In-situ calibration data for mass-balance modelling of the Pemberton icefield, southwest British Columbia

目前，世界冰川和冰盖正在发生戏剧性的变化，全球登记为 随着冰缘的消退和下游水文的变化，海平面和局部上升。这些本地人 目前在加拿大西部和人类时间尺度上正在发生的变化，与应用程序越来越相关 这些问题包括水电生产、高山地区的采矿以及旅游和娱乐。最新型号 预测表明，到2100年，加拿大西部的冰川体积将减少70%，这意味着需要开发 受影响行业的适应战略。Head-Line Mountain Holidays(HMH)一直是一家旅游运营商 惠斯勒地区已经有几十年了，并在附近的彭伯顿冰原上维持着一个基地，在那里，一些巡回演出 目的地(例如冰洞)已经随着冰川的消退而消失了。HMH寻求研究合作伙伴关系 调查彭伯顿冰场对气候的反应，以便更好地了解观察到的 改变。冰川变化不仅迫使该公司为客户确定新的目的地，而且 随着冰原上旅行条件的变化，操作变得复杂。SFU冰川研究组 (SFU-GG)在冰川-气候相互作用领域拥有丰富的经验，包括发展和 冰川质量平衡模型的测试。我们目前致力于设计创新的统计方法，以 设计冰川质量平衡测量网络来校准和验证这些模型。我们建议 启动现场数据收集计划，最终将用于校准质量平衡模型 彭伯顿冰原。这一实地计划将与英国卫生和公众服务部协调，最初将侧重于 客户经常访问的网站。P.I.和两名研究生研究助理将与HMH合作部署 并维护一个具有卫星或调制解调器通信的自动现场气象站，定期 测量积雪，并安装监测融化的仪器。这项研究 伙伴关系将使HMH深入了解与其业务相关的冰川-气候相互作用 彭伯顿冰原，使用新的方法，由在一个新的当地现场收集的数据支持。

Dramatic changes to the world's glaciers and ice sheets are currently underway, registering globally as increasing sea level and locally as retreating ice margins and changes to downstream hydrology. These local changes, now occurring in western Canada and on human timescales, are increasingly relevant to applied problems including hydropower production, mining in alpine areas, and tourism and recreation. Recent model projections suggest a 70% reduction in glacier volume in western Canada by 2100, spelling a need to develop adaptation strategies for affected industries. Head-Line Mountain Holidays (HMH) has been a tour operator in the Whistler area for decades and maintains a base on the nearby Pemberton icefield, where some of the tour destinations (e.g. ice caves) have simply vanished with the retreating glacier. HMH seeks a research partnership to investigate the response of the Pemberton icefield to climate, toward a better understanding of the observed changes. Glacier change not only forces the company to identify new destinations for its clients, but complicates operations with changing traveling conditions across the icefield. The SFU Glaciology Group (SFU-GG) has substantial experience in the area of glacier-climate interactions, including the development and testing of glacier mass-balance models. We are curently involved in devising innovative statistical methods to design glacier mass-balance measurement networks to calibrate and validate these models. We propose to initiate a program of field data collection that would ultimately be used to calibrate a mass-balance model for the Pemberton icefield. This field program would be coordinated with HMH and would initially focus on the sites frequented by their clients. The P.I. and two graduate research assistants would work with HMH to deploy and maintain an automatic on-site weather station with satellite or modem communications, make regular measurements of snow accumulation, and install instrumentation for monitoring melt. This research partnership will provide HMH with insight into the glacier-climate interactions relevant to their operations on the Pemberton icefield, using novel methods supported by data collected at a new local field site.