Energy and Mass Balance of Forni Glacier (Stelvio National Park, Italian Alps) from a Four-Year Meteorological Data Record
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2012
Citazione:
Energy and Mass Balance of Forni Glacier (Stelvio National Park, Italian Alps)
from a Four-Year Meteorological Data Record / A. Senese, G. Diolaiuti, C. Mihalcea, C. Smiraglia. - In: ARCTIC ANTARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH. - ISSN 1523-0430. - 44:1(2012), pp. 122-134. [10.1657/1938-4246-44.1.122]
Abstract:
Since 26 September 2005 an Automatic Weather Station (AWS1 Forni) has been
running on the ablation area of the largest Italian valley glacier, Forni, in the Ortles–
Cevedale Group. A 4-year record (from 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2009) of air
temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, incoming and outgoing
radiative fluxes, air pressure, liquid precipitation, and snow depth is considered. The
meteorological data are analyzed to describe glacier surface conditions, to calculate
the energy balance, and to evaluate the ice ablation amount. Snow accumulation was
measured, thus permitting the estimation of the glacier point mass balance.
An annual average amount of melt of 25.4 +- 0.021 m w.e. was calculated and
an annual average amount of accumulation of +0.7 +- 0.006 m w.e. was measured at
the AWS site. The annual average amount of mass balance was 24.7 +- 0.023 m w.e.
Our analyses show that surface conditions during summer and fall seasons are
important in regulating glacier albedo and then mass balance. In particular, snow
cover presence, due to a longer persistence of spring snow, summer snowfalls and
earlier fall solid precipitation, drives the duration of the ice melt period.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Elenco autori:
A. Senese, G. Diolaiuti, C. Mihalcea, C. Smiraglia
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