Cold Firn in the Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa Areas, European Alps: Spatial
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Annals of Glaciology 35 2002 # InternationalGlaciological Society Cold firn in theMont Blanc and MonteRosa areas,European Alps: spatial distribution and statisticalmodels Stephan SUTER,* Martin HOELZLEÀ Versuchsanstalt fu rWasserbau,Hydrologie und Glaziologie,Eidgeno ssischeTechnische Hochschule,ETH-Zentrum,CH-8092 Zu rich,Switzerland E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT.Near-surface firntemperatures weremeasured in22steam-drilled bore- holesin the summit regionof Mont Blanc(F ranceand I taly)at 3800^4800 m a.s.l.in June 1998and in 3 1boreholesin the Monte Rosaarea (Italy and Switzerland )at3900 ^ 4500m a.s.l.in May^July1 999.Borehole temperatures were loggedto 22 m depth.The temperatures at1 8mdepthranged between temperate conditionsand approximately ^15³C. In a small altitudeband, the observeddistribution pattern suggests astronginflu- ence ofshortwaveradiation and turbulent heatexchange (being generally more effective atwind-exposed sites) .Thesetwo energy fluxes mainly determine the melt-energy input intothe snowand firn during summer and,thereby ,the measured near-surfacetempera- tures. Astatistical analysisof the measured firntemperatures revealedaltitude-dependent firntemperature gradientsof ^1.48and of ^2.36³ C (100m) ^1 forthe Mont Blancand Monte Rosaareas, respectively .Thehigh lapse rates, ascomparedto the air-temperature lapserate, arethe result ofenglaciallatent-heat contribution.The parameters elevation, potentialdirect solarradiation, slope and accumulation explain 480%of the variation ofthe meanannual firn temperatures. Aspect-dependent lowerboundaries for the cold- firnoccurrence inthe twoareas ranged between 3500 and 4 100ma.s.l. INTRODUCTION observedsurface and air temperatures dueto release oflatent heatwithin the uppersnow and firn layers from penetrating Coldglaciers are a uniquearchive for climate andenviron- andrefreezing surface meltwater . mentalstudies. Near-absence ofmelt guaranteesa continuous The MAFT is mainlya result ofthe energyand mass recordof the climate andenvironmental history in the firn balanceat the glaciersurface. Important parameters affect- andice. Incontrast tothe polarregions of Greenland and ing the MAFT aremean annual air temperature (MAAT), Antarctica,relatively little is knownabout the spatialdistri- radiationflux, volume and seasonality of accumulation/ butionof negative firn temperatures inthe EuropeanAlps ablation,volume of penetrating and refreezing meltwater , andmany other mountain ranges. Knowledge of the relevant topographiclocation (hollow or ridge) and wind effects atmosphericand englacial processes leadingto the formation (Aleanand others, 1984;Suter andothers, 2001).Someof ofcoldfirn is crucialfor finding representative Alpinecore- these parameters areclosely linked to each other (e.g .topog- drillingsites andfor assessing possiblethermal consequences raphy,windeffects andvolume of snow deposition) .Other forthese sites inview of a potentialclimate change. parameters that mayinfluence the near-surfacethermal Inorder to quantify firn and ice temperatures amean regime areglacier flow velocity ,extensionand characteris- annualfirn temperature (MAFT)can be defined. Seasonal tics ofthe catchment basin(e.g. snow avalanches) ,firnand surface temperature fluctuationsare normally reflected ice deformation,ground heat flux and occurrence of withinthe uppermost10^20m ofthe firn.The MAFT is found crevassed zones(Suter andothers, 2001). ata depthwhere seasonal temperature fluctuationsvanish or , Fora longtime it wasassumed that glaciersin the Alps inpractice, where they are within the accuracyrange of the weregenerally temperate, althoughV allot( 1893,1913) measurement. Inthe recrystallizationzone (Shumskii, 1 964), reported coldfirn in the MontBlanc massif asearlyas the the MAFT is veryclose to the observedsurface or air tem- turn ofthe 20thcentury .Discussion ofcold firn and ice in perature.In the recrystallization-infiltrationand cold-firn the Alpswas reanimated by investigations in the MonteR osa zones(Shumskii, 1 964),the MAFT isnormallyhigher than area(Fisher ,1953,1954,1 955,1963)andin the Jungfrauarea (Haeberli andBrentani, 1955).Haeberli( 1976)andLliboutry andothers (1976)wereamong the first tosystematically assess the distributionof cold firn and ice inthe Alps.Inthe past, * extensivefirn- andice-temperature measurements werepre- Present address: MeteoSwiss, P.O.Box5 14,CH-8044 dominantlycarried out at locations of specific practicalor Zu« rich, Switzerland. scientific interest inconnection with construction work (e.g . À Present address: GeographischesInstitut, Universita « t Haefeliand Brentani, 1955;Haeberliand others, 1979),glacier Zu« rich-Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190,CH-805 7Zu « rich, risk prevention(Lu « thi andF unk,1 997)andhigh-alpine core Switzerland. drillings(e.g .Oeschger andothers, 1978;Alean and others, 9 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. 03 Oct 2021 at 03:19:01, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use. Suterand Hoelzle:Coldfirn in Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa areas inthe Mont Blancarea, W estern Alps(F ranceand I taly), andin the Monte Rosaarea, Southern Alps (I talyand Switzerland).Englacialtemperature measurements were therefore madeso as to 1.measure ameanannual firn temperature; 2.coveran altitudeband as largeas possible; 3.choosesites withvarying climatic andtopographic con- ditions; 4.detect analtitude-dependent boundary between cold andtemperate firn,and 5.comparethe present-dayfirn temperatures andcold-firn occurrence withearlier observationsand models. FIELD OBSERVATIONS Fig.1.Locationof the Mont Blancand Monte Rosa studyareas. Study areas TheM ontBlanc study area ( 45³50 ’30’’ N, 6³51’00’’ E; Figs 1 1984;Haeberli and F unk,1 991;Vincent andothers, 1997).A and2 )coversabout 3 km 2 andis locatedto the northof the scheme forthe spatialdistribution of cold firn and ice wasout- MontBlanc summit. Itextendsfrom about 3800 to 4800 m linedby Hooke and others (1983)includingnear -surface tem- a.s.l.and comprises the accumulationareas of Glaciers de peratures ofalpine and polar regions, and by Haeberli and Bionnassay,deTaconnazand des Bossons,as wellas the sum- Alean( 1985)focusingon firn and ice temperatures fromthe mits ofM ontBlanc ( 4807m a.s.l.)andDo ªme duGou ªter Alps.Alean and others (1984)investigatedinteractions (4304m a.s.l.).Theclimate ofthe investigatedarea is charac- betweensnow deposition, firn temperature andsolar radi- terized byalmost constantly negative air temperatures and ationin the ColleGnifetti (MonteR osa)area. An altitude- veryhigh wind speeds since the massif isfullyexposed to the andaspect-dependent statistical modelof the distributionof (north)westerlies and,therefore, highprecipitation rates. coldfirn and ice inaccumulation areas of the Alpswas devel- Due togenerally high wind speeds, accumulationshows a opedby Suter andothers (2001). largespatial variability from 0. 2ma ^1 w.e.at very wind- Thegoal of the present studywas to systematically exposedsites (personalcommunication from S. Preunkert, investigatethe present-dayspatial distribution of coldfirn 2001) to 4 m a^1 w.e.at wind-protected sites (Vincent and andits dependenceon climatic andtopographic variables others, 1997).Observed firnand ice depths rangefrom afew Fig.2.Boreholelocationsandobserved18mtemperatures (³C) in the Mont Blancarea,1998,showinggrid-interpolated values using aspline interpolation algorithm. ** denotes alocation with avalue measured at 8m,and *** with avalue measured at 12mdepth. 10 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. 03 Oct 2021 at 03:19:01, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use. Suter and Hoelzle:Coldfirn in Mont Blanc andMonte Rosa areas metres toabout 40 matexposed crests anddomes, and from thermistor chaintogether with the loggingunit was carefully 120 to 4200m atsaddles and basins (Vincent andothers, calibratedat several temperatures between0³ and ^1 8³C 1997;unpublisheddata) . usinga coldbath and a temperature-measuring devicecali- TheMonte Rosastudy area ( 45³55 ’20’’ N, 7³52’00’’ E; bratedat the Swiss FederalOffice ofMetrology .Theaccuracy Figs1 and3 )is about4 km 2 andcovers the accumulation ofthe calibrationis givenby the stabilityof the coldbath, the areasof the eastern partof Ghiacciaiodel L ysand of Grenz- resolutionand accuracy of the data-loggingunit, the charac- gletscher aboveapproximately 3900 m a.s.l.The climate in teristics ofthe thermistors andthe cableand the absolute the studyarea is characterizedby high-altitude conditions, accuracyof the temperature-measuring device.The absolute i.e.practically persistent sub-zero airtemperatures through- accuracyof a thermistor measurement is 0.03³C at0³ to § outthe year,relativelyhigh precipitation rates andhigh ^10³C and 0.04³C at^1 2.5³to ^20³ C. Therelative accuracy § windspeeds. Snowaccumulation is stronglyvariable, betweenthe thermistors orof one and the same thermistor rangingfrom 0.3ma ^1 w.e.at wind-exposed saddles and usingthe same measuringbridge is evenbetter , 0.02³ and ^1 § ridgesto 2^3 ma w.e.at wind-protected sites (Ga « ggeler 0.01³C, respectively . § andothers, 1983;Haeberli and others, 1983;Alean and After the steam-drillingoperation, which lasted typically others, 1984;Eichler andothers, 2000).Observed ice depths 60^90min toa depthof 22 m ,the thermistor chainwas inthe studyarea range from 40 to 1 20m atwind-exposed installedfrom 12hoursto several days after drilling.Normally, crests andsaddles and from 80 to 4200m inthe central part noliquid water was found in the boreholes,and if it occurred, ofthe firnbasins (Haeberli