The iFROG project focuses on three glaciers located in different climatic areas : Mera (Himalaya), Zongo (Andes) and Argentière (Alps). Herefater is a figure of the location of the three glaciers and the observation networks (small maps). The climate charts show the ERA5 climatology (1979-2020) for the closest grid point to the glacier location.

On the mosaïc below, 3 pictures of Mera (left), Zongo (midle) and Argentière (right) glaciers.

The iFROG project will benefit from unique long-time series of meteorological and glaciological observations from the GLACIOCLIM Observatory (part of the OZCAR Research Infrastructure), over three glaciers located in different climatic areas: Mera (Himalaya), Zongo (Andes) and Argentière (Alps).

Working on these three sites within the same project is relevant for three aspects: Retour ligne manuel
– methodology: more data are available in the Alps, which make it an ideal test site where we will develop methods that can be applicable elsewhere. Thanks to continuous efforts in the past, time series of meteorological and glaciological data are also long enough to be exploited in the Andes and in the Himalaya, where more than 20 and 10 years of data are available, respectively.

– global changes: even though we look at three sites “only”, they are located in very different climatic areas (Fig. 2). Argentière glacier is a winter accumulation type glacier, whereas Mera and Zongo glaciers are summer accumulation types. Argentière and Mera glaciers have strong seasonal contrast in temperature, whereas Zongo glacier has a 0°C isotherm located at a relatively constant elevation (Fig. 2). In each climate setting, different impacts of the rain/snow transition rise areRetour ligne automatique
expected. For instance, on Zongo glacier the rise of the rain/snow transition could quickly lead to the entire glacier being below the transition and thus receiving mostly liquid precipitation. Our three sites show thus a great diversity of climate settings, that are representative of most mountain glaciers (outside polar regions), and each site will bring a small piece of answer to depict changes that will happen all around the world.

– impacts: on these three sites the impacts are very different. For the Alps, changes in the hydrologic regime due to the rise of the rain/snow transition might happen earlier than on the two other sites (Huss and Hock, 2018). These changes will impact the hydropower production strategy, tourism and ecosystems (Cauvy-Fraunié and Dangles, 2019). For the two other sites, assessing the impacts of climate change is even more crucial, and in line with the SDGs 2, 6 and 13, as Andean and Himalayan glacier meltwater contribute largely to hydropower production, domestic water supply and irrigation (e.g., Biemans et al., 2019).

Updated on 16 May 2022