Climatic Shift of the Equilibrium Line: Kuhn's Concept Applied to the Greenland Ice Cap

The shift of the equilibrium line in response to climatic disturbances is calculated for the International Glaciological Greenland Expedition (EGIG) profile of the Greenland Ice Cap. Data of heat balance studies carried out during EGIG 1959 and EGIG 1967 are used according to Kuhn’s algorithm. The f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnals of glaciology Vol. 6; pp. 76 - 78
Main Author Ambach, Walter
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 1985
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0260-3055
1727-5644
1727-5644
DOI10.3189/S026030550001003X

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Summary:The shift of the equilibrium line in response to climatic disturbances is calculated for the International Glaciological Greenland Expedition (EGIG) profile of the Greenland Ice Cap. Data of heat balance studies carried out during EGIG 1959 and EGIG 1967 are used according to Kuhn’s algorithm. The following parameters are applied; the heat transfer coefficient of the sensible heat flux; the effective emissivity of the atmosphere for long wave downward radiation; a factor relating net radiation to cloudiness; the duration of the ablation season; the altitudinal temperature gradient; the altitudinal accumulation gradient. The altitudinal shift of the equilibrium line results for the EGIG profile + 77m/°C and -4 m per 1/10 cloudiness with 35d of ablation. Changes in heat balance by formation of superimposed ice are taken into account.
ISSN:0260-3055
1727-5644
1727-5644
DOI:10.3189/S026030550001003X