Climate’s firm grip on glacier ablation in the Cordillera Darwin Icefield, Tierra del Fuego
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Cordillera Darwin Icefield (CDI) in Tierra del Fuego is one of the largest temperate ice bodies in the Southern Hemisphere. We simulate the climatic energy and mass balance of its glaciers (2000–2023), which are sensitive indicators of climatic changes in the Southern Hemisphere’s higher mid-latitudes. Year-round westerly winds cause strong climatic gradients across the mountain range, reflected in the energy and mass fluxes. Our results reveal a significant increase in surface melt (+0.18 m w.e. yr -1 per decade) over the past two decades. We also present the first estimate of dynamically controlled mass loss into adjacent fjords and lakes by frontal ablation, amounting to 1.44 ± 0.94 Gt yr -1 (26 % of the total CDI mass loss). Frontal losses are mainly channelized through few marine-terminating glaciers. While frontal ablation is important for predicting the fate of individual glaciers, for the CDI as a whole, atmospheric conditions exert the main control on the current glacier evolution.
Source: Nature Communications
Institutions: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Austral University of Chile, Instituto Antártico Chileno, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Universidad de Magallanes, University of the Basque Country, Basque Centre for Climate Change, Center for Dynamic Research on High Latitude Marine Ecosystems, British Antarctic Survey
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funders: European Commission, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Eusko Jaurlaritza, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Institut chilien de l'Antarctique, Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, H2020 European Research Council
Awards: G1363650902, G2543112587, G2818464215, G3267719240, HochleistungscomputeCluster, G434337789, G4462911710, G4476166807, G4660762473, G4839138646, CONTRASTING GLACIER BEHAVIOUR IN SOUTHERNMOST SOUTH AMERICA AND NORTHERNMOST ANTARCTICA IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, G574906963, G6690480278, G6914165365, Next generation framework for global glacier forecasting
OpenAlex ID: W4408563085