Thinning of the Quelccaya Ice Cap over the last thirty years

Abstract

Abstract. Direct measurements of the decadal response of Tropical glaciers to environmental changes are difficult to acquire within their accumulation zones. In 2013, we used dual-frequency kinematic GPS to re-measure the surface elevations at 46 sites, from the margin to across the summit of the Quelccaya Ice Cap, first measured in 1983 using terrestrial surveying

Forward modeling of δ18O in Andean ice cores

“…This retreating ice cap is home to one of the most important records of tropical paleoclimate for the last 1800 years [Thompson et al, 1985Chadwell et al, 2016]. These records are fundamental to our understanding of tropical climate dynamics on human timescales.…”

“…Our forward model is developed using a decade of observations from both field campaigns and an Automated Weather Station (AWS) installed on the summit of Quelccaya Ice Cap in the Peruvian Andes. This retreating ice cap is home to one of the most important records of tropical paleoclimate for the last 1800 years [Thompson et al, 1985Chadwell et al, 2016]. Variability of precipitation and isotope ratios at Quelccaya has been linked to Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) variability and precipitation, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and South American Summer Monsoon (SASM) intensity [Thompson et al, 1985[Thompson et al, , 1993Vuille and Werner, 2005;Vuille et al, 2012].…”

Ground-penetrating radar reveals ice thickness and undisturbed englacial layers at Kilimanjaro's Northern Ice Field

“…entire mountain), Furwängler Glacier and the Northern and Eastern ice fields, which are remnants of a former ice cap which encircled the Kilimanjaro plateau at the end of the 19th century. Present-day climatological conditions are not favourable for maintaining these glaciers and result in an overall negative mass balance of Kilimanjaro's glaciers (Hardy, , 2011Mölg and Hardy, 2004;Cullen et al, 2006Cullen et al, , 2013Mölg et al, 2008Mölg et al, , 2009Thompson et al, 2009). The recent decline of Kilimanjaro's glaciers is well documented, with changes in glacier geometry derived from terrestrial 470 P. Bohleber et al: Ground-penetrating radar at Kilimanjaro's Northern Ice Field and aerial photogrammetry as well as satellite imagery (Hastenrath and Greischar, 1997;Thompson et al, 2009;Cullen et al, 2006Cullen et al, , 2013Winkler et al, 2010;Sirguey and Cullen, 2014).…”

Untitled

“…The glacier in Latin America, like almost all glaciers worldwide, are in constant reduction (La Frenierre and Mark, 2017;Milner et al, 2017). Several studies have concluded that particularly the tropical glaciers below an altitude of 5500 meters above sea level will be vanished in less than a decade (Chadwell et al, 2016;Veettil et al, 2017;Wu et al, 2019). Several glaciers have been already reduced dramatically or disappeared completely such as those in Bolivia and the one-third of the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru (Miranzo, 2015;Veettil et al, 2016;Yarleque et al, 2018).…”