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Volcanic controls on glacier elevation

Tryggvi Unnsteinsson1, Matteo Spagnolo1, Donal Mullan2, Brice Rea1, Iestyn Barr3, Társilo Girona4

  • Affiliations: 1School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, UK; 2School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, UK; 3Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK; 4Alaska Volcano Observatory, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Monday 16:30 - 18:30, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 181

  • Programme No: 3.3.16

  • Theme 3 > Session 3

Abstract

Glaciated volcanoes pose heightened risk to societies compared to their ice-free counterparts. Monitoring of glaciovolcanic processes is therefore of vital importance, as it could reveal fundamental changes in volcanic activities. This is especially relevant because traditional surveys of volcanic activity may be hindered by glacier cover and/or remoteness. Volcanic activity has the potential of asserting controls on the dynamics and mass balance of nearby glaciers. Previous studies have shown that some volcanoes negatively affect the mass balance of overlying glaciers. Here we present the first global analysis of volcanic effects on glacier mass balance by investigating glacier elevation distribution. We demonstrate that, globally, volcanoes modulate the elevation of overlying glaciers, irrespective of local topography and climate. We further present results from multitemporal automated tracking of glacier mass balance and dynamics around volcanoes.