Articles | Volume 15, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4661-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4661-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Modern air, englacial and permafrost temperatures at high altitude on Mt Ortles (3905 m a.s.l.), in the eastern European Alps
Luca Carturan
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padua, Italy
Fabrizio De Blasi
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padua, Italy
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto di Scienze Polari, c/o Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Mestre, Venice, Italy
Roberto Dinale
Ufficio Idrografico, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Gianfranco Dragà
Geo Monitoring Service s.r.l., Vicolo Santa Elisabetta 39, 39040 Varna, Bolzano, Italy
Paolo Gabrielli
Italian Glaciological Committee, c/o University of Turin, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Turin, Italy
Volkmar Mair
Ufficio Geologia e Prove Materiali, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, 39053 Cardano, Bolzano, Italy
Roberto Seppi
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy
David Tonidandel
Ufficio Geologia e Prove Materiali, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, 39053 Cardano, Bolzano, Italy
Thomas Zanoner
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Department of Geosciences, University of Padua, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padua, Italy
Tiziana Lazzarina Zendrini
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padua, Italy
Giancarlo Dalla Fontana
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padua, Italy
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Luca Carturan, Giulia Zuecco, Angela Andreotti, Jacopo Boaga, Costanza Morino, Mirko Pavoni, Roberto Seppi, Monica Tolotti, Thomas Zanoner, and Matteo Zumiani
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2689, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2689, 2024
Short summary
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Pseudo-relict rock glaciers look visually relict but contain patches of permafrost. They are poorly known in terms of permafrost content, spatial distribution and frequency. Here we use spring-water temperature for a preliminary estimate of the permafrost presence in the rock glaciers of a 795 km2 catchment in the Italian Alps. The results show that ~50 % of rock glaciers classified as relict might be pseudo-relict and might contain ~30 % of the ice stored in the rock glaciers in the study area.
Mirko Pavoni, Jacopo Boaga, Alberto Carrera, Giulia Zuecco, Luca Carturan, and Matteo Zumiani
The Cryosphere, 17, 1601–1607, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, 2023
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In the last decades, geochemical investigations at the springs of rock glaciers have been used to estimate their drainage processes, and the frozen layer is typically considered to act as an aquiclude or aquitard. In this work, we evaluated the hydraulic behavior of a mountain permafrost site by executing a geophysical monitoring experiment. Several hundred liters of salt water have been injected into the subsurface, and geoelectrical measurements have been performed to define the water flow.
Mattia Zaramella, Marco Borga, Davide Zoccatelli, and Luca Carturan
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 5251–5265, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-5251-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-5251-2019, 2019
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This paper presents TOPMELT, a parsimonious snowpack simulation model integrated into a basin-scale hydrological model. TOPMELT implements the full spatial distribution of clear-sky potential solar radiation by means of a statistical representation: this approach reduces computational burden, which is a key potential advantage when parameter sensitivity and uncertainty estimation procedures are carried out. The model is assessed by examining different resolutions of its domain.
Daniela Festi, Luca Carturan, Werner Kofler, Giancarlo dalla Fontana, Fabrizio de Blasi, Federico Cazorzi, Edith Bucher, Volkmar Mair, Paolo Gabrielli, and Klaus Oeggl
The Cryosphere, 11, 937–948, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-937-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-937-2017, 2017
Short summary
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We propose a sub-seasonal timescale based on pollen analyses for a Mt. Ortles firn core. The method can be applied to all types of glaciers, provided the proximity of the pollen source and a negligible time lag between pollen production and its deposition on the glacier. By combining pollen dating with a mass balance model we found evidence that pollen grains are resilient to downward transport by percolating water and that pollen shows a high potential for inferring past climatic conditions.
Federico Di Paolo, Barbara Cosciotti, Sebastian E. Lauro, Elisabetta Mattei, Mattia Callegari, Luca Carturan, Roberto Seppi, Francesco Zucca, and Elena Pettinelli
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-267, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-267, 2016
Preprint retracted
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Snow water equivalent is an important parameter for hydrological and climate change studies, however its measurement is tedious and time consuming. In this paper we show that it is possible to accurately measure snow water equivalent using electromagnetic methods. During a field campaign we tested the performances of traditional methods vs. those of a Ground Penetrating Radar, founding a very good agreement between the snow water equivalent values computed with the two different methods.
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New ice cores were extracted from Alto dell'Ortles, the highest glacier of South Tyrol in the Italian Alps, to check whether prehistoric ice, which is coeval to the famous 5300-yr-old Tyrolean Iceman, is still preserved in this region. Dating of the ice cores confirms the hypothesis and indicates the drilling site has been glaciated since the end of the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum (7000 yrs BP). We also infer that an unprecedented acceleration of the glacier flow has recently begun.
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Earth Surf. Dynam., 4, 425–443, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-425-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-425-2016, 2016
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We investigated the applicability of the SfM–MVS approach for calculating the geodetic mass balance of a glacier and for the detection of the surface displacement rate of an active rock glacier located in the eastern Italian Alps. The results demonstrate that it is possible to reliably quantify the investigated glacial and periglacial processes by means of a quick ground-based photogrammetric survey that was conducted using a consumer grade SRL camera and natural targets as ground control points.
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This work analyses the longer mass balance series of Italian glaciers. All glaciers experienced mass loss in the observation period, with increasing mass loss rates mainly due to increased ablation during longer and warmer ablation seasons. Low-altitude glaciers with low range of elevation are more out of balance than the higher, larger and steeper glaciers, which maintain accumulation areas. Because most of the monitored glaciers are at risk of extinction, they require a soon replacement.
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Using a dataset from 12 weather stations collected in 2010 and 2011, we analyzed the air temperature variability and wind regime over three different glaciers in the Ortles-Cevedale. The magnitude of the cooling effect and the occurrence of katabatic boundary layer processes showed remarkable differences among the three ice bodies, suggesting the likely existence of important reinforcing mechanisms during glacier decay and fragmentation, with significant impacts for glacier mass balance modeling.
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In the last decades, geochemical investigations at the springs of rock glaciers have been used to estimate their drainage processes, and the frozen layer is typically considered to act as an aquiclude or aquitard. In this work, we evaluated the hydraulic behavior of a mountain permafrost site by executing a geophysical monitoring experiment. Several hundred liters of salt water have been injected into the subsurface, and geoelectrical measurements have been performed to define the water flow.
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Mattia Zaramella, Marco Borga, Davide Zoccatelli, and Luca Carturan
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 5251–5265, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-5251-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-5251-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents TOPMELT, a parsimonious snowpack simulation model integrated into a basin-scale hydrological model. TOPMELT implements the full spatial distribution of clear-sky potential solar radiation by means of a statistical representation: this approach reduces computational burden, which is a key potential advantage when parameter sensitivity and uncertainty estimation procedures are carried out. The model is assessed by examining different resolutions of its domain.
Daniela Festi, Luca Carturan, Werner Kofler, Giancarlo dalla Fontana, Fabrizio de Blasi, Federico Cazorzi, Edith Bucher, Volkmar Mair, Paolo Gabrielli, and Klaus Oeggl
The Cryosphere, 11, 937–948, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-937-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-937-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a sub-seasonal timescale based on pollen analyses for a Mt. Ortles firn core. The method can be applied to all types of glaciers, provided the proximity of the pollen source and a negligible time lag between pollen production and its deposition on the glacier. By combining pollen dating with a mass balance model we found evidence that pollen grains are resilient to downward transport by percolating water and that pollen shows a high potential for inferring past climatic conditions.
Federico Di Paolo, Barbara Cosciotti, Sebastian E. Lauro, Elisabetta Mattei, Mattia Callegari, Luca Carturan, Roberto Seppi, Francesco Zucca, and Elena Pettinelli
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-267, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-267, 2016
Preprint retracted
Short summary
Short summary
Snow water equivalent is an important parameter for hydrological and climate change studies, however its measurement is tedious and time consuming. In this paper we show that it is possible to accurately measure snow water equivalent using electromagnetic methods. During a field campaign we tested the performances of traditional methods vs. those of a Ground Penetrating Radar, founding a very good agreement between the snow water equivalent values computed with the two different methods.
Paolo Gabrielli, Carlo Barbante, Giuliano Bertagna, Michele Bertó, Daniel Binder, Alberto Carton, Luca Carturan, Federico Cazorzi, Giulio Cozzi, Giancarlo Dalla Fontana, Mary Davis, Fabrizio De Blasi, Roberto Dinale, Gianfranco Dragà, Giuliano Dreossi, Daniela Festi, Massimo Frezzotti, Jacopo Gabrieli, Stephan P. Galos, Patrick Ginot, Petra Heidenwolf, Theo M. Jenk, Natalie Kehrwald, Donald Kenny, Olivier Magand, Volkmar Mair, Vladimir Mikhalenko, Ping Nan Lin, Klaus Oeggl, Gianni Piffer, Mirko Rinaldi, Ulrich Schotterer, Margit Schwikowski, Roberto Seppi, Andrea Spolaor, Barbara Stenni, David Tonidandel, Chiara Uglietti, Victor Zagorodnov, Thomas Zanoner, and Piero Zennaro
The Cryosphere, 10, 2779–2797, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2779-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2779-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
New ice cores were extracted from Alto dell'Ortles, the highest glacier of South Tyrol in the Italian Alps, to check whether prehistoric ice, which is coeval to the famous 5300-yr-old Tyrolean Iceman, is still preserved in this region. Dating of the ice cores confirms the hypothesis and indicates the drilling site has been glaciated since the end of the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum (7000 yrs BP). We also infer that an unprecedented acceleration of the glacier flow has recently begun.
Livia Piermattei, Luca Carturan, Fabrizio de Blasi, Paolo Tarolli, Giancarlo Dalla Fontana, Antonio Vettore, and Norbert Pfeifer
Earth Surf. Dynam., 4, 425–443, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-425-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-425-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the applicability of the SfM–MVS approach for calculating the geodetic mass balance of a glacier and for the detection of the surface displacement rate of an active rock glacier located in the eastern Italian Alps. The results demonstrate that it is possible to reliably quantify the investigated glacial and periglacial processes by means of a quick ground-based photogrammetric survey that was conducted using a consumer grade SRL camera and natural targets as ground control points.
Luca Carturan, Carlo Baroni, Michele Brunetti, Alberto Carton, Giancarlo Dalla Fontana, Maria Cristina Salvatore, Thomas Zanoner, and Giulia Zuecco
The Cryosphere, 10, 695–712, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-695-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-695-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This work analyses the longer mass balance series of Italian glaciers. All glaciers experienced mass loss in the observation period, with increasing mass loss rates mainly due to increased ablation during longer and warmer ablation seasons. Low-altitude glaciers with low range of elevation are more out of balance than the higher, larger and steeper glaciers, which maintain accumulation areas. Because most of the monitored glaciers are at risk of extinction, they require a soon replacement.
L. Carturan, F. Cazorzi, F. De Blasi, and G. Dalla Fontana
The Cryosphere, 9, 1129–1146, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1129-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1129-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Using a dataset from 12 weather stations collected in 2010 and 2011, we analyzed the air temperature variability and wind regime over three different glaciers in the Ortles-Cevedale. The magnitude of the cooling effect and the occurrence of katabatic boundary layer processes showed remarkable differences among the three ice bodies, suggesting the likely existence of important reinforcing mechanisms during glacier decay and fragmentation, with significant impacts for glacier mass balance modeling.
L. Carturan, C. Baroni, M. Becker, A. Bellin, O. Cainelli, A. Carton, C. Casarotto, G. Dalla Fontana, A. Godio, T. Martinelli, M. C. Salvatore, and R. Seppi
The Cryosphere, 7, 1819–1838, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1819-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1819-2013, 2013
L. Carturan, R. Filippi, R. Seppi, P. Gabrielli, C. Notarnicola, L. Bertoldi, F. Paul, P. Rastner, F. Cazorzi, R. Dinale, and G. Dalla Fontana
The Cryosphere, 7, 1339–1359, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1339-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1339-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Domain: ESSD – Ice | Subject: Permafrost
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Super-high-resolution aerial imagery datasets of permafrost landscapes in Alaska and northwestern Canada
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3719–3753, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3719-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3719-2024, 2024
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Arctic warming, leading to permafrost degradation, poses primary threats to infrastructure and secondary ecological hazards from possible infrastructure failure. Our study created a comprehensive Alaska inventory combining various data sources with which we improved infrastructure classification and data on contaminated sites. This resource is presented as a GeoPackage allowing planning of infrastructure damage and possible implications for Arctic communities facing permafrost challenges.
Xiaoqing Peng, Guangshang Yang, Oliver W. Frauenfeld, Xuanjia Li, Weiwei Tian, Guanqun Chen, Yuan Huang, Gang Wei, Jing Luo, Cuicui Mu, and Fujun Niu
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It is important to know about the distribution of thermokarst landscapes. However, most work has been done in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, except for the Qilian Mountains in the northeast. Here we used satellite images and field work to investigate and analyze its potential driving factors. We found a total of 1064 hillslope thermokarst (HT) features in this area, and 82 % were initiated in the last 10 years. These findings will be significant for the next predictions.
Raul-David Şerban, Huijun Jin, Mihaela Şerban, Giacomo Bertoldi, Dongliang Luo, Qingfeng Wang, Qiang Ma, Ruixia He, Xiaoying Jin, Xinze Li, Jianjun Tang, and Hongwei Wang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1425–1446, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1425-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1425-2024, 2024
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A particular observational network for ground surface temperature (GST) has been established on the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, covering various environmental conditions and scales. This analysis revealed the substantial influences of the land cover on the spatial variability in GST over short distances (<16 m). Improving the monitoring of GST is important for the biophysical processes at the land–atmosphere boundary and for understanding the climate change impacts on cold environments.
Zhangyu Sun, Yan Hu, Adina Racoviteanu, Lin Liu, Stephan Harrison, Xiaowen Wang, Jiaxin Cai, Xin Guo, Yujun He, and Hailun Yuan
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-28, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-28, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for ESSD
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We propose a new dataset, TPRoGI [v1.0], encompassing rock glaciers in the entire Tibetan Plateau. We used a neural network, DeepLabv3+, and images from Planet Basemaps. The inventory identified 44,273 rock glaciers, covering 6,000 km2, mainly at elevations of 4,000 to 5,500 m.a.s.l. The dataset, with details on distribution and characteristics, aids in understanding permafrost distribution, mountain hydrology, and climate impacts in High Mountain Asia, filling a knowledge gap.
Tabea Rettelbach, Ingmar Nitze, Inge Grünberg, Jennika Hammar, Simon Schäffler, Daniel Hein, Matthias Gessner, Tilman Bucher, Jörg Brauchle, Jörg Hartmann, Torsten Sachs, Julia Boike, and Guido Grosse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-193, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-193, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for ESSD
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Permafrost landscapes in the Arctic are rapidly changing due to climate warming. We here publish aerial images and elevation models with very high spatial detail that help study these landscapes in northwestern Canada and Alaska. The images were collected using the Modular Aerial Camera System (MACS). This dataset has significant implications for understanding permafrost landscape dynamics in response to climate change. It is publicly available for further research.
Zetao Cao, Zhuotong Nan, Jianan Hu, Yuhong Chen, and Yaonan Zhang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3905–3930, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3905-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3905-2023, 2023
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This study provides a new 2010 permafrost distribution map of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), using an effective mapping approach based entirely on satellite temperature data, well constrained by survey-based subregion maps, and considering the effects of local factors. The map shows that permafrost underlies about 41 % of the total QTP. We evaluated it with borehole observations and other maps, and all evidence indicates that this map has excellent accuracy.
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Short summary
This paper presents a new dataset of air, englacial, soil surface and rock wall temperatures collected between 2010 and 2016 on Mt Ortles, which is the highest summit of South Tyrol, Italy. Details are provided on instrument type and characteristics, field methods, and data quality control and assessment. The obtained data series are available through an open data repository. This is a rare dataset from a summit area lacking observations on permafrost and glaciers and their climatic response.
This paper presents a new dataset of air, englacial, soil surface and rock wall temperatures...
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