To evaluate the water storage and project the future evolution of glaciers, the ice-thickness of glaciers is an essential input. However, direct measurements of ice thickness are labo- rious, not feasible everywhere, ...To evaluate the water storage and project the future evolution of glaciers, the ice-thickness of glaciers is an essential input. However, direct measurements of ice thickness are labo- rious, not feasible everywhere, and necessarily restricted to a small number of glaciers. In this article, we develop a simple method to estimate the ice-thickness along flow-line of mountain glaciers. Different from the traditional method based on shallow ice approximation （SIA）, which gives a relationship be- tween ice thickness, surface slope, and yield stress of glaciers, the improved method considers and pre- sents a simple way to calibrate the influence of valley wall on ice discharge. The required inputs are the glacier surface topography and outlines. This shows the potential of the method for estimating the ice-thickness distribution and volume of glaciers without using of direct thickness measurements.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2007CB411501)the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-EW-311)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 91025012, J0930003/J0109)the Project for Outstanding Young Scientists of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40121101)
文摘To evaluate the water storage and project the future evolution of glaciers, the ice-thickness of glaciers is an essential input. However, direct measurements of ice thickness are labo- rious, not feasible everywhere, and necessarily restricted to a small number of glaciers. In this article, we develop a simple method to estimate the ice-thickness along flow-line of mountain glaciers. Different from the traditional method based on shallow ice approximation （SIA）, which gives a relationship be- tween ice thickness, surface slope, and yield stress of glaciers, the improved method considers and pre- sents a simple way to calibrate the influence of valley wall on ice discharge. The required inputs are the glacier surface topography and outlines. This shows the potential of the method for estimating the ice-thickness distribution and volume of glaciers without using of direct thickness measurements.
