High-altitude glacier archives lost due to climate change-related melting
Carla Huber, Anja Eichler, Enrico Mattea, Sabina Brütsch, Theo M. Jenk, Jacopo Gabrieli, Carlo Barbante, Margit Schwikowski
Abstract
Global warming has caused widespread surface lowering of mountain glaciers. By comparing two firn cores collected in 2018 and 2020 from Corbassière glacier in Switzerland, we demonstrate how vulnerable these precious archives of past environmental conditions have become. Within two years, the soluble impurity records were destroyed by melting. The glacier is now irrevocably lost as an archive for reconstructing major atmospheric aerosol components.
Topics & Concepts
GlacierClimate changeGeologyAltitude (triangle)Effects of high altitude on humansClimatologyPhysical geographyEarth scienceEnvironmental scienceMeteorologyGeomorphologyGeographyOceanographyMathematicsGeometryCryospheric studies and observationsClimate change and permafrostLandslides and related hazards