Ice velocity and climate variations for Baltoro Glacier, Pakistan

Quincey, Duncan J.; Copland, Luke; Mayer, C.; Bishop, Michael P.; Luckman, Adrian; Belò, M.

doi:10.3189/002214309790794913

Cited by 104 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Gardelle et al (2012) report the presence of "a highly heterogeneous spatial pattern of changes in glacier elevation, which shows that ice thinning and ablation at high rates can occur on debris-covered glacier tongues," and which results in "the regional mass balance [being] just positive at +0.11 ± 0.22 m/year water equivalent." Glacier expansion or speed-up consistent with this result has been previously reported by , Quincey et al (2009), and Heid and Kaab (2011).…”

Section: Other Researchsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…In particular, there has been "a doubling in the number of new surges in the 14 years after 1990 (26 surges) than in the 14 years before 1990 (13 surges)." This increase in glacier surging correlates with the positive mass balances reported for the Karakoram by Gardelle et al (2011) and others over the past few decades and is consistent with the many other glaciological indicators of recent ice stability or expansion in this area reported by , Pecci and Smiraglia (2000), Mayer et al (2006), and Quincey et al (2009).…”

Section: Other Researchsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…• In other research, "more than 50% of Karakoram glaciers were advancing or stable between " (Scherler et al, 2011, and Fuita and Nuimura (2011) reported a descending trend in the modeled equilibrium-line altitude in the Karakoram during 1976 reported an increase in winter precipitation since 1961, a potential source for greater accumulation in the upper parts of glaciers Quincey et al 2009Quincey et al , 2011. Between 1961 and 2000, Fowler and Archer report, mean summer temperature declined at all climate stations in the region, probably resulting in a decreasing glacier melt.…”

Section: Other Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Observations: Cryosphere

2014

Climate Change 2013 – The Physical Science Basis

143

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Other Researchsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Other Researchsupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Other Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Observations: Cryosphere

2014

Climate Change 2013 – The Physical Science Basis

143

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…In combination with surface heterogeneity in the ablation zone (e.g., the presence of meltwater ponds and ice cliffs) and recent changes in ice-flow velocities (Quincey et al, 2009;Scherler and Strecker , 2012), both the simulated melt rates under thicker debris and enhanced melt under thinner debris help to explain the lack of significant differences in recent elevation changes between debris-free and debris-covered glacier surfaces in the Karakoram (Gardelle et al, 2013). In surface energy balance studies of supraglacial debris, the latent heat flux is often neglected where measurements of surface humidity are unavailable, due to the complexity of treating the moist physics of debris.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of debris cover on glacier ablation and atmosphere–glacier feedbacks in the Karakoram

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The Karakoram range of the Hindu-Kush Himalaya is characterized by both extensive glaciation and a widespread prevalence of surficial debris cover on the glaciers. Surface debris exerts a strong control on glacier surface-energy and mass fluxes and, by modifying surface boundary conditions, has the potential to alter atmosphereglacier feedbacks. To date, the influence of debris on Karakoram glaciers has only been directly assessed by a small number of glaciological measurements over short periods. Here, we include supraglacial debris in a high-resolution, interactively coupled atmosphere-glacier modeling system. To investigate glaciological and meteorological changes that arise due to the presence of debris, we perform two simulations using the coupled model from 1 May to 1 October 2004: one that treats all glacier surfaces as debris-free and one that introduces a simplified specification for the debris thickness. The basin-averaged impact of debris is a reduction in ablation of ∼ 14 %, although the difference exceeds 5 m w.e. on the lowest-altitude glacier tongues. The relatively modest reduction in basin-mean mass loss results in part from non-negligible sub-debris melt rates under thicker covers and from compensating increases in melt under thinner debris, and may help to explain the lack of distinct differences in recent elevation changes between clean and debriscovered ice. The presence of debris also strongly alters the surface boundary condition and thus heat exchanges with the atmosphere; near-surface meteorological fields at lower elevations and their vertical gradients; and the atmospheric boundary layer development. These findings are relevant for glacio-hydrological studies on debris-covered glaciers and contribute towards an improved understanding of glacier behavior in the Karakoram.

show abstract

“…Essential to our understanding of these glaciers are the highly variable ice dynamics even along portions of even the same glacier [33,107,146,147]. Glacier profile estimates of ice velocities provide insight into glacier dynamics and can be used to identify surging glaciers in their active phase of surging.…”

Section: Variable Glacier Dynamics and Surging Glaciersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate–Glacier Dynamics and Topographic Forcing in the Karakoram Himalaya: Concepts, Issues and Research Directions

Dobreva

Bishop

Bush

2017

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Understanding climate-glacier dynamics in High Mountain Asia is of critical importance to address issues including water resources, sea-level rise, mountain geodynamics, natural hazards and ecosystem sustainability. The Karakoram Himalaya is arguably the least understood region, given its extreme topography, climate-system coupling, and advancing and surge-type glaciers that exhibit complex flow patterns. Glacier fluctuations in the Karakoram Himalaya are highly variable in space and time because of numerous controlling factors, including the westerlies, the Indian summer monsoon, various teleconnections, topographic effects, glacier debris-cover characteristics, glacier dynamics, and geological conditions. The influence of the integrative coupling of forcing factors, however, has not been adequately assessed for characterizing the glaciers in the Karakoram Himalaya. Given the scarcity of in-situ data and the difficulty of conducting fieldwork on these glaciers, recent research has focused on utilizing remote sensing, geospatial technologies, and scientific modeling to obtain baseline information about the state of glaciers in the region. This review summarizes our current knowledge of glaciers, climate-glacier interaction, and topographic forcing in the Karakoram Himalaya, and demonstrates the complexities in mountain geodynamics that influence climate-glacier dynamics. Innovative analysis is also presented in support of our review and discussion.

show abstract

Ice velocity and climate variations for Baltoro Glacier, Pakistan

Cited by 104 publications

References 37 publications

Observations: Cryosphere

Observations: Cryosphere

Impact of debris cover on glacier ablation and atmosphere–glacier feedbacks in the Karakoram

Climate–Glacier Dynamics and Topographic Forcing in the Karakoram Himalaya: Concepts, Issues and Research Directions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About