Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-lvtdw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-16T22:57:54.878Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sensitivities of the equilibrium line altitude to temperature and precipitation changes along the Andes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Esteban A. Sagredo ,
Summer Rupper  and
Thomas V. Lowell
Esteban A. Sagredo*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 782-0436, Chile Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0013, USA
Summer Rupper
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Thomas V. Lowell
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0013, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 782-0436, Chile. Fax: + 56 2 552 6028. E-mail addresses:esagredo@uc.cl (E.A. Sagredo),summer_rupper@byu.edu (S. Rupper),thomas.lowell@uc.edu (T.V. Lowell).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) of alpine glaciers are sensitive indicators of climate change and have been commonly used to reconstruct paleoclimates at different temporal and spatial scales. However, accurate interpretations of ELA fluctuations rely on a quantitative understanding of the sensitivity of ELAs to changes in climate. We applied a full surface energy- and mass-balance model to quantify ELA sensitivity to temperature and precipitation changes across the range of climate conditions found in the Andes. Model results show that ELA response has a strong spatial variability across the glaciated regions of South America. This spatial variability correlates with the distribution of the present-day mean climate conditions observed along the Andes. We find that ELAs respond linearly to changes in temperature, with the magnitude of the response being prescribed by the local lapse rates. ELA sensitivities to precipitation changes are nearly linear and are inversely correlated with the emissivity of the atmosphere. Temperature sensitivities are greatest in the inner tropics; precipitation becomes more important in the subtropics and northernmost mid-latitudes. These results can be considered an important step towards developing a framework for understanding past episodes of glacial fluctuations and ultimately for predicting glacier response to future climate changes.

Keywords

AndesAndean glaciersGlacier sensitivityEquilibrium line altitudeClimate change
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 81 , Issue 2 , March 2014 , pp. 355 - 366
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ammann, C., Jenny, B., Kammer, K., and Messerli, B. Late Quaternary glacier response to humidity changes in the arid Andes of Chile (18–29°S). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 172, (2001). 313–326.Google Scholar
Anderson, L.S., Roe, G.H., and Anderson, R.S. The effects of interannual climate variability on the moraine record. Geology 42, (2014). 55–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benn, D.I., and Gemmell, A.M. Calculating equilibrium-line altitudes of former glaciers by the balance ratio method: a new computer spreadsheet. Glacial Geology and Geomorphology 7, (1997). Google Scholar
Benn, D.I., Owen, L.A., Osmaston, H.A., Seltzer, G.O., Porter, S.C., and Mark, B. Reconstruction of equilibrium-line altitudes for tropical and subtropical glaciers. Quaternary International 138–139, (2005). 8–21.Google Scholar
Bolch, T., Kulkarni, A., Kääb, A., Huggel, C., Paul, F., Cogley, J., Frey, H., Kargel, J., Fujita, K., and Scheel, M. The state and fate of Himalayan glaciers. Science 336, (2012). 310–314.Google Scholar
Braithwaite, R.J., and Zhang, Y. Sensitivity of mass balance of five Swiss glaciers to temperature change assessed by tuning a degree-day-model. Journal of Glaciology 46, (2000). 7–14.Google Scholar
Casassa, G., Haeberlib, W., Jones, G., Kaser, G., Ribstein, P., Rivera, A., and Schneider, C. Current status of Andean glaciers. Global and Planetary Change 59, (2007). 1–9.Google Scholar
Cogley, J.G. A more complete version of the World Glacier Inventory. Annals of Glaciology 50, (2009). 32–38.Google Scholar
Cuffey, K., and Paterson, W. The Physics of Glaciers. (2010). Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
De Woul, M., and Hock, R. Static mass-balance sensitivity of Arctic glaciers and ice caps using a degree-day approach. Annals of Glaciology 42, (2005). 217–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyurgerov, M.B., and Meier, M.F. Twentieth century climate change: evidence from small glaciers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97, (2000). 1406–1411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Favier, V., Wagnon, P., and Ribstein, P. Glaciers of the outer and inner tropics: a different behaviour but a common response to climatic forcing. Geophysical Research Letters 31, (2004). 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fujita, K. Effect of precipitation seasonality on climate sensitivity of glacier mass balance. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 276, (2008). 14–19.Google Scholar
Fujita, K. Influence of precipitation seasonality on glacier mass balance and its sensitivity to climate change. Annals of Glaciology 48, (2008). 88–92.Google Scholar
Gardner, A.S., Moholdt, G., Cogley, J.G., Wouters, B., Arendt, A.A., Wahr, J., Berthier, E., Hock, R., Pfeffer, W.T., Kaser, G., Ligtenberg, S.R.M., Bolch, T., Sharp, M.J., Hagen, J.O., van den Broeke, M.R., and Paul, F. A reconciled estimate of glacier contributions to sea level rise: 2003 to 2009. Science 340, (2013). 852–857.Google Scholar
Glasser, N., Harrison, S., Jansson, K.N., Anderson, K., and Cowley, A. Global sea-level contribution from the Patagonian Icefields since the Little Ice Age maximum. Nature Geoscience 4, (2011). 303–307.Google Scholar
Golledge, N.R., Mackintosh, A.N., Anderson, B.M., Buckley, K.M., Doughty, A.M., Barrell, D.J., Denton, G.H., Vandergoes, M.J., Andersen, B.G., and Schaefer, J.M. Last Glacial Maximum climate in New Zealand inferred from a modelled Southern Alps icefield. Quaternary Science Reviews 46, (2012). 30–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Google Inc., Google Earth (Version 5.1) [Software]. Available at http://www.google.com/intl/es/earth/index.html (2009). Google Scholar
Hartmann, D.L. Global Physical Climatology. (1994). Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Huybers, K., and Roe, G.H. Spatial patterns of glaciers in response to spatial patterns in regional climate. Journal of Climate 22, (2009). 4606–4620.Google Scholar
IAHS (ICSI)/UNEP/UNESCO, Fluctuations of Glaciers 1980–1985. (1988). UNESCO, Paris.Google Scholar
IPCC, Working Group I Report “The Physical Science Basis”. Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007. (2007). Elsevier Inc., Cambridge.Google Scholar
Jomelli, V., Favier, V., Rabatel, A., Brunstein, D., Hoffmann, G., and Francou, B. Fluctuations of glaciers in the tropical Andes over the last millennium and palaeoclimatic implications: a review. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 281, (2009). 269–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kääb, A., Berthier, E., Nuth, C., Gardelle, J., and Arnaud, Y. Contrasting patterns of early twenty-first-century glacier mass change in the Himalayas. Nature 488, (2012). 495–498.Google Scholar
Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, S., White, G., Woollen, J., Zhu, Y., Leetmaa, A., Reynolds, R., Chelliah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Higgins, W., Janowiak, J., Mo, K.C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Jenne, R., and Joseph, D. The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 77, (1996). 437–471.Google Scholar
Kaser, G. Glacier–climate interaction at low latitudes. Journal of Glaciology 47, (2001). 195–204.Google Scholar
Kaser, G., and Osmaston, H. Tropical Glaciers. (2002). Elsevier Inc., Cambridge.Google Scholar
Kayastha, R.B., Ohata, T., and Ageta, Y. Application of a mass-balance model to a Himalayan glacier. Journal of Glaciology 45, (1999). 559–567.Google Scholar
Klein, A.G., Seltzer, G.O., and Isacks, B.L. Modern and last local glacial maximum snowlines in the Central Andes of Perú, Bolivia, and northern Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews 18, (1999). 63–84.Google Scholar
Kull, C., Imhof, S., Grosjean, M., Zech, R., and Veit, H. Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Central Andes: temperature versus humidity control. A case study from the eastern Bolivian Andes (17°S) and regional synthesis. Global and Planetary Change 60, (2008). 148–164.Google Scholar
Masiokas, M.H., Rivera, A., Espizua, L.E., Villalba, R., Delgado, S., and Aravena, J.C. Glacier fluctuations in extratropical South America during the past 1000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 281, (2009). 242–268.Google Scholar
Meierding, T.C. Late Pleistocene glacial equilibrium-line altitudes in the Colorado Front Range: a comparison of methods. Quaternary Research 18, (1982). 289–310.Google Scholar
Minder, J.R., Mote, P.W., and Lundquist, J.D. Surface temperature lapse rates over complex terrain: Lessons from the Cascade Mountains. Journal of Geophysical Research 115, (2010). D14122 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mölg, T., and Hardy, D.R. Ablation and associated energy balance of a horizontal glacier surface on Kilimanjaro. Journal of Geophysical Research, [Atmospheres] (2004). 109 (1984–2012) Google Scholar
New, M., Lister, D., Hulme, M., and Makin, I. A high-resolution data set of surface climate over global land areas. Climate Research 22, (2002). 1–25.Google Scholar
Nogami, M. The snow line and climate during the last glacial period in the Andes mountains. The Quaternary Research (Japan) 11, (1972). 71–80.Google Scholar
Oerlemans, J. Glaciers and Climatic Change. (2001). A.A. Balkema Publisher, Lisse.Google Scholar
Oerlemans, J. Extracting a climate signal from 169 glacier records. Science 308, (2005). 675–677.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oerlemans, J., and Fortuin, J.P.F. Sensitivity of glaciers and small ice caps to greenhouse warming. Science 258, (1992). 115–117.Google Scholar
Oerlemans, J., and Reichert, B.K. Relating glacier mass balance to meteorological data using a seasonal sensitivity characteristic. Journal of Glaciology 46, (2000). 1–6.Google Scholar
Plummer, M.A., and Phillips, F.M. A 2-D numerical model of snow/ice energy balance and ice flow for paleoclimatic interpretation of glacial geomorphic features. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, (2003). 1389–1406.Google Scholar
Porter, S.C. Equilibrium line altitudes of late Quaternary glaciers in the Southern Alps, New Zealand. Quaternary Research 5, (1975). 27–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, S.C. Snowline depression in the tropics during the last glaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 1067–1091.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raper, S.C.B., and Braithwaite, R.J. Low sea level rise projections from mountain glaciers and icecaps under global warming. Nature 439, (2006). 311–313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raup, B., Racoviteanu, A., Khalsa, S.J.S., Helm, C., Armstrong, R., and Arnaud, Y. The GLIMS geospatial glacier database: a new tool for studying glacier change. Global and Planetary Change 56, (2007). 101–110.Google Scholar
Rivera, A., Casassa, G., Acuña, C., and Lange, H. Variaciones recientes de glaciares en Chile. Revista de Investigaciones Geográficas 34, (2000). 29–60.Google Scholar
Roe, G.H. What do glaciers tell us about climate variability and climate change?. Journal of Glaciology 57, (2011). 567–578.Google Scholar
Roe, G.H., and O'Neal, M.A. The response of glaciers to intrinsic climate variability: observations and models of late-Holocene variations in the Pacific Northwest. Journal of Glaciology 55, (2009). 839–854.Google Scholar
Rolland, C. Spatial and seasonal variations of air temperature lapse rates in Alpine regions. Journal of Climate 16, (2003). 1032–1046.Google Scholar
Rupper, S., and Roe, G. Glacier changes and regional climate: a mass and energy balance approach. Journal of Climate 21, (2008). 5384–5401.Google Scholar
Rupper, S., Roe, G., and Gillespie, A. Spatial patterns of Holocene glacier advance and retreat in Central Asia. Quaternary Research 72, (2009). 337–346.Google Scholar
Sagredo, E., and Lowell, T. Climatology of Andean glaciers: a framework to understand glacier response to climate change. Global and Planetary Change 86–87, (2012). 101–109.Google Scholar
Seltzer, G.O. Climatic interpretation of the alpine snowline variations on millennial time scales. Quaternary Research 41, (1994). 154–159.Google Scholar
Senese, A., Diolaiuti, G., Mihalcea, C., and Smiraglia, C. Energy and Mass Balance of Forni Glacier (Stelvio National Park, Italian Alps) from a Four-Year Meteorological Data Record. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 44, (2012). 122–134.Google Scholar
Smith, C.A., Lowell, T.V., and Caffee, M.W. Lateglacial and Holocene cosmogenic surface exposure age glacial chronology and geomorphological evidence for the presence of cold-based glaciers at Nevado Sajama, Bolivia. Journal of Quaternary Science 24, (2008). 360–372.Google Scholar
Vergara, W., Deeb, A., Valencia, A., Bradley, R., Francou, B., Zarzar, A., Grünwaldt, A., and Haeussling, S. Economic impacts of rapid glacier retreat in the Andes. EOS 88, (2009). 261–268.Google Scholar
Vuille, M., and Ammann, C. Regional snowfall patterns in the high, arid Andes. Climate Change 36, (1997). 413–423.Google Scholar
Wallace, J.M., and Hobbs, P.V. Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey. (2006). Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
WGSM, , NSIDC, World Glacier Inventory. (1999, updated 2012). National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colorado USA. (http://dx.doi.org/10.7265/N5/NSIDC-WGI-2012-02)Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Sagredo et al. supplementary material

Appendix

Download Sagredo et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 422 KB