Geographisches Kolloquium

Warm atmospheric conditions promote the rise of a local microclimate over mountain glaciers and the generation of cool katabatic winds. These “glacier winds” act to reinforce a shallow boundary layer above melting snow and ice in the summer months, mediating their response to temperature fluctuations in the wider mountain domain. Models that estimate the melting of glaciers typically ignore the cooling of this intermediate layer above glaciers, resulting in a linear response to current and future air temperatures that might be inappropriate in several climatic settings. Recent evidence, compiled from weather stations sited over glaciers around the world, are used to exemplify how strong the cooling of glacier winds can be, why and where it might matter a lot and what it could imply about the future

change of mountain ice masses.