A thermofluidodynamic model was applied to the study case of the Adamello glacier (17,24 km2, after GLIMS 2003 data), located in the Central Alps. The behaviour of the glacier between 1996 and 2007 was simulated. Using the open source finite element code Elmer (http://www.csc.fi/elmer) the dynamic and mass continuity equations were solved for the velocity field and the free surface elevation. The glacier was modelled with a 3D mesh composed by 28050 nodes and subdivided into 10 vertical layers. Elevation of the free surface and bedrock recorded in 1991 and in 1996 were used as boundary and initial conditions. For each simulated year a top surface temperature of -7.5 °C was considered for the winter semester (no-slip condition prevailing); in the ablation season the glacier's temperature was set to 0°C. During melting a fixed bottom velocity was applied to simulate the slip behaviour. As a Neumann boundary condition on the glacier's top surface the mass balance estimated from the energy-balance over the 1995-2009 period was assumed. The maximum simulated surface velocity results to be 87 m a-1, a value consistent with observations. In order to assess the validity of the results, the change in the thickness of the glacier observed between 1991, 1996 and 2007 (DEM difference) was compared to the simulated change in the free surface elevation. The model was able to reproduce reasonably well the observed change in average thickness, although the spatial pattern of depth changes is underestimated or overestimated in some areas.

Thermofluidodynamic modelling of the Adamello glacier changes in the current climate

BARONI, CARLO;SALVATORE, MARIA CRISTINA;
2014-01-01

Abstract

A thermofluidodynamic model was applied to the study case of the Adamello glacier (17,24 km2, after GLIMS 2003 data), located in the Central Alps. The behaviour of the glacier between 1996 and 2007 was simulated. Using the open source finite element code Elmer (http://www.csc.fi/elmer) the dynamic and mass continuity equations were solved for the velocity field and the free surface elevation. The glacier was modelled with a 3D mesh composed by 28050 nodes and subdivided into 10 vertical layers. Elevation of the free surface and bedrock recorded in 1991 and in 1996 were used as boundary and initial conditions. For each simulated year a top surface temperature of -7.5 °C was considered for the winter semester (no-slip condition prevailing); in the ablation season the glacier's temperature was set to 0°C. During melting a fixed bottom velocity was applied to simulate the slip behaviour. As a Neumann boundary condition on the glacier's top surface the mass balance estimated from the energy-balance over the 1995-2009 period was assumed. The maximum simulated surface velocity results to be 87 m a-1, a value consistent with observations. In order to assess the validity of the results, the change in the thickness of the glacier observed between 1991, 1996 and 2007 (DEM difference) was compared to the simulated change in the free surface elevation. The model was able to reproduce reasonably well the observed change in average thickness, although the spatial pattern of depth changes is underestimated or overestimated in some areas.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/640475
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