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An improved method based on shallow ice approximation to calculate ice thickness along flow-line and volume of mountain glaciers

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Abstract

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 laborious, 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 between ice thickness, surface slope, and yield stress of glaciers, the improved method considers and presents 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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences/Tianshan Glaciological Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Huilin Li  (李慧林) & Zhongqin Li  (李忠勤)

  2. College of Geography and Environment Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Zhongqin Li  (李忠勤), Mingjun Zhang  (张明军) & Wenfeng Li  (李汶峰)

Authors
  1. Huilin Li  (李慧林)
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  2. Zhongqin Li  (李忠勤)
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  3. Mingjun Zhang  (张明军)
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  4. Wenfeng Li  (李汶峰)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huilin Li  (李慧林).

Additional information

This study was 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), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 91025012, J0930003/J0109) and the Project for Outstanding Young Scientists of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40121101).

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Li, H., Li, Z., Zhang, M. et al. An improved method based on shallow ice approximation to calculate ice thickness along flow-line and volume of mountain glaciers. J. Earth Sci. 22, 441–448 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-011-0198-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-011-0198-1

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