CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Cutler, P.M.
Date : 2006.
Title : A reflectivity parameterization for use in distributed glacier melt models, based on measurements from Peyto Glacier, Canada.
Publication : Peyto Glacier: One Century of Science. Edited by: Demuth, M.N.; Munro, D.S.; and Young, G.J. National Hydrology Research Institute Science Report
Issue : #8:
Page(s) : 177-200.
Abstract
Work on Peyto Glacier over the last 30 years has substantially improved our understanding of the controls on snow and ice melt. Site specific investigations of the validity of energy-balance equations for predicting melt have complemented efforts to understand the broader spatial and temporal influences on meltwater generation. Studies of glacier-wide melt variation on Peyto Glacier have focused on the flux of short-wave radiation, as this is often the principal source for energy for melt. Simulations of the spatial and temporal distribution of net short-wave radiation resulting from reflectivity variations demonstrate striking heterogeneities in energy. Stimulated by this result, fieldwork was undertaken to determine the range of reflectivity on Peyto Glacier, and to provide a ground truth for LandSat imagery. Ice impurity content and snowline migration regulate spatial differences in reflectivity within the basin, whilst changes in cloud cover, solar zenith angle and surface melting are dominant causes of diurnal variations. The new data have been used to calibrate an empirical reflectivity parameterization for use in distributed models of meltwater production.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology