In recent decades, the downwasting of several debris-covered glaciers in the Himalaya has led to the formation of large and potentially hazardous moraine- dammed lakes. The frequency of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) events in the Himalaya has steadily increased since the 1970s and as global temperatures continue to rise this trend is set to continue in the future. Downwasting of the debris-covered Ngozumpa Glacier in the Khumbu Himal, Nepal, has resulted in the abandonment of the lateral and terminal moraine crests, leaving them standing several tens of metres above the glacier surface. The moraines have exerted a control on the drainage of meltwater from the glacier surface and have encouraged ponding of meltwater on the glacier surface. The present study examines the evolution of perched supraglacial ponds on the Ngozumpa Glacier and assesses how the growth of these ponds affects the rate of downwasting of the glacier surface. The expansion rates of perched ponds can be rapid, up to 21,609 m ² a⁻¹, but the growth of these ponds tends to be terminated when contact is made with the englacial drainage network. The thesis documents for the first time a complete cycle of perched supra glacial pond growth and drainage and also provides direct evidence for internal ablation during pond drainage, a process that has only been inferred in previous research. The western lateral moraine has dammed back drainage from the western tributary valleys, resulting in the formation of laterally-dammed lakes. The research presented here examines the processes and rates of paraglacial reworking of the Ngozumpa moraines in order to assess the stability and longevity of the moraine dam. Approximately 1 km from the Ngozumpa terminus a large Spillway Lake has formed. Meltwater from upglacier is channelled into the lake and exits the glacier surface through an over-spill channel cut down through the western lateral moraine. The level of the Spillway Lake is thereby controlled by the height of the spillway channel through the western lateral moraine. The rate of expansion of the Spillway Lake is lower than that of the perched ponds upglacier, but as the Spillway Lake continues to enlarge and surface downwasting of the glacier surface proceeds, the lake could enter a period of rapid and unstable growth. By analogy with other glaciers in the Khumbu Rimal, it is possible that a large and potentially hazardous lake will form on the Ngozumpa within the next two decades.

The aims of this thesis are to refine the tephrochronology of the Öræfi district, SE Iceland and assess the Holocene glacier fluctuations of the Öræfajökull ice cap. The pattern and timing of glacier fluctuations are determined using glacial geomorphology and tephrochronology, and the implications for palaeoclimate are assessed. Iceland is important to the study of global and regional climatic change because it is located close to both the marine and atmospheric Polar Fronts widely regarded as the key factors in the climate of the North Atlantic region. Six outlet glaciers were studied: Svinafellsjökull, Virkisjökull, Kotárjökull and Kviárjökull originating from the Öræfajökull ice cap and Skaftafellsjökull and Morsárjökull originating from the Vatnajökull ice cap. A long history of glacier fluctuations were found with a similar temporal pattern of glacier oscillation between the outlets of Vatnajökull and Öræfajökull. A maximum of eight advances have been identified. The oldest advance is inferred to date from the maximum of the last Glaciation ca. 18000 yrs BP. The first advance in the Holocene occurred ca. 9700 BP during a still-stand of the last Termination. The onset of the Neoglaciation occurred between 6000 BP and 4600 BP with an expansion of all of the studied glaciers. Subsequent smaller advances have been dated to ca. 3200 BP, ca. 1800 BP, ca. 700 BP, ca. 200 BP and ca. 80 BP. The most significant movement of the Polar front during the Holocene is likely to have occurred around 5000 BP, and, as a consequence, an estimated temperature cooling of ca. 2.5°C took place in Iceland, perhaps the greatest cooling since the last Termination. Within the broad pattern of change, glaciers in the study area show variability which represents local precipitation patterns, contrasting topography and change in glacier process. In this thesis a total of 22 silicic tephra layers are identified from over 90 profiles in the study area. The majority of these layers are dated to the latter part of the Holocene. Three silicic tephras were deposited during historical time (post 900 AD) namely, Vö ca. 900AD,HI104 and Ö1362. The Vö ca. 900 AD and the H1104 tephras are located for the first time. Specific prehistoric (pre 900 AD) tephras identified include Hekla-Ö, Hekla-4 and Hekla-S. The tephrochronology of the Öræfi district is also used to assess the eruption history of the Öræfajökull stratovolcano during the Holocene. Prehistoric eruptions are dated to ca. 9200 BP, ca. 6500 BP(?), ca. 4700 BP, ca. 2800 BP and ca. 1500 BP. Jökulhlaups accompanied the eruptions of 1727 AD, 1362 AD and ca. 1500 BP and are likely to have followed older eruptions of the volcano. A strong relationship occurs between volcanic activity of the Öræfajökull stratovolcano and the pattern of glacier fluctuations. This is explained as a response to isostatic crustal adjustment during ice cap growth and decay, and indicates a general relationship between volcanic activity and climate change.

Le mouvement des glaciers alpins est fortement conditionné par un grand nombre de processus complexes, alliant à la fois l'hydrologie, la mécanique, la thermodynamique, et dont la taille caractéristique peut varier de l'échelle microscopique à l'échelle macroscopique. Les mécanismes de fracturation peuvent être associés à des causes aussi nombreuses que diverses : frottement basal, ouverture de crevasses, variations de la température (fracturation thermique), variations de hauteur d'eau (fracturation hydraulique). Dans tous les cas, il a été demontré par le passé que la fracturation était génératrice de sismicité, enregistrable à l'aide de sismomètres. Cette sismicité permet par conséquent l'auscultation des conditions mécaniques d'un glacier, et en particulier son champ de contrainte.<br />Nous nous proposons, dans ce travail, d'appliquer des méthodes sismologiques inédites pour l'étude et la caractérisation de la fracturation dans les glaciers alpins, au travers de deux exemples (le glacier d'Argentière, dans le massif du Mont-Blanc, et le glacier du Gorner, dans le massif du Mont Rose, en Suisse). La localisation des sources a été effectuée par le biais de techniques d'antennes. Dans ce cadre, nous avons développé une méthode de recherche sur grille, bien adaptée à ces objets de taille limitée. Cette dernière permet le calcul de la densité de probabilité complète de la position de l'hypocentre. Elle nous a permis de mettre en évidence une activité sismique en essaim sur le glacier d'Argentière, et dont il a été possible de calculer une magnitude locale. Nous avons également montré que les séismes profonds ayant lieu au glacier du Gorner sont localisés à proximité immédiate de l'interface glace - roche. Parallèlement, d'autres techniques (corrélation de bruit, beamforming) nous ont permis de préciser l'information obtenue par la méthode de recherche exhaustive.

This thesis uses geological field data and numerical ice sheet modelling to study the Younger Dryas ice cap in Scotland. The Younger Dryas stadial is important because it represents the most recent period of high-magnitude global climate change, and was marked by the expansion of ice sheets in North America and Scandinavia, and the regrowth of glaciers in the British Isles. An integrated methodology linking field results and modelling is developed and applied here, specifically focussing on the deposits, landforms, and palaeoglaciology of Younger Dryas glaciers in western Scotland. This combined approach enables data of different scales to be compared, and connected, from local sedimentological investigations and empirically derived reconstructions, to regional ice-sheet simulations from a high-resolution numerical model. Previous geological mapping in western Scotland resulted in contradictory views of the thickness and extent of ice during the Younger Dryas, consequently leading to uncertainty about the dynamics of the former ice cap. By using a ‘landsystem’ method to characterise the terrain, it is argued here that geological evidence in the study area implies a relatively thick central ice cap that fed steep outlet glaciers around its margins. These glaciers oscillated throughout the stadial, and during deglaciation produced suites of moraines that marked successive positions of glacier retreat. Widespread preservation of superimposed landforms, and of sediment sequences pre-dating the Younger Dryas, suggest that, despite being active, the Younger Dryas ice cap was not particularly erosive in its central area and only subtly modified its bed. These geological interpretations are supported by high-resolution numerical modelling of the ice cap, which reveals clear spatial variability in the velocity structure, thermal regime, and flow mechanism of the ice cap; patterns that led to local contrasts in basal processes and diversity in the geological imprint. These model experiments also highlight the non-linear relationship between climate forcing and glacier response, identifying evidence of ice sheet hysteresis and climatically decoupled glacier oscillations – concepts as relevant to geological investigations of former ice masses as they are to the prediction of glacier response under future climate changes.

No description available.

This project investigates the near surface energy balance on the Murt`el-Corvatsch rock glacier in the Upper Engadine, Swiss Alps, using the 1D physical SNOWPACK model. A correct representation of the near surface energy balance is important to predict the long term evolution of permafrost below rock glaciers. This is of interest in the context of future water availability and management of water resources in a changing climate and also in the context of natural hazards. Some difficulties in modelling the thermal regime of rock glaciers are related to the large pore spaces between the blocks, which allow for different modes of heat transport. With this in mind, different modelling approaches were investigated: using the standard SNOWPACK (without advective heat flux, ventilation or canopy module), adding an advective heat flux, using the ventilation and canopy modules. The most promising results, i.e. the best match between measured and modelled temperatures, were obtained from the ventilation parameterisation. This parameterisation accounts for boundary-layer air penetrating into the blocky layer. Furthermore it was found that the most important input variables are the thickness of the the blocky layer, since this is where the additional modes of heat exchange take place, and the ice and void volume fraction together with the field capacity in the icy layer. The latter are particularly relevant for long term modelling as they determine the amount of ice melt and water transport in the icy layer. Measured and modelled temperatures at depths of 0.5 m, 2.5 m, 3.5 m and 7.5 m were compared. Generally good agreements between modelled and measured temperatures were obtained for the depths 0.5 m, 3.5 m and 7.5 m. The slight warming trend at the end of the modelled period (2012- 2016) that can be observed in the borehole data is also present in the modelled temperatures. The depth of 2.5 m shows the least agreement between modelled and measured temperatures with and overestimation during the snow free period and an underestimation during the snow covered period. However, agreement between modelled and measured temperatures improves for the snow covered period after a simulation period of about ten years.

Le réchauffement climatique actuel a une conséquence directe sur la perte de masse des calottes polaires. Reproduire les mécanismes responsables de cette perte de masse et prévoir la contribution des calottes à l’élévation du niveau des océans d’ici la fin du siècle est dès lors l’un des défis majeurs de la modélisation de l’écoulement des calottes polaires. Les modèles d’écoulement permettent de réaliser de telles prévisions mais ces simulations, à court terme, sont très sensibles à leur état initial habituellement construit à partir d’observations de terrain. Malheureusement, certains paramètres comme le frottement entre la glace et le socle rocheux ainsi que la topographie basale sont souvent méconnus à cause du manque d’observations directes ou des larges incertitudes liées à ces observations. Améliorer la connaissance de ces deux paramètres à la fois pour le Groenland et l’Antarctique est donc un pré-requis pour réaliser des projections fiables. Les méthodes d’assimilation de données et les méthodes inverses permettent alors de surmonter ce problème.Cette thèse présente deux algorithmes d’assimilation de données permettant de mieux contraindre simultanément le frottement basal et la topographie basale à partir d’observations de surface. L’un des algorithmes est entièrement basé sur la méthode adjointe tandis que le second se base sur une méthode cyclique couplant l’inversion du frottement basal avec la méthode adjointe et l’inversion de la géométrie basale à l’aide de la relaxation newtonienne. Les deux algorithmes ont été implémentés dans le modèle d’écoulement de glace éléments finis Elmer/Ice et testés dans une expérience jumelle qui montre une nette amélioration de la connaissance des deux paramètres recherchés. L’application des deux algorithmes à la région de la Terre de Wilkes réduit l’incertitude liée aux conditions basales en permettant, par exemple, d’obtenir plus de détails sur la géométrie basale en comparaison avec les modèles numériques de terrain habituels. De plus la reconstruction simultanée du frottement et de la géométrie basale permet de réduire significativement les anomalies de divergence de flux habituellement obtenues lors de l’inversion du frottement seul. Nous étudions finalement l’impact des conditions basales ainsi inversées sur des simulations pronostiques afin de comparer la capacité des deux algorithmes à mieux contraindre la contribution future des calottes polaires à l’augmentation du niveau des océans. / The current global warming has direct consequences on ice-sheet mass loss. Reproducing the responsible mechanisms and forecasting the potential ice-sheets contribution to 21st century sea level rise is one of the major challenges in ice-sheet and ice flow modelling. Ice flow models are now routinely used to forecast the potential ice-sheets contribution to sea level rise. Such short term simulations are very sensitive to model initial state, usually build from field observations. However, some parameters, such as the basal friction between icesheet and bedrock as well as the basal topography, are still badly known because of a lake of direct observations or large uncertainty on measurements. Improving the knowledge of these two parameters for Greenland and Antarctica is therefore a prerequisite for making reliable projections. Data assimilation and inverse methods have been developed in order to overcome this problem. This thesis presents two different assimilation algorithms to better constrain simulaneouslybasal friction and bedrock elevation parameters using surface observations. The first algorithm is entierly based on adjoint method while the second algorithm uses a cycling method coupling inversion of basal friction with adjoint method and inversion of bedrock topography with nudging method. Both algorithms have been implemented in the finite element ice sheet and ice flow model Elmer/Ice and tested in a twin experiment showing a clear improvement of both parameters knowledge. The application of both algorithms to regions such as the Wilkes Land in Antartica reduces the uncertainty on basal conditions, for instance providing more details to the bedrock geometry when compared to usual DEM. Moreover,the reconstruction of both bedrock elevation and basal friction significantly decreases ice flux divergence anomalies when compared to classical methods where only friction is inversed. We finaly sudy the impact of such inversion on pronostic simulation in order to compare the efficiency of the two algorithms to better constrain future ice-sheet contribution to sea level rise.

The dynamic response of a faster-flowing Greenland Ice Sheet to climate change is modulated by feedbacks between ice flow and surface meltwater delivery to the basal environment. While supraglacial melt processes have been thoroughly examined and are well constrained, the response of the englacial and subglacial environment to these seasonal perturbations still represent the least-studied, understood, and parameterised processes of glacier dynamics due to a paucity of direct observation. To better understand these processes in the wake of a changing climate, novel in-situ geophysical experiments were undertaken on Store Glacier in west Greenland to quantify rates of englacial deformation and basal melting. The records produced from these experiments yield new insights into the thermodynamic setting of a major outlet glacier, and the physical mechanisms underlying and resulting from fast glacier motion. The deployment of autonomous phase-sensitive radio-echo sounders (ApRES) $\SI{30}{\kilo\metre}$ from the calving terminus of Store Glacier between 2014 and 2016 revealed high rates of both englacial deformation and basal melting, driven primarily by the dynamic response of the basal hydrological system to seasonal surface meltwater influxes. Thermodynamic modelling of this process revealed a convergence of large-scale basal hydrological pathways that aggregated large amounts of water towards the field site. The warm, turbulent water routed from surface melt contained and dissipated enough energy at the ice-bed interface to explain the observed high melt rates. Simultaneously, changes in the local strain field, involving seasonal variations in the morphology of internal layers, were found to be the result of far-field perturbations in downstream ice flow which propagated tens of kilometres upglacier through longitudinal stress coupling. When observed in multiple dimensions, the layer structure revealed complex internal reflection geometries, demonstrating ApRES as not just a monitor of depth changes in ice thickness, but also as an imaging instrument capable of characterising the subsurface environment within and beneath ice sheets. Altogether, the observations and analyses comprising this thesis provide new and significant insight and understanding into the structural, thermal, and mechanical processes tied to Store Glacier and its fast, complex, and dynamic ice flow.

Nesse estudo foram mapeadas e mensuradas as variações de área, elevação mínima e orientação das geleiras da Colômbia e da Venezuela (trópicos internos), entre os anos 1985-2015. Para o mapeamento das áreas das geleiras foram utilizadas como base imagens Landsat, sensores TM, ETM+ e OLI. Às imagens selecionadas foi aplicado o Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI), no qual são utilizadas duas bandas em que o alvo apresenta comportamento espectral oposto ou com características bem distintas: bandas 2 e 5 dos sensores TM e ETM+ e bandas 3 e 6 do sensor OLI. Os dados de elevação e orientação das massas de gelo foram obtidos a partir do Modelo Digital de Elevação SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission – v03). Em 1985, a soma das áreas das sete geleiras estudadas correspondia a 92,84 km², enquanto no último ano estudado (2015/2016) esse valor passou para 36,97 km². A redução de área ocorreu em todas as geleiras analisadas, com taxas de retração anual variando entre 2,49% a.a. e 8,46% a.a. Houve retração das áreas de gelo localizadas em todos os pontos cardeais considerados, bem como, elevação da altitude nas frentes de geleiras. Além da perda de área ocorrida nas menores altitudes, onde a taxa de ablação é mais elevada, também se observou retração em alguns topos, evidenciado pela ocorrência de altitudes menores nos anos finais do estudo, em comparação com os anos iniciais. Como parte das geleiras colombianas está localizada sobre vulcões ativos, essas áreas sofrem influência tanto de fatores externos, quanto de fatores internos, podendo ocorrer perdas de massa acentuadas causadas por erupção e/ou terremoto. / In this study, glaciers located in Colombia and Venezuela (inner tropics) were mapped between 1985-2015. The area of these glaciers was measured and the variations that occurred in each glacier were compared to identify whether the glacier was growing or shrinking. The minimum elevation of the glaciers fronts and the aspect of the glaciers were analyzed. The glaciers areas ware obtained by the use of Landsat images, TM, ETM+ and OLI sensors. The Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) was applied to the selected images, in which two bands were used, where the ice mass has opposite (or very different) spectral behavior: bands 2 and 5 from sensors TM and ETM+, and bands 3 and 6 from sensors OLI. The elevation and the aspect data of the glaciers were obtained from SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission – v03) Digital Elevation Model. In 1985/1986, the sum of the areas of the seven studied glaciers corresponded to 92.84 km², while in the last year analyzed (2015/2016), this value shrank to 36.97 km². The area shrinkage occurred in all the glaciers that were mapped, with annual decline rates ranging from 2.49%/year to 8.46%/year. It is also possible to observe a decrease of the ice covered in all aspects considered, as well as an elevation in all glaciers fronts. In addition to the area loss occurred at lower altitudes, where the ablation rate is higher than in higher altitudes, shrinkage in some mountain tops was also present, which is evidenced by the occurrence of lower maximum elevations in the final years of the study, when compared with the initial years. Considering that part of the Colombian’s glaciers are located on active volcanoes, these areas are influenced by external and internal factors, and the occurrence of volcanic eruption and/or earthquake can cause sharp mass losses.

Eliot Glacier is a small (1.6 km2), relatively well-studied glacier on Mount Hood, Oregon. Since 1901, glacier area decreased from 2.03 ± 0.16 km2 to 1.64 ± 0.05 km2 by 2004, a loss of 19%, and the terminus retreated about 600 m. Mount Hood's glaciers as a whole have lost 34% of their area. During the first part of the 20th century the glacier thinned and retreated, then thickened and advanced between the 1940s and 1960s because of cooler temperatures and increased winter precipitation and has since accelerated its retreat, averaging about 1.0 m a-1 thinning and a 20 m a-1 retreat rate by 2004. Surface velocities at a transverse profile reflect ice thickness over time, reaching a low of 1.4 m a-1 in 1949 before increasing to 6.9 ± 1.7 m a-1 from the 1960s to the 1980s. Velocities have since slowed to about 2.3 m a-1 , about the 1940 speed.