A coupled snow-energy balance and glacier evolution model in the Alpine environment
Assigned Session: Open Poster Session
Abstract ID: 3.136
| Accepted as Poster
| TBA
| TBA
Baig, S. (1)
Goldberg, D. (1); Recinos Rivas, B. (1); and Essery, R. (2)
(1) University of Edinburgh, School of Geoscience, Drummond Street, EH8 Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
(2) University of Edinburgh, School of Geoscience, The King's Buildings Alexander Crum Brown Road, Scotland, United Kingdom
(2) University of Edinburgh, School of Geoscience, The King's Buildings Alexander Crum Brown Road, Scotland, United Kingdom
How to cite: Baig, S.; Goldberg, D.; Recinos Rivas, B.; and Essery, R.: A coupled snow-energy balance and glacier evolution model in the Alpine environment, #RMC26-3.136
Abstract
Glacier evolution modelling employs either temperature-index (TI) or energy-balance
formulations. Temperature-index requires only air temperature to simulate melt. However, the
parameters on which it depends (e.g. the Degree-Day factor) do not have any physical basis and
arise simply from calibration – and are expected to vary on a glacier-by-glacier basis, forcing
any projections made to rely on a curve-fitting exercise that may not apply in the future.
Energy-balance modelling takes account of transfer of heat through radiation and convection,
and in general processes within the snowpack such as refreezing. The former is very
computationally inexpensive and is used far more widely; while the latter is computationally
more expensive and requires more atmospheric inputs (often at higher frequencies) but is more
physically-based and more likely to apply to future scenarios.
This study integrates a energy-balance snow/glacier column model, factorial snowpack model
(FSM), with a glacier evolution model, the Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM). Typically,
OGGM uses temperature-index technique (i.e. TI-OGGM) while this study replaces it with
FSM. Both are extremely computationally efficient. Additionally, FSM-OGGM generates
output at daily scale (instead of monthly outputs of OGGM), which is beneficial to hydrological
modelling. Here we carry out a comparison between TI-OGGM and FSM-OGGM applied to
the Rofental catchment, Austria. Climate data from the GSWP3-W5E5 are used as reference
from 1980 to 2020; TI-OGGM is calibrated to the region while FSM-OGGM is not. Both
models agree well with glacier-wide mass balance over this period, but both show large
deviations from observations when mass-balance profiles are considered, and this has impact
on modelled retreat. The results indicate shortcomings in the FSM-OGGM, but ones which can
be addressed by improved calibration; this is a subject of ongoing effort.
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