Reconstruction of mass balance variations for Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand, 1913 to 1989
- McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
- Univ. of Otago, Dunedin (New Zealand)
A model of mass balance is constructed for the Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of New Zealand. It uses daily data from a nearby, but short-record climate station. The model is extended back to 1913 by creating hybrid climate data from a long-record, but more distant, climate station. Its monthly data provide long-term temperature and precipitation trends, and daily fluctuations are simulated using a stochastic approach that is tuned to the characteristics of the short-record station. The glacier model provides estimates of equilibrium-line altitudes which are in reasonable agreement with those observed, and variations of cumulative mass balance that correspond with patterns of advance and retreat of the glacier terminus.
- OSTI ID:
- 6709836
- Journal Information:
- Arctic and Alpine Research (Boulder, Colorado); (United States), Vol. 24:4; ISSN 0004-0851
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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