SURFACE ENERGY BUDGET AND MELT AMOUNT FOR THE YEARS 2009 AND 2010 AT THE FORNI GLACIER (ITALIAN ALPS, LOMBARDY)

This paper reports the surface energy budget and the melt amount evaluated at one location at the Forni Glacier (Italian Alps, Lombardy) during the years 2009 and 2010. The analysis was supported by high resolution meteorology and energy data collected by an Automatic Weather Station (named AWS1 Forni) which has been running at the glacier surface (2669 m, ellipsoidal elevation) since 26 September 2005. The AWS is also equipped with a sonic ranger to measure snow depth and its variability. It resulted that in the years 2009 and 2010 the glacier melt at about 2700 m of altitude was equal to –11.32 m w.e.; these results were confirmed by comparisons with field ablation data collected nearby the AWS during the summer season 2009 and 2010.