An improved method based on shallow ice approximation to calculate ice thickness along flow-line and volume of mountain glaciers

Abstract

To evaluate the water storage and project the future evolution of glaciers, the ice-thickness of glaciers is an essential input. However, direct measurements of ice thickness are laborious, not feasible everywhere, and necessarily restricted to a small number of glaciers. In this article, we develop a simple method to estimate the ice-thickness along flow-line of mountain glaciers. Different from the traditional method based on shallow ice approximation (SIA), which gives a relationship between ice thickness, surface slope, and yield stress of glaciers, the improved method considers and presents a simple way to calibrate the influence of valley wall on ice discharge. The required inputs are the glacier surface topography and outlines. This shows the potential of the method for estimating the ice-thickness distribution and volume of glaciers without using of direct thickness measurements.