Glacier fluctuations in the Alps and in the tropical Andes

Christian Vincent (1) , Pierre Ribstein (2) , Vincent Favier (3) , Patrick Wagnon (1) , Bernard Francou (1) , Emmanuel Le Meur (1) , Delphine Six (1)

1 LGGE - Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement
2 SISYPHE - Structure et fonctionnement des systèmes hydriques continentaux
3 GREATICE - Glaciers et ressources en eau d'altitude - Indicateurs climatiques et environnementaux

This paper reports on glacier variations in two mountainous regions of the world, the Alps and the tropical Andes. Available records of snout position and glacier mass balance are compared and interpreted on a climatological basis. In both regions, there is a long-term decreasing trend over the 20th century. The yield of this trend is different from one glacier to the other, depending on geographic and geometric characteristics. Analysing the surface energy balance, net all wave radiation is the main energy flux at the glacier surface. The turbulent fluxes represent an important term with strong positive sensible heat flux in the Alps and strong negative latent heat flux (sublimation) in the Andes. Tropical glaciers are sensitive to inter-annual variations in solid precipitation that affects the albedo, whereas Alpine glaciers are strongly influenced by air temperature changes in the Alps.

Keywords: Glacier; Alps; Andes; Mass balance; Surface energy balance

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Glaciology

Christian Vincent, Pierre Ribstein, Vincent Favier, Patrick Wagnon, Bernard Francou, et al.. Glacier fluctuations in the Alps and in the tropical Andes. Comptes Rendus Géoscience, 2005, 337 (1-2), pp.97 à 106. ⟨10.1016/j.crte.2004.08.010⟩. ⟨insu-00375173⟩