article published yes Thomas E. Shaw author Pascal Buri author Michael McCarthy author Evan S. Miles author Álvaro Ayala author Francesca Pellicciotti author b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e700000-0002-5554-8087 FrPe department The presence of a developed boundary layer decouples a glacier's response from ambient conditions, suggesting that sensitivity to climate change is increased by glacier retreat. To test this hypothesis, we explore six years of distributed meteorological data on a small Swiss glacier in the period 2001–2022. Large glacier fragmentation has occurred since 2001 (−35% area change up to 2022) coinciding with notable frontal retreat, an observed switch from down‐glacier katabatic to up‐glacier valley winds and an increased sensitivity (ratio) of on‐glacier to off‐glacier temperature. As the glacier ceases to develop density‐driven katabatic winds, sensible heat fluxes on the glacier are increasingly determined by the conditions occurring outside the boundary layer of the glacier, sealing the glacier's demise as the climate continues to warm and experience an increased frequency of extreme summers. https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/14779/14805/2023_GeophysicalResearchLetter_Shaw.pdf application/pdfno American Geophysical Union2023 eng General Earth and Planetary SciencesGeophysics 0094-8276 1944-8007 00099943640000110.1029/2023gl103043 5011 Shaw, T. E., Buri, P., McCarthy, M., Miles, E. S., Ayala, Á., &#38; Pellicciotti, F. (2023). The decaying near‐surface boundary layer of a retreating alpine glacier. <i>Geophysical Research Letters</i>. American Geophysical Union. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl103043">https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl103043</a> Shaw, Thomas E., et al. “The Decaying Near‐surface Boundary Layer of a Retreating Alpine Glacier.” <i>Geophysical Research Letters</i>, vol. 50, no. 11, e2023GL103043, American Geophysical Union, 2023, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl103043">10.1029/2023gl103043</a>. Shaw, Thomas E., Pascal Buri, Michael McCarthy, Evan S. Miles, Álvaro Ayala, and Francesca Pellicciotti. “The Decaying Near‐surface Boundary Layer of a Retreating Alpine Glacier.” <i>Geophysical Research Letters</i>. American Geophysical Union, 2023. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl103043">https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl103043</a>. T.E. Shaw, P. Buri, M. McCarthy, E.S. Miles, Á. Ayala, F. Pellicciotti, Geophysical Research Letters 50 (2023). Shaw TE, Buri P, McCarthy M, Miles ES, Ayala Á, Pellicciotti F. 2023. The decaying near‐surface boundary layer of a retreating alpine glacier. Geophysical Research Letters. 50(11), e2023GL103043. T. E. Shaw, P. Buri, M. McCarthy, E. S. Miles, Á. Ayala, and F. Pellicciotti, “The decaying near‐surface boundary layer of a retreating alpine glacier,” <i>Geophysical Research Letters</i>, vol. 50, no. 11. American Geophysical Union, 2023. Shaw TE, Buri P, McCarthy M, Miles ES, Ayala Á, Pellicciotti F. The decaying near‐surface boundary layer of a retreating alpine glacier. <i>Geophysical Research Letters</i>. 2023;50(11). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl103043">10.1029/2023gl103043</a> 147792024-01-10T09:28:34Z2024-10-21T06:01:34Z