Articles | Volume 27, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-543-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-543-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Contribution of rock glacier discharge to late summer and fall streamflow in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA
Department of Earth & Climate Sciences, Middlebury College,
Middlebury, 05753, USA
Alexander L. Handwerger
Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering,
University of California, Los Angeles, 90095, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, 91109, USA
Related authors
Jeffrey S. Munroe, Abigail A. Santis, Elsa J. Soderstrom, Michael J. Tappa, and Ann M. Bauer
SOIL, 10, 167–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-167-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-167-2024, 2024
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This study investigated how the deposition of mineral dust delivered by the wind influences soil development in mountain environments. At six mountain locations in the southwestern United States, modern dust was collected along with samples of soil and local bedrock. Analysis indicates that at all sites the properties of dust and soil are very similar and are very different from underlying rock. This result indicates that soils are predominantly composed of dust delivered by the wind over time.
George Brencher, Alexander L. Handwerger, and Jeffrey S. Munroe
The Cryosphere, 15, 4823–4844, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4823-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4823-2021, 2021
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Short summary
We use satellite InSAR to inventory and monitor rock glaciers, frozen bodies of ice and rock debris that are an important water resource in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA. Our inventory contains 205 rock glaciers, which occur within a narrow elevation band and deform at 1.94 cm yr-1 on average. Uinta rock glacier movement changes seasonally and appears to be driven by spring snowmelt. The role of rock glaciers as a perennial water resource is threatened by ice loss due to climate change.
Cody C. Routson, Darrell S. Kaufman, Nicholas P. McKay, Michael P. Erb, Stéphanie H. Arcusa, Kendrick J. Brown, Matthew E. Kirby, Jeremiah P. Marsicek, R. Scott Anderson, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Jessica R. Rodysill, Matthew S. Lachniet, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Joseph R. Bennett, Michelle F. Goman, Sarah E. Metcalfe, Jennifer M. Galloway, Gerrit Schoups, David B. Wahl, Jesse L. Morris, Francisca Staines-Urías, Andria Dawson, Bryan N. Shuman, Daniel G. Gavin, Jeffrey S. Munroe, and Brian F. Cumming
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1613–1632, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1613-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1613-2021, 2021
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We present a curated database of western North American Holocene paleoclimate records, which have been screened on length, resolution, and geochronology. The database gathers paleoclimate time series that reflect temperature, hydroclimate, or circulation features from terrestrial and marine sites, spanning a region from Mexico to Alaska. This publicly accessible collection will facilitate a broad range of paleoclimate inquiry.
Jeffrey S. Munroe
The Cryosphere, 15, 863–881, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-863-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-863-2021, 2021
Short summary
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This study investigated a cave in Utah (USA) that contains a deposit of perennial ice. Such ice caves are important sources of information about past climate and are currently threatened by rising temperatures. The origin (precipitation), thickness (3 m), and age (several centuries) of the ice were constrained by a variety of methods. Liquid water recently entered the cave for the first time in many years, suggesting a destabilization of the cave environment.
Jeffrey S. Munroe, Abigail A. Santis, Elsa J. Soderstrom, Michael J. Tappa, and Ann M. Bauer
SOIL, 10, 167–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-167-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-167-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigated how the deposition of mineral dust delivered by the wind influences soil development in mountain environments. At six mountain locations in the southwestern United States, modern dust was collected along with samples of soil and local bedrock. Analysis indicates that at all sites the properties of dust and soil are very similar and are very different from underlying rock. This result indicates that soils are predominantly composed of dust delivered by the wind over time.
Matthew C. Morriss, Benjamin Lehmann, Benjamin Campforts, George Brencher, Brianna Rick, Leif S. Anderson, Alexander L. Handwerger, Irina Overeem, and Jeffrey Moore
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 1251–1274, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-1251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-1251-2023, 2023
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In this paper, we investigate the 28 June 2022 collapse of the Chaos Canyon landslide in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. We find that the landslide was moving prior to its collapse and took place at peak spring snowmelt; temperature modeling indicates the potential presence of permafrost. We hypothesize that this landslide could be part of the broader landscape evolution changes to alpine terrain caused by a warming climate, leading to thawing alpine permafrost.
Chuxuan Li, Alexander L. Handwerger, Jiali Wang, Wei Yu, Xiang Li, Noah J. Finnegan, Yingying Xie, Giuseppe Buscarnera, and Daniel E. Horton
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2317–2345, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2317-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2317-2022, 2022
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In January 2021 a storm triggered numerous debris flows in a wildfire burn scar in California. We use a hydrologic model to assess debris flow susceptibility in pre-fire and postfire scenarios. Compared to pre-fire conditions, postfire conditions yield dramatic increases in peak water discharge, substantially increasing debris flow susceptibility. Our work highlights the hydrologic model's utility in investigating and potentially forecasting postfire debris flows at regional scales.
Alexander L. Handwerger, Mong-Han Huang, Shannan Y. Jones, Pukar Amatya, Hannah R. Kerner, and Dalia B. Kirschbaum
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 753–773, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-753-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-753-2022, 2022
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Rapid detection of landslides is critical for emergency response and disaster mitigation. Here we develop a global landslide detection tool in Google Earth Engine that uses satellite radar data to measure changes in the ground surface properties. We find that we can detect areas with high landslide density within days of a triggering event. Our approach allows the broader hazard community to utilize these state-of-the-art data for improved situational awareness of landslide hazards.
George Brencher, Alexander L. Handwerger, and Jeffrey S. Munroe
The Cryosphere, 15, 4823–4844, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4823-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4823-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use satellite InSAR to inventory and monitor rock glaciers, frozen bodies of ice and rock debris that are an important water resource in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA. Our inventory contains 205 rock glaciers, which occur within a narrow elevation band and deform at 1.94 cm yr-1 on average. Uinta rock glacier movement changes seasonally and appears to be driven by spring snowmelt. The role of rock glaciers as a perennial water resource is threatened by ice loss due to climate change.
Cody C. Routson, Darrell S. Kaufman, Nicholas P. McKay, Michael P. Erb, Stéphanie H. Arcusa, Kendrick J. Brown, Matthew E. Kirby, Jeremiah P. Marsicek, R. Scott Anderson, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Jessica R. Rodysill, Matthew S. Lachniet, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Joseph R. Bennett, Michelle F. Goman, Sarah E. Metcalfe, Jennifer M. Galloway, Gerrit Schoups, David B. Wahl, Jesse L. Morris, Francisca Staines-Urías, Andria Dawson, Bryan N. Shuman, Daniel G. Gavin, Jeffrey S. Munroe, and Brian F. Cumming
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1613–1632, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1613-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1613-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present a curated database of western North American Holocene paleoclimate records, which have been screened on length, resolution, and geochronology. The database gathers paleoclimate time series that reflect temperature, hydroclimate, or circulation features from terrestrial and marine sites, spanning a region from Mexico to Alaska. This publicly accessible collection will facilitate a broad range of paleoclimate inquiry.
Jeffrey S. Munroe
The Cryosphere, 15, 863–881, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-863-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-863-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigated a cave in Utah (USA) that contains a deposit of perennial ice. Such ice caves are important sources of information about past climate and are currently threatened by rising temperatures. The origin (precipitation), thickness (3 m), and age (several centuries) of the ice were constrained by a variety of methods. Liquid water recently entered the cave for the first time in many years, suggesting a destabilization of the cave environment.
Alexander L. Handwerger, Shannan Y. Jones, Mong-Han Huang, Pukar Amatya, Hannah R. Kerner, and Dalia B. Kirschbaum
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2020-315, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2020-315, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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The rapid and accurate mapping of landslides is critical for emergency response, disaster mitigation, and understanding landslide processes. Here we present a new approach to detect landslides anywhere in the world using freely available synthetic aperture radar data and open source tools in Google Earth Engine. Importantly, our methods do not require specialized processing software or training, which allows the broader hazards community to utilize these state-of-the-art remote sensing tools.
Noah J. Finnegan, Kiara N. Broudy, Alexander L. Nereson, Joshua J. Roering, Alexander L. Handwerger, and Georgina Bennett
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 879–894, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-879-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-879-2019, 2019
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In some settings, landslides trigger valley blockages that impound huge volumes of sediment, often drastically changing river habitat and habitability. In other settings, landslides appear to have little effect on rivers. In this study, we explore what governs the different sensitivity of rivers to blocking from landslide debris. We accomplish this by comparing two sites in California with dramatic differences in blocking from otherwise similar slow-moving landslides.
Related subject area
Subject: Snow and Ice | Techniques and Approaches: Instruments and observation techniques
How does a warm and low-snow winter impact the snow cover dynamics in a humid and discontinuous boreal forest? Insights from observations and modeling in eastern Canada
Climatology of snow depth and water equivalent measurements in the Italian Alps (1967–2020)
Monitoring snowpack outflow volumes and their isotopic composition to better understand streamflow generation during rain-on-snow events
Recent evolution and associated hydrological dynamics of a vanishing tropical Andean glacier: Glaciar de Conejeras, Colombia
Rainwater propagation through snowpack during rain-on-snow sprinkling experiments under different snow conditions
The importance of snowmelt spatiotemporal variability for isotope-based hydrograph separation in a high-elevation catchment
Dye tracing to determine flow properties of hydrocarbon-polluted Rabots glaciär, Kebnekaise, Sweden
Soil erosion by snow gliding – a first quantification attempt in a subalpine area in Switzerland
Spatial distribution of stable water isotopes in alpine snow cover
From observation to the quantification of snow processes with a time-lapse camera network
Estimation of soil redistribution rates due to snow cover related processes in a mountainous area (Valle d'Aosta, NW Italy)
Benjamin Bouchard, Daniel F. Nadeau, Florent Domine, François Anctil, Tobias Jonas, and Étienne Tremblay
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2745–2765, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, 2024
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Observations and simulations from an exceptionally low-snow and warm winter, which may become the new norm in the boreal forest of eastern Canada, show an earlier and slower snowmelt, reduced soil temperature, stronger vertical temperature gradients in the snowpack, and a significantly lower spring streamflow. The magnitude of these effects is either amplified or reduced with regard to the complex structure of the canopy.
Roberto Ranzi, Paolo Colosio, and Giorgio Galeati
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2555–2578, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2555-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2555-2024, 2024
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We studied temporal trends and variability of snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) in six regions of the Italian Alps. We applied different statistical analyses to a dataset of homogeneous and continuous measurements of snow depth and SWE, temporally spanning from 1967 to 2020, and discussed the results with meteo-climatic data. Our results quantify the decrease of SWE in the study area, confirming the impacts of climate modifications on the cryosphere in the Alps.
Andrea Rücker, Stefan Boss, James W. Kirchner, and Jana von Freyberg
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2983–3005, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2983-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2983-2019, 2019
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To better understand how rain-on-snow (ROS) events affect snowpack outflow volumes and streamflow generation, we measured snowpack outflow volumes and isotopic composition during 10 ROS events with automated snowmelt lysimeters at three locations in a pre-Alpine catchment. We quantified the spatio-temporal variability of snowpack outflow and its relative contribution to streamflow, and identified rainfall characteristics and initial snow depth as major controls on snow hydrological processes.
Enrique Morán-Tejeda, Jorge Luis Ceballos, Katherine Peña, Jorge Lorenzo-Lacruz, and Juan Ignacio López-Moreno
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5445–5461, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5445-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5445-2018, 2018
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We studied the recent evolution of a small glacier in the Colombian Andes that is close to extinction, focusing on the water release from the glacier. For this we used hydro-climatological data collected at the the glacier surroundings at an hourly resolution. Our results indicate that water from glacier melt increased as a consequence of accelerated glacier retreat, but up to a certain point (mid-2016) it started to decrease, with glacier melt becoming decreasingly important.
Roman Juras, Sebastian Würzer, Jirka Pavlásek, Tomáš Vitvar, and Tobias Jonas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4973–4987, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4973-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4973-2017, 2017
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This research investigates the rainwater dynamics in the snowpack under artificial rain-on-snow events. Deuterium-enriched water was sprayed on the isolated snowpack and rainwater was further identified in the runoff. We found that runoff from cold snowpack was created faster than from the ripe snowpack. Runoff from the cold snowpack also contained more rainwater compared to the ripe snowpack. These results are valuable for further snowpack runoff forecasting.
Jan Schmieder, Florian Hanzer, Thomas Marke, Jakob Garvelmann, Michael Warscher, Harald Kunstmann, and Ulrich Strasser
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 5015–5033, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-5015-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-5015-2016, 2016
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We present novel research on the spatiotemporal variability of snowmelt isotopic content in a high-elevation catchment with complex terrain
to improve the isotope-based hydrograph separation method. A modelling approach was used to weight the plot-scale snowmelt isotopic content
with melt rates for the north- and south-facing slope. The investigations showed that it is important to sample at least north- and south-facing slopes,
because of distinct isotopic differences between both slopes.
C. C. Clason, C. Coch, J. Jarsjö, K. Brugger, P. Jansson, and G. Rosqvist
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2701–2715, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2701-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2701-2015, 2015
K. Meusburger, G. Leitinger, L. Mabit, M. H. Mueller, A. Walter, and C. Alewell
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3763–3775, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3763-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3763-2014, 2014
N. Dietermann and M. Weiler
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 2657–2668, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2657-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2657-2013, 2013
J. Garvelmann, S. Pohl, and M. Weiler
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1415–1429, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1415-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1415-2013, 2013
E. Ceaglio, K. Meusburger, M. Freppaz, E. Zanini, and C. Alewell
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 517–528, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-517-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-517-2012, 2012
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Short summary
Rock glaciers are mixtures of ice and rock debris that are common landforms in high-mountain environments. We evaluated the role of rock glaciers as a component of mountain hydrology by collecting water samples during the summer and fall of 2021. Our results indicate that the water draining from rock glaciers late in the melt season is likely derived from old buried ice; they further demonstrate that this water collectively makes up about a quarter of streamflow during the month of September.
Rock glaciers are mixtures of ice and rock debris that are common landforms in high-mountain...