Articles | Volume 11, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-849-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-849-2023
Research article
 | 
08 Sep 2023
Research article |  | 08 Sep 2023

Spatially coherent variability in modern orographic precipitation produces asymmetric paleo-glacier extents in flowline models: Olympic Mountains, USA

Andrew A. Margason, Alison M. Anders, Robert J. C. Conrick, and Gerard H. Roe

Related authors

Climatic controls on mountain glacier basal thermal regimes dictate spatial patterns of glacial erosion
Jingtao Lai and Alison M. Anders
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 845–859, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-845-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-845-2021, 2021
Short summary
On the attribution of industrial-era glacier mass loss to anthropogenic climate change
Gerard H. Roe, John Erich Christian, and Ben Marzeion
The Cryosphere, 15, 1889–1905, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1889-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1889-2021, 2021
Short summary
Understanding drivers of glacier-length variability over the last millennium
Alan Huston, Nicholas Siler, Gerard H. Roe, Erin Pettit, and Nathan J. Steiger
The Cryosphere, 15, 1645–1662, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1645-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1645-2021, 2021
Short summary
The contrasting response of outlet glaciers to interior and ocean forcing
John Erich Christian, Alexander A. Robel, Cristian Proistosescu, Gerard Roe, Michelle Koutnik, and Knut Christianson
The Cryosphere, 14, 2515–2535, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2515-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2515-2020, 2020
Short summary

Related subject area

Cross-cutting themes: Impacts of climate change on Earth surface dynamics
Storm surge frequency, magnitude, and cumulative storm beach impact along the U.S. east coast
Rachele Dominguez, Michael Fenster, and John McManus
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-656,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-656, 2024
Short summary
Modeling deadwood for rockfall mitigation assessments in windthrow areas
Adrian Ringenbach, Peter Bebi, Perry Bartelt, Andreas Rigling, Marc Christen, Yves Bühler, Andreas Stoffel, and Andrin Caviezel
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 1303–1319, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-1303-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-1303-2022, 2022
Short summary
A 4000-year debris flow record based on amphibious investigations of fan delta activity in Plansee (Austria, Eastern Alps)
Carolin Kiefer, Patrick Oswald, Jasper Moernaut, Stefano Claudio Fabbri, Christoph Mayr, Michael Strasser, and Michael Krautblatter
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1481–1503, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1481-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1481-2021, 2021
Short summary
Biophysical controls of marsh soil shear strength along an estuarine salinity gradient
Megan N. Gillen, Tyler C. Messerschmidt, and Matthew L. Kirwan
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 413–421, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-413-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-413-2021, 2021
Short summary
Current glacier recession causes significant rockfall increase: the immediate paraglacial response of deglaciating cirque walls
Ingo Hartmeyer, Robert Delleske, Markus Keuschnig, Michael Krautblatter, Andreas Lang, Lothar Schrott, and Jan-Christoph Otto
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 729–751, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-729-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-729-2020, 2020
Short summary

Cited articles

Adams, B. A. and Ehlers, T. A.: Tectonic controls of Holocene erosion in a glaciated orogen, Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 595–610, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-595-2018, 2018. 
Anders, A. M., Roe, G. H., Durran, D. R., and Minder, J. R.: Small-Scale Spatial Gradients in Climatological Precipitation on the Olympic Peninsula, J. Hydrometeorol., 8, 1068–1081, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM610.1, 2007. 
Anders, A. M., Mitchell, S. G., and Tomkin, J. H.: Cirques, peaks, and precipitation patterns in the Swiss Alps: Connections among climate, glacial erosion, and topography, Geology, 38, 239–242, https://doi.org/10.1130/G30691.1, 2010. 
Barnston, A. G. and Livezey, R. E.: Classification, Seasonality and Persistence of Low-Frequency Atmospheric Circulation Patterns, Mon. Weather Rev., 115, 1083–1126, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1987)115<1083:CSAPOL>2.0.CO;2, 1987. 
Download
Short summary
We examine differences in glacier extent in the Olympic Mountains, USA, where modern precipitation in east-facing valleys is only 50 % of that in west-facing valleys. During the Last Glacial Period, there were very small glaciers in the east and very large glaciers in the west. We use climate data and glacier models to show that the modern spatial pattern of precipitation is likely to have been similar during the past glaciation and may be sufficient to explain the asymmetry of glacier extent.