Meteorological controls on glacier mass balance in High Asia

Publisher： International Glaciological Society

ISSN： 1727-5644

Source： Annals of Glaciology, Vol.54, Iss.63, 2013-07, pp. : 352-359

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate spatial and temporal variations of meteorological variables known to control glacier mass-balance processes, and to demonstrate their relevance in High Asia. The study uses the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis database (US National Centers for Environmental Prediction and US National Center for Atmospheric Research), which is global and continuous since 1 January 1948. A positive degree-day (PDD) model of annual glacier-wide summer surface balance, B_s, uses upper-air temperatures at NCEP/NCAR gridpoints near each of six glaciers between 40 and 45°N and between 71 and 87°E and two others near 50°N, 87°E. Model error ranged between 0.19 and 0.41 m w.e., comparable with the observational accuracy of B_s. Sensitivity to temperature change, dB_s/d_T, ranges between -0.5 and -0.2 m w.e.a^-1°C^-1 for these glaciers.