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Glaciology & Mass Balance Modeling
W.S.B. Paterson
W.S.B. Paterson was a pioneering glaciologist who wrote "The Physics of Glaciers," a fundamental text in glaciology. His work established many of the core principles of glacier dynamics and mass balance studies that continue to influence modern glaciological research and climate change studies.
What is Mass Balance?
Glacier mass balance is the difference between accumulation (snow, freezing rain) and ablation (melting, sublimation, calving). It's a crucial indicator of glacier health and climate change impact, measured through direct field observations, remote sensing, and modeling approaches.
Remote Sensing in Mass Balance Studies
Modern approaches to glacier monitoring using satellite imagery and digital elevation models to assess volume changes and mass balance at regional to global scales.
Energy Balance
The surface energy balance determines melt rates and is given by:
Where QM is energy available for melt, QN is net radiation, QH is sensible heat flux.
Ice Flow Modeling
Glen's Flow Law describes ice deformation:
Where ε̇ is strain rate, τ is shear stress, n is typically 3, and A is a temperature-dependent flow parameter.
Mass Balance
What we have here is called the temperature-index model, it takes into account the temperature and the solar radiation to calculate the melt, allowing us to relate to the energy balance model as well.
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