Thickness and geodetic mass balance changes for the Triglav Glacier (southeastern Alps) from 1952 to 2016

Mihaela Triglav Čekada; Matija Zorn

doi:10.3986/AGS.7673

Authors

Mihaela Triglav Čekada Geodetic Institute of Slovenia and Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4200-2616
Matija Zorn Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5788-018X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.7673

Keywords:

climate change, glacier thickness, glacier volume, geodetic mass balance, Triglav Glacier, Slovenia

Abstract

Various geodetic and lidar measurements performed on the Triglav Glacier (Julian Alps, Slovenia) make it possible to study not only the extent of the glacier but also changes in its thickness and volume. These measurements also make it possible to calculate the geodetic mass balance of the glacier. Thickness and volume changes were calculated using glacier area measurements from 1952, 1975, and 1992, and annually between 1999 and 2016. The mean thickness decreased from 39.2m in 1952 to 2.45m in 2012. The maximum thickness decreased from 48.3 m in 1952 to 5.2 m in 2007. The mean specific mass balance was calculated for the area of 1 hectare that the glacier covered in 2016. From 1952 to 2016, the annual specific mass balance was −0.45m w.e.a⁻¹.

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