Mass-balance reconstruction for Glacier No. 354, Tien Shan, from 2003 to 2014

Kronenberg, Marlene; Barandun, Martina; Hoelzle, Martin; Huss, Matthias; Farinotti, Daniel; Azisov, Erlan; Usubaliev, Ryskul; Gafurov, Abror; Petrakov, Dmitry; Kääb, Andreas

doi:10.3189/2016AoG71A032

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Journal article

Mass-balance reconstruction for Glacier No. 354, Tien Shan, from 2003 to 2014

Kronenberg, Marlene Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Barandun, Martina Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Hoelzle, Martin Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Huss, Matthias Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Switzerland - Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Farinotti, Daniel Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland - German Research Center for Geoscience (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany
Azisov, Erlan Central Asian Institute of Applied Geosciences (CAIAG), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Usubaliev, Ryskul Central Asian Institute of Applied Geosciences (CAIAG), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Gafurov, Abror German Research Center for Geoscience (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany
Petrakov, Dmitry Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Kääb, Andreas Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Norway

01.03.2016

Published in:

Annals of Glaciology. - 2016, vol. 57, no. 71, p. 92–102

English This 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.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Géosciences

Language