Abstract
AbstractIn this work we tested the suitability of thermistor strings as automatic tools for the continuous measurement of glacier ice ablation. Experimental data collected in summer 2017 over an Italian glacier provided ice ablation readings with accuracy similar to manual measurements with ablation stakes and other automatic systems, like the draw-wire method and the Bøggild ablatometer. Thermistor strings have potential for future applications in remote glacier monitoring, thanks to their flexibility, simple construction, and robustness.
Highlights
The determination of glacier mass balance using the glaciological method (Østrem and Brugman, 1991; Kaser and others, 2003) is based on point measurements of accumulation and ablation at representative sites over monitored glaciers
Based on previous applications of vertical thermistors arrays for automatic snow depth measurements, this paper evaluates the possibility of using thermistor strings as a new automatic tool for the continuous measurement of glacier ice ablation
A thermistor string was tested in summer 2017 on an Italian glacier, assessing its reliability by means of sonic ranger data and ablation stake readings collected at the same experimental site
Summary
The determination of glacier mass balance using the glaciological method (Østrem and Brugman, 1991; Kaser and others, 2003) is based on point measurements of accumulation and ablation at representative sites over monitored glaciers. Ice melt is usually measured using ablation stakes inserted into drillholes. Maintaining and measuring ablation stakes is labour-intensive, especially with high melt rates, large glacier areas and danger in remote and crevassed areas. Continuous monitoring of glacier mass balance using automatic devices, possibly with remote communication, has considerable potential for overcoming these limitations, and for obtaining mass-balance data with high temporal resolution in real time (e.g. Huss and others, 2013). Combining remotely-sensed snow cover mapping with automatic measurements of ablation gradients could make the extrapolation of mass balance over unsampled areas easier and more reliable Continuous ablation measurements provide key observations for melt model development and testing (Hulth, 2010)
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