Annual cycle of energy balance of Zongo Glacier, Cordillera Real, Bolivia

Abstract

An 18‐month meteorological data set recorded at 5150 m above sea level (asl) on Zongo Glacier, in the tropical Andes of Bolivia, is used to derive the annual cycle of the local energy balance and to compare it to the local mass balance. The roughness parameters needed to calculate the turbulent fluxes over the surface are deduced from direct sublimation measurements performed regularly on the field site and serve as calibration parameters. For the hydrological year September 1996 to August 1997, net all‐wave radiation (16.5 W m−2) is the main source of energy at the glacier surface and shows strong fluctuations in relation to the highly variable albedo. An important peculiarity of tropical glaciers is the negative latent heat flux (−17.7 W m−2) indicating strong sublimation, particularly during the dry season. The latent heat flux is reduced during the wet season because of a lower vertical gradient of humidity. The sensible heat flux (6.0 W m−2), continuously positive throughout the year, and the conductive heat flux in the snow/ice (2.8 W m−2) also bring energy to the surface. There is a good agreement between the monthly ablation calculated by the energy balance and the ablation evaluated from stake measurements. The seasonality of the proglacial stream runoff is controlled by the specific humidity, responsible for the sharing of the energy between sublimation and melting.