,56,72,74]. This mainly results from the lack of precipitation observations at high elevations available for assimilation into the SAFRAN reanalysis; consequently divergences increase with elevation.…”

Section: Overview Of Safran-crocus Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Snowpack Simulations in Complex Alpine Terrain Using Satellite and In Situ Observations

et al. 2018

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Abstract:This work presents an extensive evaluation of the Crocus snowpack model over a rugged and highly glacierized mountain catchment (Arve valley, Western Alps, France) from 1989 to 2015. The simulations were compared and evaluated using in-situ point snow depth measurements, in-situ seasonal and annual glacier surface mass balance, snow covered area evolution based on optical satellite imagery at 250 m resolution (MODIS sensor), and the annual equilibrium-line altitude of glaciers, derived from satellite images (Landsat, SPOT, and ASTER). The snowpack simulations were obtained using the Crocus snowpack model driven by the same, originally semi-distributed, meteorological forcing (SAFRAN) reanalysis using the native semi-distributed configuration, but also a fully distributed configuration. The semi-distributed approach addresses land surface simulations for discrete topographic classes characterized by elevation range, aspect, and slope. The distributed approach operates on a 250-m grid, enabling inclusion of terrain shadowing effects, based on the same original meteorological dataset. Despite the fact that the two simulations use the same snowpack model, being potentially subjected to same potential deviation from the parametrization of certain physical processes, the results showed that both approaches accurately reproduced the snowpack distribution over the study period. Slightly (although statistically significantly) better results were obtained by using the distributed approach. The evaluation of the snow cover area with MODIS sensor has shown, on average, a reduction of the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) from 15.2% with the semi-distributed approach to 12.6% with the distributed one. Similarly, surface glacier mass balance RMSE decreased from 1.475 m of water equivalent (W.E.) for the semi-distributed simulation to 1.375 m W.E. for the distribution. The improvement, observed with a much higher computational time, does not justify the recommendation of this approach for all applications; however, for simulations that require a precise representation of snowpack distribution, the distributed approach is suggested.

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Section: Study Area and Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overview Of Safran-crocus Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Snowpack Simulations in Complex Alpine Terrain Using Satellite and In Situ Observations

et al. 2018

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“…Glacier retreat is an iconic symbol of climate change. It contributes significantly to sea level rise (Allan et al., 2021) and is also a threat to water availability, especially where glaciers play the role of freshwater reservoirs critical for biodiversity and human societies (Kaser et al., 2010; Laurent et al., 2020; Milner et al., 2017; Viani et al., 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity of Glaciers in the European Alps to Anthropogenic Atmospheric Forcings: Case Study of the Argentière Glacier

Clauzel

Ménégoz

Gilbert

et al. 2023

Geophysical Research Letters

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This study aims to quantify the contribution of anthropogenic forcings on the retreat of the Argentière Glacier (European Alps). The glacier evolution is simulated over 1850–2014 following retrospective scenarios produced with the IPSL‐CM6‐LR climate model, with and without natural and anthropogenic forcings. The scenarios used to force an ice flow model are statistically downscaled, preserving the long‐term trends and the physical consistency between precipitation and temperature. Since the late 19th century, the regional aerosol cooling has partially counteracted the greenhouse gas‐induced warming, delaying the time of emergence of the anthropogenic signal. The anthropogenic signal emerged from natural variability in 1979 for temperature and surface melting, and in 2008 for the glacier mass, whereas its snout position in 2014 remains compatible with natural variability. From the total mass loss between 1850 and 2014, 66% [21%–111%] is attributed to anthropogenic activities.

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Glacier-wide summer surface mass-balance calculation: hydrological balance applied to the Argentière and Mer de Glace drainage basins (Mont Blanc)

Cited by 2 publications

References 55 publications

Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Snowpack Simulations in Complex Alpine Terrain Using Satellite and In Situ Observations

Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Snowpack Simulations in Complex Alpine Terrain Using Satellite and In Situ Observations

Sensitivity of Glaciers in the European Alps to Anthropogenic Atmospheric Forcings: Case Study of the Argentière Glacier

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