Glaciers and Ice Sheets in the Climate System: The Karthaus Summer School Lecture Notes

544 Pages·2020·29.381 MB·English

by  Andrew Fowler, Felix Ng

Andrew Fowler
Felix Ng Editors
Glaciers and Ice
Sheets in the
Climate System
The Karthaus Summer School
Lecture Notes
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Andrew Fowler (cid:129) Felix Ng
Editors
Glaciers and Ice Sheets
in the Climate System
The Karthaus Summer School Lecture
Notes
123
Editors
AndrewFowler Felix Ng
MACSI Department ofGeography
University of Limerick University of Sheffield
Limerick, Ireland Sheffield,UK
ISSN 2510-1307 ISSN 2510-1315 (electronic)
SpringerTextbooks inEarth Sciences, GeographyandEnvironment
ISBN978-3-030-42582-1 ISBN978-3-030-42584-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42584-5
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We dedicate this book to Paul and Stefania
Grüner, proprietors of the Hotel zur
Goldenen Rose in Karthaus, Schnalstal, who,
together with their warm-hearted staff, have
provided a home from home for many years
to the participants of the annual Karthaus
summer school in glaciology.
TheHotelzurGoldenenRose,Karthaus,Schnalstal
Lecturers of the School
Abermann, Jakob (2009, 2010, 2011)
Björnsson, Helgi (1997)
Blunier, Thomas (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Bueler, Ed (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014)
Buizert, Christo (2010, 2011)
Dahl-Jensen, Dorthe (1995, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014)
de Boer, Bas (2013, 2018)
DeConto, Rob (2010)
Eisen, Olaf (2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
Fischer, Hubertus (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Fowler, Andrew (1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)
Giesen, Rianne (2011)
Greuell, Wouter (2002, 2003, 2005)
Gudmundsson, Hilmar (1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
Helsen, Michiel (2008, 2009, 2010)
Hewitt, Ian (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Hindmarsh, Richard (1995)
Howat, Ian (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014)
Huybrechts, Philippe (2002)
Jenkins, Adrian (1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018)
Kääb, Andy (2013)
Karlsson, Nanna (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Kaser, Georg (1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008)
Kuhn, Michael (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013)
Kuipers-Munneke, Peter (2012)
Kyrke-Smith, Teresa (2016)
Lambeck, Kurt (1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013)
Mayer, Christoph (2000, 2002)
Miller, Heinz (1997, 2000, 2002)
Milne, Glenn (2007, 2009, 2011)
Mölg, Thomas (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
vii
viii LecturersoftheSchool
Mulvaney, Rob (2002, 2003, 2005)
Navarro, Paco (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
Ng, Felix (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015)
Nick, Faezeh (2014, 2016)
Oerlemans, Hans (1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Pattyn, Frank (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Paul, Frank (2011, 2012)
Payne, Tony (2003, 2005, 2007)
Peltier, Dick (1995)
Pollard, Dave (2003)
Reijmer, Carleen (2003, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)
Roth, George (2017)
Rott, Willy (2000, 2002, 2007)
Spada, Giorgio (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Stauffer, Bernhard (1995, 1997, 2000, 2003)
Straneo, Fiamma (2016)
Stroeven, Arjen (2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018,
2019)
Svensson, Anders (2019)
van de Berg, Willem Jan (2009, 2012, 2018)
van de Wal, Roderik (2002, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015)
van den Berg, Jojanneke (2007, 2008)
van den Broeke, Michiel (2000, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
van Pelt, Ward (2014)
Vieli, Andreas (2011)
Vinther, Bo (2009)
Whitehouse, Pippa (2012, 2014)
Winkelmann, Ricarda (2019)
Foreword
The European Ice Sheet Modelling Initiative (EISMINT) was launched by the
European Science Foundation in 1992. EISMINT aimed to examine the critical
links between global climate change and ice sheets by improving mathematical
modelling in a number of key areas. Funding of this programme by the members
of the European Science Foundation ran from 1993 through 1997.
Aspartoftheprogramme,itwasenvisagedtoorganiseasummercourseforPh.
D.studentsandjuniorscientists.TheEISMINTCommitteeaskedmetoconvenea
course,andsoithappened.ThefirstcoursetookplaceinGrindelwald,Switzerland,
from 27 August till 6 September 1995. There were 33 participants, following
lectures, working on computer projects, and participating in an excursion to the
JungfraujochanditsObservatory.Thecoursewasasuccessandfilledaclearneed,
sothedecisiontodoitasecondtimewasmadesoon.However,thevenuewasnot
consideredoptimalandaftersomelookingarounditwasdecidedtoholdthesecond
course in Karthaus, a nice small village in the Schnalstal (northern Italy, not far
from Merano). And that is how the Karthaus courses started (in fact, Georg Kaser
found this place).
Somehow funding was found to keep the train rolling, albeit only every second
yearinthebeginning.Since2007,thecoursehasbeenorganisedannually,the2018
course being the 18th one. Through the years, major support has come from the
InstituteforMarineandAtmosphericResearch(UtrechtUniversity),theNielsBohr
Institute (University of Copenhagen), the Paul Crutzen Fund for German-Dutch
collaboration in climate research, the Nordic Centre of Excellence SVALI, the
Ice2Sea Programme (EU), the Descartes Prize (EPICA, EU), and the Netherlands
Earth System Science Centre. And, fair to say, little holes appearing in the budget
every now and then were stuffed by money from my personal research grants.
The formula of the course has not changed through the years: lectures in the
morning,exercisesandprojectsintheafternoon,runningorhikingtorefreshbrains
and body, and then a five-course meal in the evening with subsequent scientific
discussions in the bar. Probably the most exciting parts always were the excursion
to the dwindling glaciers of the Ötztal and the project presentations on Friday
afternoon. The majority of the teachers normally stayed for the entire duration
of the course, creating a very informal and stimulating atmosphere. So many col-
leagueshavesharedtheirknowledgewiththestudents(andotherteachers).Itisjust
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