SHIMMER (Soil biogeocHemIcal Model for Microbial Ecosystem Response) is a new numerical modelling framework designed to simulate microbial dynamics and biogeochemical cycling during initial ecosystem development in glacier forefield soils. However, it is also transferable to other extreme ecosystem types (such as desert soils or the surface of glaciers). The rationale for model development aris...

Climatic warming during the last 100-150 years has resulted in a significant glacier ice loss from mountainous areas of the world. Certain natural processes which pose hazards to people and development in these areas have accelerated as a result of this recent deglaciation. These include glacier avalanches, landslides and slope instability caused by glacier debuttressing, and outburst floods fr...

Debris cover is widely present in glacier ablation areas of the Tibetan Plateau, and its spatial distribution greatly affects glacier melt rates. High-resolution in situ measurements of debris thickness on Hailuogou glacier, Mount Gongga, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, show pronounced inhomogeneous debris distribution. An analysis of transverse and longitudinal profiles indicates that the ground...

Simulations of glacier evolution are needed to assess future changes in the runoff regime of mountain catchments. A simplified parameterized model is applied here to simulate future thickness changes and glacier retreat of Mer de Glace, French Alps. A normalized thickness change function describing the spatial distribution of surface-elevation changes as a function of elevation has been determi...

Albedo/reflectance is of great importance for glaciers’ mass balance and energy budget. Elevation could be a major factor of influence for glacier reflectance, and therefore when studying glacier reflectance, the altitude ranges should be considered. However, due to the limitations of traditional earth observation systems, conventional analyses usually consider the spatial and temporal patterns...

Mountain chains of Central Asia host a large number of glaciated areas that provide critical water supplies to the semi-arid populated foothills and lowlands of this region. Spatio-temporal variations of glacier flows are a key indicator of the impact of climate change on water resources as the glaciers react sensitively to climate. Satellite remote sensing using optical imagery is an efficient...

..................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... XVI LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... XVII CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ....

The recent marked retreat, thinning and acceleration of most of Greenland’s outlet glaciers south of 70 N has increased concerns over Greenland’s contribution to future sea level rise1–5. These dynamic changes seem to be parallel to the warming trend in Greenland, but the mechanisms that link climate and ice dynamics are poorly understood, and current numerical models of ice sheets do not simul...

Field activities in the Britannia Range (Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica) highlighted new geological features around the so-called Byrd Glacier discontinuity. Recent field surveys revealed the occurrence of significant amounts of mediumto high-grade metamorphic rocks, intruded by abundant coarse-grained porphyritic granitoids. Most of the granitoids are deformed, with foliation parallel to...

The flow of a glacier along a channel of constant longitudinal curvature is analyzed using analytical and finite-element methods. Channels of various cross­ sectional shape are investigated, ranging from a simple rectangular form with zero shear traction along the bed to realistic profiles taken from Blue Glacier, Washington. Terms in the equilibrium and rate-of deformation equations which are ...