Glacieret
A glacieret is a very small glacier, with a surface area less than 0.1 km2 (25 acres). The term is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a large, persistent snow patch of firn or névé.
Characteristics
[edit]Sometimes hardly larger than snowfields and perennial firn patches, glacierets tend to have little ice movement, with accumulation and ablation zones difficult to detect.[1] Glacierets are usually remnants of larger glaciers that existed. Due to their small size, they are at a higher risk of melting due to climate change than larger glaciers.[2]
Examples
[edit]- Snezhnika in the Pirin range of Bulgaria was the southernmost glacial mass in Europe before the discovery of glaciers on Mount Bazardüzü.[3][2]
- The Banski Suhodol Glacieret, also in the Pirin, is the only other surviving glacial mass in Bulgaria.[4]
- There are some glacierets in the Picos del Infierno range of the Pyrenees.[5]
- The Red Eagle Glacier in Montana, following a century of retreat, has dropped below the threshold of an active glacier and become a mere glacieret.[6]
- Shepard Glacier in Glacier National Park converted to a glacieret in 2009.[7]
- There are many glacierets on Mount Kenya, ranging from surface areas of 0.01 to 0.09 km2.[8]
- The last glacier of the Apennines, the Calderone glacier, is a glacieret with a surface area of 0.03 km2 in 2001.[9]
Former glacierets that melted
[edit]Glacierets that melt usually remain perennial snow patches and gather back some firn.[10]
- The glacieret on the Corral de la Veleta in Spain's Sierra Nevada was the southernmost glacial mass in Europe until it melted in 1913.[11]
- In the Kazania cirque of Mount Olympus, a glacieret existed during the Little Ice Age.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Davies, Bethan (22 June 2010). "Glaciers of Antarctica". Antarctic Glaciers. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ a b c Grunewald, Karsten; Jörg Scheithauer (2010). "Europe's southernmost glaciers: response and adaptation to climate change". Journal of Glaciology. 56 (195). International Glaciological Society: 129–142. Bibcode:2010JGlac..56..129G. doi:10.3189/002214310791190947. ISSN 0022-1430.
- ^ "(the pirin mountains, bulgaria) in the last ten years" (PDF). igipz.pan.pl. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ Emil Gachev, Alexander Gikov, Cvetelina Zlatinova, Bozidar Blagoev Present state of Bulgarian glacierets Landform Analysis, Vol. 11: 16–24 ISSN 2081-5980
- ^ Zaragoza University: Recent glacier evolution in the Spanish Pyrenees Archived 2008-08-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Retreat of Glaciers in Glacier National Park" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. 2010. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
- ^ Brown, Matthew (April 7, 2010). "Glacier National Park loses two more glaciers". USA Today. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
- ^ Hastenrath, Stefan (1984). The Glaciers of Equatorial East Africa. Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Publishing Company. ISBN 90-277-1572-6.
- ^ Visconti, Guido; M. Beniston; Emilio D. Iannorelli; Diego Barba (2001-04-30). Global Change and Protected Areas (Advances in Global Change Research). New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 425–435. ISBN 0-7923-6918-1.
- ^ Berrisford, M.S., 1991. Evidence for enhanced mechanical weathering associated with seasonally late‐lying and perennial snow patches, Jotunheimen, Norway. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 2 (4), pp.331-340.
- ^ Veleta or Pico de Veleta - Iberianature