Marti R., Gascoin S., Houet T., Ribiere O., Laffly D., Condom Thomas, Monnier S., Schmutz M., Camerlynck C., Tihay J. P., Soubeyroux J. M., Rene P. (2015). Evolution of Ossoue Glacier (French Pyrenees) since the end of the Little Ice Age. Cryosphere, 9 (5), p. 1773-1795. ISSN 1994-0416.
Titre du document
Evolution of Ossoue Glacier (French Pyrenees) since the end of the Little Ice Age
Année de publication
2015
Auteurs
Marti R., Gascoin S., Houet T., Ribiere O., Laffly D., Condom Thomas, Monnier S., Schmutz M., Camerlynck C., Tihay J. P., Soubeyroux J. M., Rene P.
Source
Cryosphere, 2015,
9 (5), p. 1773-1795 ISSN 1994-0416
Little is known about the fluctuations of the Pyrenean glaciers. In this study, we reconstructed the evolution of Ossoue Glacier (42 degrees 46'N, 0.45 km(2)), which is located in the central Pyrenees, from the Little Ice Age (LIA) onwards. To do so, length, area, thickness, and mass changes in the glacier were generated from historical data sets, topographical surveys, glaciological measurements (2001-2013), a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey (2006), and stereoscopic satellite images (2013). The glacier has receded considerably since the end of the LIA, losing 40% of its length and 60% of its area. Three periods of marked ice depletion were identified: 1850-1890, 1928-1950, and 1983-2013, as well as two short periods of stabilization: 1890-1894, 1905-1913, and a longer period of slight growth: 1950-1983; these agree with other Pyrenean glacier reconstructions (Maladeta, Coronas, Taillon glaciers). Pyrenean and Alpine glaciers exhibit similar multidecadal variations during the 20th century, with a stable period detected at the end of the 1970s and periods of ice depletion during the 1940s and since the 1980s. Ossoue Glacier fluctuations generally concur with climatic data (air temperature, precipitation, North Atlantic Oscillation, Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation). Geodetic mass balance over 1983-2013 was -1.04 +/- 0.06 w.e.a(-1) (-31.3 +/- 1.9 m w.e.), whereas glaciological mass balance was -1.45 +/- 0.85 m w.e.a(-1) (-17.3 +/- 2.9 m w.e.) over 2001-2013, resulting in a doubling of the ablation rate in the last decade. In 2013 the maximum ice thickness was 59 +/- 10.3 m. Assuming that the current ablation rate remains constant, Ossoue Glacier will disappear midway through the 21st century.
Plan de classement
Hydrologie [062]
;
Géologie et formations superficielles [064]
Description Géographique
FRANCE ; PYRENEES
Localisation
Fonds IRD [F B010065446]
Identifiant IRD
fdi:010065446
