 |
| Titel |
Micrometeorological conditions and surface mass and energy fluxes on Lewis Glacier, Mt Kenya, in relation to other tropical glaciers |
| VerfasserIn |
L. I. Nicholson, R. Prinz, T. Mölg, G. Kaser  |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
|
| Sprache |
Englisch
|
| ISSN |
1994-0416
|
| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: The Cryosphere ; 7, no. 4 ; Nr. 7, no. 4 (2013-08-05), S.1205-1225 |
| Datensatznummer |
250085143
|
| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/tc-7-1205-2013.pdf |
|
|
|
|
|
| Zusammenfassung |
| The Lewis Glacier on Mt Kenya is one of the best-studied tropical glaciers,
but full understanding of the interaction of the glacier mass balance and its
climatic drivers has been hampered by a lack of long-term meteorological
data. Here we present 2.5 yr of meteorological data collected from the
glacier surface from October 2009 to February 2012. The location of
measurements is in the upper portion of Lewis Glacier, but this location
experiences negative annual mass balance, and the conditions are comparable to
those experienced in the lower ablation zones of South American glaciers in
the inner tropics. In the context of other glaciated mountains of equatorial
East Africa, the summit zone of Mt Kenya shows strong diurnal cycles of
convective cloud development as opposed to the Rwenzoris, where cloud cover
persists throughout the diurnal cycle, and Kilimanjaro, where clear skies
prevail. Surface energy fluxes were calculated for the meteorological station
site using a physical mass- and energy-balance model driven by measured
meteorological data and additional input parameters that were determined by
Monte Carlo optimization. Sublimation rate was lower than those reported on
other tropical glaciers, and melt rate was high throughout the year, with the
glacier surface reaching the melting point on an almost daily basis. Surface
mass balance is influenced by both solid precipitation and air temperature,
with radiation providing the greatest net source of energy to the surface.
Cloud cover typically reduces the net radiation balance compared to clear-sky
conditions, and thus the frequent formation of convective clouds over the
summit of Mt Kenya and the associated higher rate of snow accumulation are
important in limiting the rate of mass loss from the glacier surface. The
analyses shown here form the basis for future glacier-wide mass and energy
balance modeling to determine the climate proxy offered by the glaciers of Mt
Kenya. |
| |
|
| Teil von |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|