Abstract
With the aim of establishing a quantitative relation between equilibrium line altitude and fluctuation of climatic elements, this paper first formulates mass balance and energy balance components in a compatible form. The model is designed for seasonal averages, uses air temperature, humidity and net radiation as independent variables and needs specified turbulent transfer coefficients in order to calculate the melt rate.
Given cumulative accumulation at the equilibrium line as a further independent variable the model is used to predict the adjustment of the equilibrium line altitude following a small disturbance in one of the variables. The altitudinal mass and energy balance gradients needed for that purpose are taken from alpine observations. Model predictions are compared with 30 years observations at Hintereisferner.
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© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Kuhn, M. (1989). The Response of the Equilibrium Line Altitude to Climate Fluctuations: Theory and Observations. In: Oerlemans, J. (eds) Glacier Fluctuations and Climatic Change. Glaciology and Quaternary Geology, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7823-3_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7823-3_26
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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