---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21837'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'In a warming world of glacier changes, the scientific community has dedicated
    increasing attention to debris-covered glaciers and their response to climate.
    A variety of models with distinct complexity and data requirements have been developed
    and widely used to simulate melt under debris at different sites and scales, but
    their skills have never been compared. As part of the activities of the International
    Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) Debris Covered Glacier Working Group,
    we present an intercomparison exercise aimed at advancing our understanding of
    model skills in simulating ice melt under a debris layer. We compare 15 models
    with different complexity at nine sites in the European Alps, Caucasus, Chilean
    Andes, Nepalese Himalaya and the Southern Alps of New Zealand, over one melt season.
    We run the models with measured meteorological data from automatic weather stations
    and estimated or measured debris properties. We consider four main model categories:
    (i) energy balance models that calculate melt by solving the physics of heat transfer
    to the debris layer, but require a high amount of input data; (ii) a simplified
    energy balance model; (iii) enhanced temperature-index models; and (iv) simple
    empirical temperature-index models that have been extensively used given their
    low data requirement but require calibration of their empirical parameters. Model
    performance is evaluated using on-site measurements of sub-debris melt (for all
    models) and surface temperature (for models based on the surface energy balance).
    Our results show that physically-based energy balance models and empirical temperature-index
    models perform in a distinct manner. At one end of the spectrum, simple temperature-index
    models are accurate when recalibrated or when using site-specific literature parameters,
    and show poor results when parameters are uncalibrated. At the other end, energy
    balance models show a range of performance: the most accurate energy balance models
    are those with the highest degree of complexity at the atmosphere-debris interface.
    An important data gap emerged from our experiment: the poor performance of all
    models at three sites was related to the poor knowledge of debris properties,
    and specifically of thermal conductivity. Future work should focus on both: (i) consistent
    data acquisition to evaluate existing models and support new model developments;
    (ii) advancing models by accounting for processes such as debris-snow interactions,
    moisture in the debris and refreezing. We suggest that a systematic effort of
    model development using a common model framework could be carried out in phase
    II of the Working Group.'
acknowledgement: "This project has received funding from the European Research Council
  (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
  grant agreement No\r\n772751, RAVEN, “Rapid mass losses of debris covered glaciers
  in\r\nHigh Mountain Asia”. It was also supported by the SNSF RENOIR\r\nproject “Resolving
  the thickness of debris on Earth’s glaciers and\r\nits rate of change (RENOIR)”,
  project number 204322.\r\nDavid Rounce received support from NASA-ROSES program\r\ngrants
  NNX17AB27G and 80NSSC17K0566. Walter Immerzeel\r\nand Jakob Steiner acknowledge
  support from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon
  2020\r\nresearch and innovation program (grant agreement no. 676819).\r\nBen Brock
  acknowledges support from the EU/FP7 ACQWA\r\n(Assessing Climate impacts on the
  Quantity and quality of WAter) project, NERC grant NE/C514282/1, the British Council-Italian\r\nMinistry
  of University and Research Partnership programme and\r\nthe Carnegie Trust for the
  Universities of Scotland.\r\nThe authors acknowledge the International Association
  of\r\nCryospheric Sciences (IACS) for supporting the creation of the\r\nDebris-Covered
  Glaciers Working Group (DCG-WG) which enabled this model intercomparison experiment.\r\nThe
  authors thank Martin Heynen for producing Figs. 3 and 4.\r\nThe authors thank Duncan
  Quincey and Richard Essery for their\r\nconstructive feedback and comments.\r\n"
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
  orcid: 0000-0002-5554-8087
- first_name: Adrià
  full_name: Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià
  id: f06891fd-9f42-11ee-8632-a20971c43046
  last_name: Fontrodona-Bach
- first_name: David R.
  full_name: Rounce, David R.
  last_name: Rounce
- first_name: Catriona Louise
  full_name: Fyffe, Catriona Louise
  id: 001b0422-8d15-11ed-bc51-cab6c037a228
  last_name: Fyffe
- first_name: Leif S.
  full_name: Anderson, Leif S.
  last_name: Anderson
- first_name: Álvaro
  full_name: Ayala, Álvaro
  last_name: Ayala
- first_name: Ben W.
  full_name: Brock, Ben W.
  last_name: Brock
- first_name: Pascal
  full_name: Buri, Pascal
  last_name: Buri
- first_name: Stefan
  full_name: Fugger, Stefan
  last_name: Fugger
- first_name: Koji
  full_name: Fujita, Koji
  last_name: Fujita
- first_name: PRATEEK
  full_name: GANTAYAT, PRATEEK
  id: 02734268-3e8d-11ef-80a1-cec4a088d004
  last_name: GANTAYAT
- first_name: Alexander R.
  full_name: Groos, Alexander R.
  last_name: Groos
- first_name: Walter
  full_name: Immerzeel, Walter
  last_name: Immerzeel
- first_name: Marin
  full_name: Kneib, Marin
  last_name: Kneib
- first_name: Christoph
  full_name: Mayer, Christoph
  last_name: Mayer
- first_name: Shelley
  full_name: MacDonell, Shelley
  last_name: MacDonell
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: McCarthy, Michael
  id: 22a2674a-61ce-11ee-94b5-d18813baf16f
  last_name: McCarthy
- first_name: James
  full_name: McPhee, James
  last_name: McPhee
- first_name: Evan
  full_name: Miles, Evan
  last_name: Miles
- first_name: Heather
  full_name: Purdie, Heather
  last_name: Purdie
- first_name: Ekaterina
  full_name: Rets, Ekaterina
  last_name: Rets
- first_name: Akiko
  full_name: Sakai, Akiko
  last_name: Sakai
- first_name: Thomas
  full_name: Shaw, Thomas
  id: 3caa3f91-1f03-11ee-96ce-e0e553054d6e
  last_name: Shaw
  orcid: 0000-0001-7640-6152
- first_name: Jakob
  full_name: Steiner, Jakob
  last_name: Steiner
- first_name: Patrick
  full_name: Wagnon, Patrick
  last_name: Wagnon
- first_name: Alex
  full_name: Winter-Billington, Alex
  last_name: Winter-Billington
citation:
  ama: 'Pellicciotti F, Fontrodona-Bach A, Rounce DR, et al. DCG-MIP: The debris-covered
    glacier melt model intercomparison experiment. <i>The Cryosphere</i>. 2026;20(3):1895-1928.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026">10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026</a>'
  apa: 'Pellicciotti, F., Fontrodona-Bach, A., Rounce, D. R., Fyffe, C. L., Anderson,
    L. S., Ayala, Á., … Winter-Billington, A. (2026). DCG-MIP: The debris-covered
    glacier melt model intercomparison experiment. <i>The Cryosphere</i>. Copernicus
    Publications. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026">https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026</a>'
  chicago: 'Pellicciotti, Francesca, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, David R. Rounce, Catriona
    Louise Fyffe, Leif S. Anderson, Álvaro Ayala, Ben W. Brock, et al. “DCG-MIP: The
    Debris-Covered Glacier Melt Model Intercomparison Experiment.” <i>The Cryosphere</i>.
    Copernicus Publications, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026">https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026</a>.'
  ieee: 'F. Pellicciotti <i>et al.</i>, “DCG-MIP: The debris-covered glacier melt
    model intercomparison experiment,” <i>The Cryosphere</i>, vol. 20, no. 3. Copernicus
    Publications, pp. 1895–1928, 2026.'
  ista: 'Pellicciotti F, Fontrodona-Bach A, Rounce DR, Fyffe CL, Anderson LS, Ayala
    Á, Brock BW, Buri P, Fugger S, Fujita K, GANTAYAT P, Groos AR, Immerzeel W, Kneib
    M, Mayer C, MacDonell S, McCarthy M, McPhee J, Miles E, Purdie H, Rets E, Sakai
    A, Shaw T, Steiner J, Wagnon P, Winter-Billington A. 2026. DCG-MIP: The debris-covered
    glacier melt model intercomparison experiment. The Cryosphere. 20(3), 1895–1928.'
  mla: 'Pellicciotti, Francesca, et al. “DCG-MIP: The Debris-Covered Glacier Melt
    Model Intercomparison Experiment.” <i>The Cryosphere</i>, vol. 20, no. 3, Copernicus
    Publications, 2026, pp. 1895–928, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026">10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026</a>.'
  short: F. Pellicciotti, A. Fontrodona-Bach, D.R. Rounce, C.L. Fyffe, L.S. Anderson,
    Á. Ayala, B.W. Brock, P. Buri, S. Fugger, K. Fujita, P. GANTAYAT, A.R. Groos,
    W. Immerzeel, M. Kneib, C. Mayer, S. MacDonell, M. McCarthy, J. McPhee, E. Miles,
    H. Purdie, E. Rets, A. Sakai, T. Shaw, J. Steiner, P. Wagnon, A. Winter-Billington,
    The Cryosphere 20 (2026) 1895–1928.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-05-07T08:48:38Z
date_published: 2026-04-02T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-05-18T06:12:56Z
day: '02'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: FrPe
doi: 10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026
file:
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  checksum: f15abad4ee360d41a3e8794f068711fc
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  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-05-18T06:07:53Z
  date_updated: 2026-05-18T06:07:53Z
  file_id: '21886'
  file_name: 2026_Cryosphere_Pellicciotti.pdf
  file_size: 3168394
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2026-05-18T06:07:53Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        20'
issue: '3'
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
month: '04'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 1895-1928
publication: The Cryosphere
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1994-0424
publication_status: published
publisher: Copernicus Publications
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'DCG-MIP: The debris-covered glacier melt model intercomparison experiment'
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 20
year: '2026'
...
---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21915'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Hydrological models commonly use very simple snow accumulation and melt models
    based on air temperature information, namely, a temperature threshold for snow
    accumulation as well as for snowmelt, and a melt factor. This utility emerges
    due to the simplicity, efficiency, and generally good performance of such models
    if sufficient calibration information is available. At scales beyond single gauged
    catchments, the estimation and evaluation of the temperature thresholds and the
    melt factor has been difficult due to a lack of observations on snow accumulation
    and melt. Using a recently published Northern Hemisphere snow water equivalent
    dataset (NH-SWE) and co-located climate station observations of temperature and
    precipitation (4736 stations across the Northern Hemisphere), this work estimates
    melt factors and temperature thresholds for snow modelling based on station observations
    and provides the first large-scale and long-term (1950–2023) evaluation of a simple
    temperature-index snow model and its parameters across a diverse range of snow
    climates. Our study reveals that the 0 °C as precipitation-phase threshold captures
    most snowfall days (89 %) and the 0 °C as snowmelt initiation threshold captures
    most snowmelt days (76 %). Adjusting large-scale uniform threshold values does
    not consistently improve performance across all snow accumulation and melt metrics.
    Estimated melt factors based on observations converge towards 3–5 mm (°C d)−1
    for deeper snowpack climates (peak snow water equivalent >300 mm), but their estimation
    may be more challenging for colder climates with shallower snowpacks (<300 mm),
    conditions where the derived melt factors cover a wider range (1 to 12 mm (°C d)−1)
    and a much higher interannual and spatial variability. The temperature-index snow
    model performs consistently well, on average, across the available Northern Hemisphere
    data set for estimating long-term mean values of seasonal snow cover onset, snowmelt
    season onset, mean snow accumulation and snowmelt rates, but challenges may arise
    due to biases in temperature records or solid precipitation undercatch. Peak snow
    water equivalent is likely underestimated for deep or alpine snowpacks, while
    it is likely overestimated for shallow snowpacks in the coldest and continental
    climates. The best median performance of the temperature-index approach lies on
    relatively shallow snowpacks in temperate climates. This study provides valuable
    insights into temperature-threshold snowfall modelling and temperature-index melt
    modelling for applications across diverse climates and environments, and the results
    should help refine regional modelling approaches to enhance our understanding
    of snowpack responses to global warming.
acknowledgement: 'AFB acknowledges funding from the UK''s Natural Environment Research
  Council (NERC) CENTA2 doctoral training program, grant number NE/S007350/1. AFB
  acknowledges support from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science
  research fund. The computations described in this paper were performed using the
  University of Birmingham''s BlueBEAR HPC service, which provides a High Performance
  Computing service to the University''s research community. See http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/bear
  (last access: 15 December 2025) for more details. This research has been supported
  by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant no. CENTA2 NE/S007350/1).'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Adrià
  full_name: Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià
  id: f06891fd-9f42-11ee-8632-a20971c43046
  last_name: Fontrodona-Bach
- first_name: Bettina
  full_name: Schaefli, Bettina
  last_name: Schaefli
- first_name: Ross
  full_name: Woods, Ross
  last_name: Woods
- first_name: Joshua R.
  full_name: Larsen, Joshua R.
  last_name: Larsen
citation:
  ama: Fontrodona-Bach A, Schaefli B, Woods R, Larsen JR. Estimating robust melt factors
    and temperature thresholds for snow modelling across the Northern Hemisphere.
    <i>Hydrology and Earth System Sciences</i>. 2026;30(9):2613-2636. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026">10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026</a>
  apa: Fontrodona-Bach, A., Schaefli, B., Woods, R., &#38; Larsen, J. R. (2026). Estimating
    robust melt factors and temperature thresholds for snow modelling across the Northern
    Hemisphere. <i>Hydrology and Earth System Sciences</i>. Copernicus Publications.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026">https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026</a>
  chicago: Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià, Bettina Schaefli, Ross Woods, and Joshua R. Larsen.
    “Estimating Robust Melt Factors and Temperature Thresholds for Snow Modelling
    across the Northern Hemisphere.” <i>Hydrology and Earth System Sciences</i>. Copernicus
    Publications, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026">https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026</a>.
  ieee: A. Fontrodona-Bach, B. Schaefli, R. Woods, and J. R. Larsen, “Estimating robust
    melt factors and temperature thresholds for snow modelling across the Northern
    Hemisphere,” <i>Hydrology and Earth System Sciences</i>, vol. 30, no. 9. Copernicus
    Publications, pp. 2613–2636, 2026.
  ista: Fontrodona-Bach A, Schaefli B, Woods R, Larsen JR. 2026. Estimating robust
    melt factors and temperature thresholds for snow modelling across the Northern
    Hemisphere. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 30(9), 2613–2636.
  mla: Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià, et al. “Estimating Robust Melt Factors and Temperature
    Thresholds for Snow Modelling across the Northern Hemisphere.” <i>Hydrology and
    Earth System Sciences</i>, vol. 30, no. 9, Copernicus Publications, 2026, pp.
    2613–36, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026">10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026</a>.
  short: A. Fontrodona-Bach, B. Schaefli, R. Woods, J.R. Larsen, Hydrology and Earth
    System Sciences 30 (2026) 2613–2636.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-05-24T22:01:32Z
date_published: 2026-05-04T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-02T09:24:00Z
day: '04'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: FrPe
doi: 10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 8bde4775545f9e049ea3806144b0d5f1
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  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-06-02T09:22:26Z
  date_updated: 2026-06-02T09:22:26Z
  file_id: '21940'
  file_name: 2026_HydrologyEarthSystemSciences_FontrodonaBach.pdf
  file_size: 11250378
  relation: main_file
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file_date_updated: 2026-06-02T09:22:26Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        30'
issue: '9'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 2613-2636
publication: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1607-7938
  issn:
  - 1027-5606
publication_status: published
publisher: Copernicus Publications
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Estimating robust melt factors and temperature thresholds for snow modelling
  across the Northern Hemisphere
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 30
year: '2026'
...
---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '22119'
article_number: EGU26-19367
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: José M
  full_name: Muñoz Hermosilla, José M
  id: e1037a6d-646e-11ef-b402-e0ed9ab0901e
  last_name: Muñoz Hermosilla
  orcid: 0000-0002-1990-8508
- first_name: Evan
  full_name: Miles, Evan
  last_name: Miles
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: McCarthy, Michael
  id: 22a2674a-61ce-11ee-94b5-d18813baf16f
  last_name: McCarthy
- first_name: Juan Vicente
  full_name: Melo Velasco, Juan Vicente
  id: 2611dec0-b9c6-11ed-9bea-a81c2b17a549
  last_name: Melo Velasco
- first_name: Florian
  full_name: Hardmeier, Florian
  last_name: Hardmeier
- first_name: PRATEEK
  full_name: GANTAYAT, PRATEEK
  id: 02734268-3e8d-11ef-80a1-cec4a088d004
  last_name: GANTAYAT
- first_name: Adrià
  full_name: Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià
  id: f06891fd-9f42-11ee-8632-a20971c43046
  last_name: Fontrodona-Bach
- first_name: Guillaume
  full_name: Jouvet, Guillaume
  last_name: Jouvet
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
  orcid: 0000-0002-5554-8087
citation:
  ama: 'Muñoz Hermosilla JM, Miles E, McCarthy M, et al. Constraining debris input
    to Oberaletsch Glacier using ensemble-based Lagrangian modelling. In: <i>EGU General
    Assembly 2026</i>. European Geosciences Union; 2026. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367">10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367</a>'
  apa: 'Muñoz Hermosilla, J. M., Miles, E., McCarthy, M., Melo Velasco, J. V., Hardmeier,
    F., GANTAYAT, P., … Pellicciotti, F. (2026). Constraining debris input to Oberaletsch
    Glacier using ensemble-based Lagrangian modelling. In <i>EGU General Assembly
    2026</i>. Vienna, Austria &#38; Virtual: European Geosciences Union. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367">https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367</a>'
  chicago: Muñoz Hermosilla, José M, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy, Juan Vicente Melo
    Velasco, Florian Hardmeier, PRATEEK GANTAYAT, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, Guillaume
    Jouvet, and Francesca Pellicciotti. “Constraining Debris Input to Oberaletsch
    Glacier Using Ensemble-Based Lagrangian Modelling.” In <i>EGU General Assembly
    2026</i>. European Geosciences Union, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367">https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367</a>.
  ieee: J. M. Muñoz Hermosilla <i>et al.</i>, “Constraining debris input to Oberaletsch
    Glacier using ensemble-based Lagrangian modelling,” in <i>EGU General Assembly
    2026</i>, Vienna, Austria &#38; Virtual, 2026.
  ista: Muñoz Hermosilla JM, Miles E, McCarthy M, Melo Velasco JV, Hardmeier F, GANTAYAT
    P, Fontrodona-Bach A, Jouvet G, Pellicciotti F. 2026. Constraining debris input
    to Oberaletsch Glacier using ensemble-based Lagrangian modelling. EGU General
    Assembly 2026. EGU General Assembly, EGU26-19367.
  mla: Muñoz Hermosilla, José M., et al. “Constraining Debris Input to Oberaletsch
    Glacier Using Ensemble-Based Lagrangian Modelling.” <i>EGU General Assembly 2026</i>,
    EGU26-19367, European Geosciences Union, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367">10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367</a>.
  short: J.M. Muñoz Hermosilla, E. Miles, M. McCarthy, J.V. Melo Velasco, F. Hardmeier,
    P. GANTAYAT, A. Fontrodona-Bach, G. Jouvet, F. Pellicciotti, in:, EGU General
    Assembly 2026, European Geosciences Union, 2026.
conference:
  end_date: 2026-05-08
  location: Vienna, Austria & Virtual
  name: EGU General Assembly
  start_date: 2026-05-03
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-06-22T12:16:50Z
date_published: 2026-07-02T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-07-02T06:42:37Z
day: '02'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: FrPe
- _id: GradSch
doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu26-19367
file:
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  checksum: 2ea3e691cfa53176d0e801b9172842d6
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  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-07-02T06:22:50Z
  date_updated: 2026-07-02T06:22:50Z
  file_id: '22233'
  file_name: 2026_EGU26_MunozHermosilla.pdf
  file_size: 284023
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2026-07-02T06:22:50Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '07'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: EGU General Assembly 2026
publication_status: published
publisher: European Geosciences Union
status: public
title: Constraining debris input to Oberaletsch Glacier using ensemble-based Lagrangian
  modelling
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
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  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: conference_abstract
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
year: '2026'
...
---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
_id: '19878'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Rock debris partially covers glaciers worldwide, with varying extents and
    distributions, and controls sub‐debris melt rates by modifying energy transfer
    from the atmosphere to the ice. Two key physical properties controlling this energy
    exchange are thermal conductivity (k) and aerodynamic roughness length (z0). Accurate
    representation of these properties in energy‐balance models is critical for understanding
    climate‐glacier interactions and predicting the behavior of debris‐covered glaciers.
    However, k and z0 have been derived at very few sites from limited local measurements,
    using different approaches, and most model applications rely on values reported
    from these few sites and studies. We derive k and z0 using established and modified
    approaches from data at three locations on Pirámide Glacier in the central Chilean
    Andes. By comparing methods and evaluating melt simulated with an energy‐balance
    model, we reveal substantial differences between approaches. These lead to discrepancies
    between ice melt from energy‐balance simulations and observed data, and highlight
    the impact of method choice on calculated ice melt. Optimizing k against measured
    melt appears a viable approach to constrain melt simulations. Determining z0 seems
    less critical, as it has a smaller impact on total melt. Profile aerodynamic method
    measurements for estimating z0, despite higher costs, are independent of ice melt
    calculations. The large, unexpected differences between methods indicate a substantial
    knowledge gap. The fact that field‐derived k and z0 fail to work well in energy‐balance
    models, suggests that model values represent bulk properties distinct from theoretical
    field measurements. Addressing this gap is essential for improving glacier melt
    predictions.
acknowledgement: This project received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation
  (Grant 204322, project “REsolving the thickNess Of debris on Earth's glacIers and
  its Rate of change,” RENOIR). We thank Lars Groeneveld, Diego Hernández, Alonso
  Mejías, Gabriela Reyes and Gabriela Tala for their support during fieldwork. Open
  access funding provided by Institute of Science and Technology Austria/KEMÖ.
article_number: e2025JF008360
article_processing_charge: Yes (via OA deal)
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Juan Vicente
  full_name: Melo Velasco, Juan Vicente
  id: 2611dec0-b9c6-11ed-9bea-a81c2b17a549
  last_name: Melo Velasco
- first_name: Evan
  full_name: Miles, Evan
  last_name: Miles
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: McCarthy, Michael
  id: 22a2674a-61ce-11ee-94b5-d18813baf16f
  last_name: McCarthy
- first_name: Thomas
  full_name: Shaw, Thomas
  id: 3caa3f91-1f03-11ee-96ce-e0e553054d6e
  last_name: Shaw
  orcid: 0000-0001-7640-6152
- first_name: Catriona Louise
  full_name: Fyffe, Catriona Louise
  id: 001b0422-8d15-11ed-bc51-cab6c037a228
  last_name: Fyffe
- first_name: Adrià
  full_name: Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià
  id: f06891fd-9f42-11ee-8632-a20971c43046
  last_name: Fontrodona-Bach
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
  orcid: 0000-0002-5554-8087
citation:
  ama: 'Melo Velasco JV, Miles E, McCarthy M, et al. Method dependence in thermal
    conductivity and aerodynamic roughness length estimates on a debris‐covered glacier.
    <i>Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>. 2025;130(6). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jf008360">10.1029/2025jf008360</a>'
  apa: 'Melo Velasco, J. V., Miles, E., McCarthy, M., Shaw, T., Fyffe, C. L., Fontrodona-Bach,
    A., &#38; Pellicciotti, F. (2025). Method dependence in thermal conductivity and
    aerodynamic roughness length estimates on a debris‐covered glacier. <i>Journal
    of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>. Wiley. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jf008360">https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jf008360</a>'
  chicago: 'Melo Velasco, Juan Vicente, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy, Thomas Shaw,
    Catriona Louise Fyffe, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, and Francesca Pellicciotti. “Method
    Dependence in Thermal Conductivity and Aerodynamic Roughness Length Estimates
    on a Debris‐covered Glacier.” <i>Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>.
    Wiley, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jf008360">https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jf008360</a>.'
  ieee: 'J. V. Melo Velasco <i>et al.</i>, “Method dependence in thermal conductivity
    and aerodynamic roughness length estimates on a debris‐covered glacier,” <i>Journal
    of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>, vol. 130, no. 6. Wiley, 2025.'
  ista: 'Melo Velasco JV, Miles E, McCarthy M, Shaw T, Fyffe CL, Fontrodona-Bach A,
    Pellicciotti F. 2025. Method dependence in thermal conductivity and aerodynamic
    roughness length estimates on a debris‐covered glacier. Journal of Geophysical
    Research: Earth Surface. 130(6), e2025JF008360.'
  mla: 'Melo Velasco, Juan Vicente, et al. “Method Dependence in Thermal Conductivity
    and Aerodynamic Roughness Length Estimates on a Debris‐covered Glacier.” <i>Journal
    of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>, vol. 130, no. 6, e2025JF008360, Wiley,
    2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jf008360">10.1029/2025jf008360</a>.'
  short: 'J.V. Melo Velasco, E. Miles, M. McCarthy, T. Shaw, C.L. Fyffe, A. Fontrodona-Bach,
    F. Pellicciotti, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 130 (2025).'
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-06-23T13:54:01Z
date_published: 2025-06-15T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-30T13:42:28Z
day: '15'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: FrPe
doi: 10.1029/2025jf008360
external_id:
  isi:
  - '001508794200001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: ca91541516c71d240321630ca42b4dc4
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2025-06-24T06:27:34Z
  date_updated: 2025-06-24T06:27:34Z
  file_id: '19886'
  file_name: 2025_JGREarthSurface_MeloVelasco.pdf
  file_size: 3949928
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2025-06-24T06:27:34Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '       130'
isi: 1
issue: '6'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '06'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: 'Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface'
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2169-9011
  issn:
  - 2169-9003
publication_status: published
publisher: Wiley
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Method dependence in thermal conductivity and aerodynamic roughness length
  estimates on a debris‐covered glacier
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 130
year: '2025'
...
---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '20546'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Rocky debris covers around 7.3 % of the global glacier area, influencing ice
    melt rates and the surface mass balance of glaciers, making the dynamics and hydrology
    of debris-covered glaciers distinct from those of clean-ice glaciers. Accurate
    representation of debris in models is challenging, as measurements of the physical
    properties and thickness of the supraglacial debris layer are scarce. Here, we
    compile a database of measured and reported bulk physical properties and layer
    thicknesses of supraglacial debris that we call the supraglacial Debris Database
    (DebDaB) and that is open to community submissions. The majority of the database
    (90 %) is compiled from 172 sources in the literature, and the remaining 10 %
    was previously unpublished. DebDaB contains 8741 data entries for supraglacial
    debris layer thickness, of which 1770 entries also include sub-debris ablation
    rates, 179 thermal conductivity of debris, 160 aerodynamic surface roughness length,
    79 debris albedo, 59 debris emissivity, and 37 debris porosity. The data are distributed
    over 84 glaciers in 13 regions in the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers.
    We show regional differences in the distribution of debris thickness measurements
    in DebDaB and fit simplified Østrem curves to 19 glaciers with sufficient debris
    thickness and ablation data. The data in DebDaB can be used for energy balance,
    melt, and surface mass balance studies by incorporating site-specific debris properties
    or for evaluation of remote sensing estimates of debris thickness and surface
    roughness. They can also help future field campaigns on debris-covered glaciers
    by identifying observation gaps. DebDaB's uneven spatial coverage points to sampling
    biases in community efforts to observe debris-covered glaciers, with some regions
    (e.g. central Europe and South Asia) well-sampled but others having gaps with
    prevalent debris (e.g. the Andes and Alaska). Debris thickness measurements are
    mostly concentrated at lower elevations, leaving higher-elevation debris-covered
    areas undersampled and suggesting that our knowledge of debris properties might
    not be representative of all elevations. The aims of DebDaB, as an openly available
    dataset, are to evolve over time, to be updated, and to add to community submissions
    as new data on supraglacial properties become available. The data described in
    this paper can be accessed from Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14224835
    (Groeneveld et al., 2025).
acknowledgement: "This work was supported by SNF project RENOIR (“Resolving the thickness
  of debris on Earth’s glaciers and its rate of change”; grant no. 204322). This project
  received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s
  Horizon 2020 research and\r\ninnovation programme (grant no. 772751; RAVEN: “Rapid
  mass losses of debris covered glaciers in High Mountain Asia”). The authors acknowledge
  DCGWG of IACS for setting the stage and bringing together the debris-covered glacier
  community to focus on broader needs transcending a specific research topic and for
  starting the Zenodo community on debris-covered glaciers, where this database is
  hosted. The authors thank Achim A. Beylich (topical editor), Ken\r\nMankoff (chief
  editor), Morgan Jones (reviewer), and an anonymous reviewer for their  constructive
  feedback, comments, and discussions on the database and paper."
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Adrià
  full_name: Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià
  id: f06891fd-9f42-11ee-8632-a20971c43046
  last_name: Fontrodona-Bach
- first_name: Lars
  full_name: Groeneveld, Lars
  last_name: Groeneveld
- first_name: Evan
  full_name: Miles, Evan
  last_name: Miles
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: McCarthy, Michael
  id: 22a2674a-61ce-11ee-94b5-d18813baf16f
  last_name: McCarthy
- first_name: Thomas
  full_name: Shaw, Thomas
  id: 3caa3f91-1f03-11ee-96ce-e0e553054d6e
  last_name: Shaw
  orcid: 0000-0001-7640-6152
- first_name: Juan Vicente
  full_name: Melo Velasco, Juan Vicente
  id: 2611dec0-b9c6-11ed-9bea-a81c2b17a549
  last_name: Melo Velasco
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
  orcid: 0000-0002-5554-8087
citation:
  ama: 'Fontrodona-Bach A, Groeneveld L, Miles E, et al. DebDaB: A database of supraglacial
    debris  thickness and physical properties. <i>Earth System Science Data</i>. 2025;17(8):4213-4234.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025">10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025</a>'
  apa: 'Fontrodona-Bach, A., Groeneveld, L., Miles, E., McCarthy, M., Shaw, T., Melo
    Velasco, J. V., &#38; Pellicciotti, F. (2025). DebDaB: A database of supraglacial
    debris  thickness and physical properties. <i>Earth System Science Data</i>. Copernicus
    Publications. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025">https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025</a>'
  chicago: 'Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià, Lars Groeneveld, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy,
    Thomas Shaw, Juan Vicente Melo Velasco, and Francesca Pellicciotti. “DebDaB: A
    Database of Supraglacial Debris  Thickness and Physical Properties.” <i>Earth
    System Science Data</i>. Copernicus Publications, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025">https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025</a>.'
  ieee: 'A. Fontrodona-Bach <i>et al.</i>, “DebDaB: A database of supraglacial debris 
    thickness and physical properties,” <i>Earth System Science Data</i>, vol. 17,
    no. 8. Copernicus Publications, pp. 4213–4234, 2025.'
  ista: 'Fontrodona-Bach A, Groeneveld L, Miles E, McCarthy M, Shaw T, Melo Velasco
    JV, Pellicciotti F. 2025. DebDaB: A database of supraglacial debris  thickness
    and physical properties. Earth System Science Data. 17(8), 4213–4234.'
  mla: 'Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià, et al. “DebDaB: A Database of Supraglacial Debris 
    Thickness and Physical Properties.” <i>Earth System Science Data</i>, vol. 17,
    no. 8, Copernicus Publications, 2025, pp. 4213–34, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025">10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025</a>.'
  short: A. Fontrodona-Bach, L. Groeneveld, E. Miles, M. McCarthy, T. Shaw, J.V. Melo
    Velasco, F. Pellicciotti, Earth System Science Data 17 (2025) 4213–4234.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-10-27T08:21:22Z
date_published: 2025-08-29T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-12-01T15:05:58Z
day: '29'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: FrPe
doi: 10.5194/essd-17-4213-2025
external_id:
  isi:
  - '001560847000001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: f77ebb9825f374134a89e0e6311fe188
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2025-10-27T08:38:40Z
  date_updated: 2025-10-27T08:38:40Z
  file_id: '20548'
  file_name: 2025_EarthSystemScienceData_FontrodonaBach.pdf
  file_size: 3842196
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2025-10-27T08:38:40Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        17'
isi: 1
issue: '8'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '08'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 4213-4234
publication: Earth System Science Data
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 1866-3516
publication_status: published
publisher: Copernicus Publications
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
  record:
  - id: '20547'
    relation: research_data
    status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'DebDaB: A database of supraglacial debris  thickness and physical properties'
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 17
year: '2025'
...
---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: gold
_id: '20547'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "DebdaB is a database of measured and reported physical properties and thickness
    of supraglacial debris that is openly available and open to community submissions.\r\n\r\nThe
    majority of the database (90%) is compiled from 172 sources in the literature,
    and the remaining 10% has not been published before. DebDaB contains 8,286 data
    entries for supraglacial debris thickness, of which 1,852 entries also include
    sub-debris ablation rates, 167 data entries of thermal conductivity of debris,
    157 of aerodynamic surface roughness length, 77 of debris albedo, 56 of debris
    emissivity and 37 of debris porosity. The data are distributed over 83 glaciers
    in 13 regions in the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers. "
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Lars
  full_name: Groeneveld, Lars
  last_name: Groeneveld
- first_name: Adrià
  full_name: Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià
  id: f06891fd-9f42-11ee-8632-a20971c43046
  last_name: Fontrodona-Bach
- first_name: Evan
  full_name: Miles, Evan
  last_name: Miles
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: McCarthy, Michael
  id: 22a2674a-61ce-11ee-94b5-d18813baf16f
  last_name: McCarthy
- first_name: Juan Vicente
  full_name: Melo Velasco, Juan Vicente
  id: 2611dec0-b9c6-11ed-9bea-a81c2b17a549
  last_name: Melo Velasco
- first_name: Thomas
  full_name: Shaw, Thomas
  id: 3caa3f91-1f03-11ee-96ce-e0e553054d6e
  last_name: Shaw
  orcid: 0000-0001-7640-6152
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
  orcid: 0000-0002-5554-8087
- first_name: Andreas
  full_name: Bauder, Andreas
  last_name: Bauder
- first_name: Pascal
  full_name: Buri, Pascal
  last_name: Buri
- first_name: Marin
  full_name: Kneib, Marin
  last_name: Kneib
- first_name: Amit
  full_name: Kumar, Amit
  last_name: Kumar
- first_name: Aditya
  full_name: Mishra, Aditya
  last_name: Mishra
- first_name: lene
  full_name: Petersen, lene
  last_name: Petersen
- first_name: Roman
  full_name: Renner, Roman
  last_name: Renner
- first_name: Sandro
  full_name: Schmid, Sandro
  last_name: Schmid
citation:
  ama: 'Groeneveld L, Fontrodona-Bach A, Miles E, et al. DebDaB: A database of supraglacial
    debris thickness and physical properties. 2025. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14224835">10.5281/ZENODO.14224835</a>'
  apa: 'Groeneveld, L., Fontrodona-Bach, A., Miles, E., McCarthy, M., Melo Velasco,
    J. V., Shaw, T., … Schmid, S. (2025). DebDaB: A database of supraglacial debris
    thickness and physical properties. Zenodo. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14224835">https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14224835</a>'
  chicago: 'Groeneveld, Lars, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy,
    Juan Vicente Melo Velasco, Thomas Shaw, Francesca Pellicciotti, et al. “DebDaB:
    A Database of Supraglacial Debris Thickness and Physical Properties.” Zenodo,
    2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14224835">https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14224835</a>.'
  ieee: 'L. Groeneveld <i>et al.</i>, “DebDaB: A database of supraglacial debris thickness
    and physical properties.” Zenodo, 2025.'
  ista: 'Groeneveld L, Fontrodona-Bach A, Miles E, McCarthy M, Melo Velasco JV, Shaw
    T, Pellicciotti F, Bauder A, Buri P, Kneib M, Kumar A, Mishra A, Petersen  lene,
    Renner R, Schmid S. 2025. DebDaB: A database of supraglacial debris thickness
    and physical properties, Zenodo, <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14224835">10.5281/ZENODO.14224835</a>.'
  mla: 'Groeneveld, Lars, et al. <i>DebDaB: A Database of Supraglacial Debris Thickness
    and Physical Properties</i>. Zenodo, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14224835">10.5281/ZENODO.14224835</a>.'
  short: L. Groeneveld, A. Fontrodona-Bach, E. Miles, M. McCarthy, J.V. Melo Velasco,
    T. Shaw, F. Pellicciotti, A. Bauder, P. Buri, M. Kneib, A. Kumar, A. Mishra,  lene
    Petersen, R. Renner, S. Schmid, (2025).
date_created: 2025-10-27T08:42:09Z
date_published: 2025-05-16T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-12-01T15:05:58Z
day: '16'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: FrPe
doi: 10.5281/ZENODO.14224835
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15441000
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publisher: Zenodo
related_material:
  record:
  - id: '20546'
    relation: used_in_publication
    status: public
status: public
title: 'DebDaB: A database of supraglacial debris thickness and physical properties'
type: research_data_reference
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
year: '2025'
...
