In: The Cryosphere, 2019, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 397–412
Albedo feedback is an important driver of glacier melt over bare-ice surfaces. Light- absorbing impurities strongly enhance glacier melt rates but their abundance, composition and variations in space and time are subject to considerable uncertainties and ongoing scientific debates. In this study, we assess the temporal evolution of shortwave broadband albedo derived from 15 end-of-summer...
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In: Remote Sensing, 2017, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 110
Surface albedo partitions the amount of energy received by glacier surfaces from shortwave fluxes and modulates the energy available for melt processes. The ice- albedo feedback, influenced by the contamination of bare-ice surfaces with light- absorbing impurities, plays a major role in the melting of mountain glaciers in a warming climate. However, little is known about the spatial and...
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In: Geosciences, 2014, vol. 4, no. 3, p. 73–92
Snow is an excellent water reservoir, naturally storing large quantities of water at time scales from a few days to several months. In summer-dry countries, like Armenia, runoff due to snow melt from mountain regions is highly important for a sustained water supply (irrigation, hydropower). Snow fields on Mount Aragats, Armenia’s highest peak, often persist until July, providing vital amounts...
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In: Global and Planetary Change, 2016, vol. 145, p. 67–77
Since the end of the Little Ice Age around 1850, glaciers in Europe have strongly retreated. Thanks to early topographic surveys in Switzerland, accurate maps are available, which enable us to trace glacier changes back in time. The earliest map for all of Switzerland that is usable for a detailed analysis is the Dufour map from around 1850 with subsequent topographic maps on a ~ 20 year...
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In: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, 2014, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 413–426
Modeling of future water systems at the regional scale is a difficult task due to the complexity of current structures (multiple competing water uses, multiple actors, formal and informal rules) both temporally and spatially. Representing this complexity in the modeling process is a challenge that can be addressed by an interdisciplinary and holistic approach. The assessment of the water system...
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In: Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014, vol. 52, p. 410–420
Recent climate changes have led to an increase in the exposure of archaeological remains in frozen environments due to the melting of glaciers and ice patches, and the thawing of permafrost. In some cases, the discovery of glacial archaeological findings has occurred due to chance. In order to avoid the risk of losing exceptional, often organic, cultural remains due to decomposition, systematic...
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In: The Cryosphere, 2017, vol. 11, no. 2, p. 723–739
The recent surge cycle of Kyagar Glacier, in the Chinese Karakoram, caused formation of an ice-dammed lake and subsequent glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) exceeding 40 million m³ in 2015 and 2016. GLOFs from Kyagar Glacier reached double this size in 2002 and earlier, but the role of glacier surging in GLOF formation was previously unrecognised. We present an integrative analysis of...
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In: Renewable Energy, 2019, vol. 132, p. 615–627
High elevation or high latitude hydropower production (HP) strongly relies on water resources that are influenced by glacier melt and are thus highly sensitive to climate warming. Despite of the wide-spread glacier retreat since the development of HP infrastructure in the 20th century, little quantitative information is available about the role of glacier mass loss for HP. In this paper, we...
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In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2011, vol. 15, p. 1227-1241
The hydrology of high mountainous catchments is often predicted with conceptual precipitation-discharge models that simulate the snow accumulation and ablation behavior of a very complex environment using as only input temperature and precipitation. It is hereby often assumed that some glacier-wide annual balance estimates, in addition to observed discharge, are sufficient to reliably calibrate...
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In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2014, p. 1–24
We present and test a conceptual and methodological approach for interdisciplinary sustainability assessments of water governance systems based on what we call the sustainability wheel. The approach combines transparent identification of sustainability principles, their regional contextualization through sub-principles (indicators), and the scoring of these indicators through deliberative...
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