HR: 0830h
AN: C11C-0839    [PDF]
TI: An attempt to develop size distribution functions for the glaciers of the world.
AU: * Machado, A E
EM: machadoa@nsidc.org
AF: NSIDC, 449 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0449 United States
AU: Meier, M F
EM: meiermf@spot.colorado.edu
AF: INSTAAR, 450 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0450 United States
AU: Dyurgerov, M B
EM: dyurg@tintin.colorado.edu
AF: INSTAAR, 450 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0450 United States
AB: Glaciers play an important role in the Earth System. Inventories of glacier characteristics are needed to allow scientists and resource management agencies to predict runoff, detect climate change, understand changes in the earth's rotation, and estimate contributions to a changing sea level. Distributions of glacier surface area are critical input parameters to climate and hydrological models. Although thorough inventories exist for a few regions, many published inventories are incomplete, especially for small glaciers, while inventories for other regions do not exist. Using data from published inventories we derive probability distribution functions for glacier surface area at the mountain range, regional, and global scale. From these distribution functions, gaps in current inventories can be filled, and area-distribution functions can be estimated for regions where inventories do not currently exist.
DE: 1655 Water cycles (1836)
DE: 1827 Glaciology (1863)
DE: 1863 Snow and ice (1827)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting