Spatial patterns of North Atlantic Oscillation influence on mass balance variability of European glaciers

We present and validate a set of minimal models of glacier mass balance variability. The most skillful model is then applied to reconstruct 7735 individual time series of mass balance variability for all glaciers in the European Alps and Scandinavia. Subsequently, we investigate the influence of atmospheric variability associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the glaciers' mass balances. <br><br> We find a spatial coherence in the glaciers' sensitivity to NAO forcing which is caused by regionally similar mechanisms relating the NAO forcing to the mass balance: in southwestern Scandinavia, winter precipitation causes a correlation of mass balances with the NAO. In northern Scandinavia, temperature anomalies outside the core winter season cause an anti-correlation between NAO and mass balances. In the western Alps, both temperature and winter precipitation anomalies lead to a weak anti-correlation of mass balances with the NAO, while in the eastern Alps, the influences of winter precipitation and temperature anomalies tend to cancel each other, and only on the southern side a slight anti-correlation of mass balances with the NAO prevails

Evidence for rapid paraglacial formation of rock glaciers in southern Norway from 10Be surface-exposure dating

We evaluate the timing and environmental controls on past rock-glacier activity at Øyberget, upper Ottadalen, southern Norway, using in situ 10Be surface-exposure dating on (1) boulders belonging to relict rock-glacier lobes at c. 530 m asl, (2) bedrock and boulder surfaces at the Øyberget summit (c. 1200 m asl), and (3) bedrock at an up-valley site (c. 615 m asl). We find that the rock-glacier lobes became inactive around 11.1 ± 1.2 ka, coeval with the timing of summit deglaciation (11.2 ± 0.7 ka). This is slightly older than previously published Schmidt-hammer surface-exposure ages. The timing does not match known climatic conditions promoting rock-glacier formation in the early Holocene; hence we infer that lobe formation resulted from enhanced debris supply and burial of residual ice during and soon after deglaciation. The results demonstrate that rock glaciers may form over a relatively short period of time (hundreds rather than thousands of years) under non-permafrost conditions and possibly indicate a paraglacial type of process

Earthquake-induced landslides in Norway

Norway is located in an intraplate setting with low-to-moderate seismicity. The mountainous landscape leads to a high level of landside activity throughout the country. Earthquake-induced landslides (EQILs) are common in seismically active areas, but there are only a few studies of EQILs in intraplate regions. We systematically analyse all earthquakes in Norway with magnitudes ≥ 4.5 in the time period 1800–2021 CE. For each event we search for reports of EQILs in the available macroseismic data and in the Norwegian landslide database. We furthermore consider precipitation data from the Norwegian Centre for Climate Services to evaluate the role of precipitation in the triggering of the identified potential EQILs. Through this approach, we identify 22 EQILs that have been triggered by eight earthquakes in the magnitude range 4.5–5.9. The events are widely distributed in northern and southern Norway. The maximum landslide distance limits and landslide-affected areas are much larger than those found in empirical studies of global datasets and are in agreement with data from other intraplate regions. For four of the earthquakes, it seems that landslide triggering was due to a combined effect of precipitation and earthquake ground shaking. Our observations confirm that intraplate earthquakes have the potential to trigger EQILs over large distances, most likely due to the low ground motion attenuation in such regions. Slope susceptibility seems to be another important factor in the triggering. Our conclusions demonstrate the importance of considering EQIL potential in earthquake risk management in intraplate regions.</p

A reconstruction of Jostedalsbreen during the Little Ice Age and geometric changes to outlet glaciers since then

Mountain glaciers and ice caps are undergoing rapid mass loss but rates of present-day changes and models of future projections both lack long-term (centennial-scale) context. Here, we reconstruct the maximum glacier extent and ice surface of Jostedalsbreen, which is the largest ice mass in mainland Europe, during the Little Ice Age (LIA) ∼ 1740 to 1860. The LIA maximum ice-covered area was 568 km2 and the LIA ice volume was between 61 km3 and 91 km3. We show that the major outlet glaciers have lost at least 110 km2 or 19% of their LIA area and 14 km3 or 18% of their LIA volume until 2006. The largest proportional changes for individual outlet glaciers are associated with the loss of ice falls and consequent disconnection of tributaries. Glacier-specific hypsometry changes suggest a mean rise in ELA of 135 m but there is wide inter-glacier variability. A median date for the LIA of 1755 suggests that the long-term rate of ice mass loss has been 0.05 m w.e. a−1. That long-term rate is virtually the same as modern rates, which contrasts with findings of other studies around the world reporting acceleration of glacier mass loss rates since the LIA. Overall, we highlight the utility of geomorphological-based reconstructions of glaciers for understanding and quantifying long-term (centennial-scale) responses to climate and hence for understanding of meltwater production and proglacial landscape evolution

Identifying climate change information needs for the himalayan region: Results from the GLACINDIA Stakeholder Workshop and Training Program

Here we present results of a workshop designed to bring together stakeholders from different states of the Indian side of the Himalayan arc and an international group of climate scientists in order to discuss how climate change research for this region can be tailored toward the needs of local communities. The stakeholder workshop was jointly organized by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India, and the Climate Service Center 2.0, Hamburg, Germany, within the framework of the multidisciplinary international research project GLACINDIA. The project focuses on the water-related effects of changes in glacier mass balance and river runoff in western Himalayas. Given the research focus of the GLACINDIA project, the initial focus of the workshop was on glacier-related hydrological information. During stakeholder interactions the resulting discussion covered a much broader range of urgent climate change information needs for the Himalayan region.publishedVersio

An Assessment of Geophysical Survey Techniques for Characterising the Subsurface Around Glacier Margins, and Recommendations for Future Applications

Geophysical surveys provide an efficient and non-invasive means of studying subsurface conditions in numerous sedimentary settings. In this study, we explore the application of three geophysical methods to a proglacial environment, namely ground penetrating radar (GPR), seismic refraction and multi-channel analysis of surface waves (MASW). We apply these geophysical methods to three glacial landforms with contrasting morphologies and sedimentary characteristics, and we use the various responses to assess the applicability and limitations of each method for these proglacial targets. Our analysis shows that GPR and seismic (refraction and MASW) techniques can provide spatially extensive information on the internal architecture and composition of moraines, but careful survey designs are required to optimise data quality in these geologically complex environments. Based on our findings, we define a number of recommendations and a potential workflow to guide future geophysical investigations in analogous settings. We recommend the initial use of GPR in future studies of proglacial environments to inform (a) seismic survey design and (b) the selection of seismic interpretation techniques. We show the benefits of using multiple GPR antenna frequencies (e.g., 25 and 100 MHz) to provide decimetre scale imaging in the near surface (e.g., < 15 m) while also enabling signal penetration to targets at up to ∼40 m depth (e.g., bedrock). This strategy helps to circumvent changes in radar signal penetration resulting from variations in substrate conductivity or abundant scatterers. Our study also demonstrates the importance of combining multiple geophysical methods together with ground-truthing through sedimentological observations to reduce ambiguity in interpretations. Implementing our recommendations will improve geophysical survey practice in the field of glacial geology and allow geophysical methods to play an increasing role in the interpretation of glacial landforms and sediments.publishedVersio

Subglacial sediment distribution from constrained seismic inversion, using MuLTI software: Examples from Midtdalsbreen, Norway

Fast ice flow is associated with the deformation of subglacial sediment. Seismic shear velocities, Vs, increase with the rigidity of material and hence can be used to distinguish soft sediment from hard bedrock substrates. Depth profiles of Vs can be obtained from inversions of Rayleigh wave dispersion curves, from passive or active-sources, but these can be highly ambiguous and lack depth sensitivity. Our novel Bayesian transdimensional algorithm, MuLTI, circumvents these issues by adding independent depth constraints to the inversion, also allowing comprehensive uncertainty analysis. We apply MuLTI to the inversion of a Rayleigh wave dataset, acquired using active-source (Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves) techniques, to characterise sediment distribution beneath the frontal margin of Midtdalsbreen, an outlet of Norway's Hardangerjøkulen ice cap. Ice thickness (0–20 m) is constrained using co-located GPR data. Outputs from MuLTI suggest that partly-frozen sediment (Vs 500–1000 m s−1), overlying bedrock (Vs 2000–2500 m s−1), is present in patches with a thickness of ~4 m, although this approaches the resolvable limit of our Rayleigh wave frequencies (14–100 Hz). Uncertainties immediately beneath the glacier bed are <280 m s−1, implying that MuLTI cannot only distinguish bedrock and sediment substrates but does so with an accuracy sufficient for resolving variations in sediment properties

Pervasive cold ice within a temperate glacier-implications for glacier thermal regimes, sediment transport and foreland geomorphology

© Author(s) 2019. Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.This study suggests that cold-ice processes may be more widespread than previously assumed, even within temperate glacial systems. We present the first systematic mapping of cold ice at the snout of the temperate glacier Midtdalsbreen, an outlet of the Hardangerjøkulen icefield (Norway), from 43 line kilometres of ground-penetrating radar data. Results show a 40 m wide cold-ice zone within the majority of the glacier snout, where ice thickness is <10 m. We interpret ice to be cold-based across this zone, consistent with basal freeze-on processes involved in the deposition of moraines. We also find at least two zones of cold ice up to 15 m thick within the ablation area, occasionally extending to the glacier bed. There are two further zones of cold ice up to 30 m thick in the accumulation area, also extending to the glacier bed. Cold-ice zones in the ablation area tend to correspond to areas of the glacier that are covered by late-lying seasonal snow patches that reoccur over multiple years. Subglacial topography and the location of the freezing isotherm within the glacier and underlying subglacial strata likely influence the transport and supply of supraglacial debris and formation of controlled moraines. The wider implication of this study is the possibility that, with continued climate warming, temperate environments with primarily temperate glaciers could become polythermal in forthcoming decades with (i) persisting thinning and (ii) retreat to higher altitudes where subglacial permafrost could be and/or become more widespread. Adversely, the number and size of late-lying snow patches in ablation areas may decrease and thereby reduce the extent of cold ice, reinforcing the postulated change in the thermal regime.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Schmidt-hammer exposure ages from periglacial patterned ground (sorted circles) in Jotunheimen, Norway, and their interpretative problems

© 2016 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography Periglacial patterned ground (sorted circles and polygons) along an altitudinal profile at Juvflya in central Jotunheimen, southern Norway, is investigated using Schmidt-hammer exposure-age dating (SHD). The patterned ground surfaces exhibit R-value distributions with platycurtic modes, broad plateaus, narrow tails, and a negative skew. Sample sites located between 1500 and 1925 m a.s.l. indicate a distinct altitudinal gradient of increasing mean R-values towards higher altitudes interpreted as a chronological function. An established regional SHD calibration curve for Jotunheimen yielded mean boulder exposure ages in the range 6910 ± 510 to 8240 ± 495 years ago. These SHD ages are indicative of the timing of patterned ground formation, representing minimum ages for active boulder upfreezing and maximum ages for the stabilization of boulders in the encircling gutters. Despite uncertainties associated with the calibration curve and the age distribution of the boulders, the early-Holocene age of the patterned ground surfaces, the apparent cessation of major activity during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) and continuing lack of late-Holocene activity clarify existing understanding of the process dynamics and palaeoclimatic significance of large-scale sorted patterned ground as an indicator of a permafrost environment. The interpretation of SHD ages from patterned ground surfaces remains challenging, however, owing to their diachronous nature, the potential for a complex history of formation, and the influence of local, non-climatic factors

Accounting for the increasing benefits from scarce ecosystems

Governments are catching up with economic theory and practice by increasingly integrating ecosystem service values into national planning processes, including benefitcost analyses of public policies. Such analyses require information not only about today’s benefits from ecosystem services but also on how benefits change over time. We address a key limitation of existing policy guidance, which assumes that benefits from ecosystem services remain unchanged. We provide a practical rule that is grounded in economic theory and evidence-based as a guideline for how benefits change over time: They rise as societies get richer and even more so when ecosystem services are declining. Our proposal will correct a substantial downward bias in currently used estimates of future ecosystem service values. This will help governments to reflect the importance of ecosystems more accurately in benefit-cost analyses and policy decisions they inform