Modeling the retreat of the Aneto Glacier (Spanish Pyrenees) since the Little Ice Age, and its accelerated shrinkage over recent decades
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| Autores: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2021 |
| Descripción: | The Aneto, located on the Maladeta Massif (Central Pyrenees), is the largest glacier of the Pyrenees. The glacier is 675m long, occupies an area of 48.64 ha and has a maximum altitude of 3269m. In this study, we present a detailed area, volume, ice thickness, and Equilibrium Line Altitude reconstruction of the glacier for different periods (LIA, 1957, 1983, 2000, 2006, 2015, and 2017) and analyze its retreat. To estimate the glacier extent during the LIA, the moraines were mapped by using photo interpretation techniques whereas for the recent stages digital satellite images and aerial photographs were used. Moreover, we estimated the topography of the glacier using a simple steady-state model that assumes a perfectly plastic ice rheology, which allowed reconstructing the theoretical ice profiles of the glacier. To reconstruct the ice surface, a digital elevation model was created and combined with the bedrock topography in order to obtain the ice thickness of each stage. The results of the study reveal a considerable retreat of the Aneto Glacier since the LIA. The length of the glacier has reduced from 1970 to 675m from LIA to2017, and its tongue has retreated from 2385 to 3029ma.s.l. Furthermore, the glaciated area has been reduced from 245 to 48.64 ha from LIA to 2017 and the ELA has risen from 2919 to 3139ma.s.l. The data obtained indicates that in the LIA–2017period the glacier volume has been reduced from 82.57m×106m3 to 3.48m×106m3 and the maximum ice thickness from 95 to 27m. We also reconstructed the climatic conditions, showing an increase in temperature of ~1.14°C from LIA to 2017. These data reveal a vast retreat of the glacier since the LIA, which has accelerated since the 1980’s and even more since the year 2000. |
| País: | Kérwá |
| Institución: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Kérwá |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:kerwa.ucr.ac.cr:10669/87065 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596836211011678 https://hdl.handle.net/10669/87065 https://doi.org/10.1177%2F09596836211011678 |
| Palabra clave: | Aneto Equilibrium line altitude Glacier retreat Glacier volume Ice thickness Little ice age Numerical modeling Pyrenees Altitud de la línea de equilibrio Retroceso glaciar Volumen glaciar Espesor del hielo Pequeña edad del hielo Modelización numérica Pirineos |