Abstract
ABSTRACTIce cores from mid-latitude mountain glaciers provide detailed information on past climate conditions and regional environmental changes, which is essential for placing current climate change into a longer term perspective. In this context, it is important to define guidelines and create dedicated maps to identify suitable areas for future ice-core drillings. In this study, the suitability for ice-core drilling (SICD) of a mountain glacier is defined as the possibility of extracting an ice core with preserved stratigraphy suitable for reconstructing past climate. Morphometric and climatic variables related to SICD are selected through literature review and characterization of previously drilled sites. A quantitative Weight of Evidence method is proposed to combine selected variables (i.e. slope, local relief, temperature and direct solar radiation) to map the potential drilling sites in mid-latitude mountain glaciers. The method was first developed in the European Alps and then applied to the Asian High Mountains. Model performances and limitations are discussed and first indications of new potential drilling sites in the Asian High Mountains are provided. Results presented here can facilitate the selection of future drilling sites especially on unexplored Asian mountain glaciers towards the understanding of climate and environmental changes.
Highlights
Ice cores are excellent archives for documenting paleoclimatic conditions and for gaining a better understanding of recent climatic and environmental variability affecting wide regions of the Earth (Delmas, 1992; Alley, 2000)
We focused on non-polar mountain glaciers in the European Alps and in the Asian High Mountains due to the abundance of already drilled sites
Ice cores recovered from mid-latitude mountain glaciers are excellent archives for understanding recent climatic and environmental variability related to anthropogenic factors
Summary
Ice cores are excellent archives for documenting paleoclimatic conditions and for gaining a better understanding of recent climatic and environmental variability affecting wide regions of the Earth (Delmas, 1992; Alley, 2000). Long-term, highquality instrumental records are often available in the proximity of mountain glaciers This allows a detailed characterization of the transfer processes and the deposition rates of various atmospheric constituents through the comparison between direct measurements and ice-core data (Schotterer and others, 1997; Tian and others, 2003; Mariani and others, 2014). Mountain ice cores allow the analysis of specific meteorological processes, as the Saharan dust depositions in the Alps (Jenk and others, 2006; Thevenon and others, 2009) and Himalaya (Kaspari and others, 2009a, b) or the intensity fluctuations of the South Asian Monsoon in the Tibetan Plateau (Thompson and others, 2000; Davis and Thompson, 2005)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
