Articles | Volume 13, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1247-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1247-2019
Research article
 | 
15 Apr 2019
Research article |  | 15 Apr 2019

Avalanches and micrometeorology driving mass and energy balance of the lowest perennial ice field of the Alps: a case study

Rebecca Mott, Andreas Wolf, Maximilian Kehl, Harald Kunstmann, Michael Warscher, and Thomas Grünewald

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AR by Anna Mirena Feist-Polner on behalf of the Authors (04 Mar 2019)  Author's response
ED: Publish as is (27 Mar 2019) by Valentina Radic
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Short summary
The mass balance of very small glaciers is often governed by anomalous snow accumulation, winter precipitation being multiplied by snow redistribution processes, or by suppressed snow ablation driven by micrometeorological effects lowering net radiation and turbulent heat exchange. In this study we discuss the relative contribution of snow accumulation (avalanches) versus micrometeorology (katabatic flow) on the mass balance of the lowest perennial ice field of the Alps, the Ice Chapel.