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Abstract
AbstractThis study presents a reconstruction of the seasonal mass balance of Glacier No. 354, located in the Akshiirak range, Kyrgyzstan, from 2003 to 2014. We use a distributed accumulation and temperature-index melt model driven by daily air temperature and precipitation from a nearby meteorological station. The model is calibrated with in situ measurements of the annual mass balance collected from 2011 to 2014. The snow-cover depletion pattern observed using satellite imagery provides additional information on the dynamics of mass change throughout the melting season. Two digital elevation models derived from high-resolution satellite stereo images acquired in 2003 and 2012 are used to calculate glacier volume change for the corresponding period. The geodetic mass change thus derived is used to validate the modelled cumulative glacier-wide balance. For the period 2003–12 we find a cumulative mass balance of –0.40±10mw.e.a-1. This result agrees well with the geodetic balance of –0.48±0.07mw.e.a-1over the same period.
Highlights
Changes in glacier mass balance directly reflect short- and long-term fluctuations of glaciers in relation to driving meteorological conditions and climate evolution (Oerlemans, 1994; Haeberli and others, 2007)
When assessing the future behaviour of a glacier, understanding its response in the past is an asset. In dry regions, such as continental central Asia, water availability is limited but water resources are essential for drinking, agricultural irrigation and energy production (Kaser and others, 2010)
Understanding the evolution of Tien Shan glaciers is of great interest, to allow greater accuracy in projections of future water availability (e.g. Unger-Shayesteh and others, 2013; Sorg and others, 2014)
Summary
Changes in glacier mass balance directly reflect short- and long-term fluctuations of glaciers in relation to driving meteorological conditions and climate evolution (Oerlemans, 1994; Haeberli and others, 2007). When assessing the future behaviour of a glacier, understanding its response in the past is an asset. In dry regions, such as continental central Asia, water availability is limited but water resources are essential for drinking, agricultural irrigation and energy production (Kaser and others, 2010). In this region, water scarcity and its seasonality could give rise to conflicts Understanding the evolution of Tien Shan glaciers is of great interest, to allow greater accuracy in projections of future water availability (e.g. Unger-Shayesteh and others, 2013; Sorg and others, 2014)
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