Tropical Claciers as Climatic Indicators

The main goals of this research are to advance the use of tropical glaciers as climatic indicators and to assess their role as water reservoirs in areas already under stress due to water scarcity. It will further explore the potential of these high altitude mountain glaciers as solid constrains to the uncertainties of climatic models, especially in regions where observational records are extremely limited. It will use the recorded meteorological data available at the Tropical Glaciology Group to run a detailed high resolution energy balance model which takes full account of the topographic influences. Results will be compared with other model results at coarser resolution to identify local influences on glacier behaviour and sensitivity. The model will also be run under modified climatic conditions to assess the response of the glacier and the likely impact on water resources. Model validation will be done by comparing results to measured mass balance and to an extended photographic record of glacier changes. To be able to derive quantitative information from the photographic record, a novel technique for georeferencing terrestrial photography will be applied. this technique permit extracting geolocated information at high temporal and spatial resolution. The present work will add value to the extended data record of the Tropical Glaciology Group on Andean glaciers and will develop new monitoring techniques for application in areas of very scarce observational records. It will also provide socially valuable information on water resources in regions currently under hydric stress.