Glaciological massbalance measurements on the Mocho Glacier in the Chilean lake district

Abstract:

Due to their maritime climate, glaciers in the Southern Andes are very sensi-
tive to global warming. We present the results of direct mass balance observations with the
glaciological method on the Mocho Glacier in the Chilean Lake District. A very high mass
turnover is observed with maximum yearly accumulation of 6.6 m.w.eq. and a maximum of
ablation 7.5 m.w.eq. at individual stakes. Due to the high mass turnover stakes get easily
lost and values have to be inferred by statistical correlation techniques. The interpolated
annual mass balance of the Mocho Glacier shows very high interannual variability and is
strongly correlated with the annual amount of precipitation of a nearby automatic weather
station. Uncertainties of the annual mass balance due to a slight modification of the stake
network, different interpolation techniques and uncertainties in snow density are examined.
The uncertainty about the snow density was found to make the strongest contribution