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Rounce DR, Hock R, McNabb RW, et al. Distributed Global Debris Thickness Estimates Reveal Debris Significantly Impacts Glacier Mass Balance. Geophys Res Lett. 2021;48(8):e2020GL091311doi: 10.1029/2020GL091311.
Rounce, D. R., Hock, R., McNabb, R. W., Millan, R., Sommer, C., Braun, M. H., Malz, P., Maussion, F., Mouginot, J., Seehaus, T. C., & Shean, D. E. (2021). Distributed Global Debris Thickness Estimates Reveal Debris Significantly Impacts Glacier Mass Balance. Geophysical research letters, 48(8), e2020GL091311. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091311
Rounce, D R, et al. "Distributed Global Debris Thickness Estimates Reveal Debris Significantly Impacts Glacier Mass Balance." Geophysical research letters vol. 48,8 (2021): e2020GL091311. doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091311
Rounce DR, Hock R, McNabb RW, Millan R, Sommer C, Braun MH, Malz P, Maussion F, Mouginot J, Seehaus TC, Shean DE. Distributed Global Debris Thickness Estimates Reveal Debris Significantly Impacts Glacier Mass Balance. Geophys Res Lett. 2021 Apr 28;48(8):e2020GL091311. doi: 10.1029/2020GL091311. PMID: 34219840; PMCID: PMC8244090.
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Geophys Res Lett. 2021 Apr 28;48(8):e2020GL091311. doi: 10.1029/2020GL091311.

Distributed Global Debris Thickness Estimates Reveal Debris Significantly Impacts Glacier Mass Balance.

Geophysical research letters

D R Rounce, R Hock, R W McNabb, R Millan, C Sommer, M H Braun, P Malz, F Maussion, J Mouginot, T C Seehaus, D E Shean

Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA USA.
  2. Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks AK USA.
  3. Department of Geosciences University of Oslo Oslo Norway.
  4. School of Geography and Environmental Sciences Ulster University Coleraine UK.
  5. Université Grenoble Alpes CNRS IRD, Grenoble INP, IGE Grenoble France.
  6. Institut für Geographie Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Erlangen Germany.
  7. Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences University of Innsbruck Innsbruck Austria.
  8. Department of Earth System Science University of California Irvine CA USA.
  9. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Washington Seattle WA USA.

PMID: 34219840 PMCID: PMC8244090 DOI: 10.1029/2020GL091311

Abstract

Supraglacial debris affects glacier mass balance as a thin layer enhances surface melting, while a thick layer reduces it. While many glaciers are debris-covered, global glacier models do not account for debris because its thickness is unknown. We provide the first globally distributed debris thickness estimates using a novel approach combining sub-debris melt and surface temperature inversion methods. Results are evaluated against observations from 22 glaciers. We find the median global debris thickness is ∼0.15 ± 0.06 m. In all regions, the net effect of accounting for debris is a reduction in sub-debris melt, on average, by 37%, which can impact regional mass balance by up to 0.40 m water equivalent (w.e.) yr

© 2021. The Authors.

Keywords: debris thickness; glacier melt; glaciers; mass balance

References

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  3. Nature. 2012 Aug 23;488(7412):495-8 - PubMed
  4. Nature. 2017 Sep 13;549(7671):257-260 - PubMed
  5. Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 2;9(1):18145 - PubMed

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