---
_id: '12586'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Ice cliffs are common on debris-covered glaciers and have relatively high
    melt rates due to their direct exposure to incoming radiation. Previous studies
    have shown that their number and relative area can change considerably from year
    to year, but this variability has not been explored, in part because available
    cliff observations are irregular. Here, we systematically mapped and tracked ice
    cliffs across four debris-covered glaciers in High Mountain Asia for every late
    ablation season from 2009 to 2019 using high-resolution multi-spectral satellite
    imagery. We then quantified the processes occurring at the feature scale to train
    a stochastic birth-death model to represent the cliff population dynamics. Our
    results show that while the cliff relative area can change by up to 20% from year
    to year, the natural long-term variability is constrained, thus defining a glacier-specific
    cliff carrying capacity. In a subsequent step, the inclusion of external drivers
    related to climate, glacier dynamics, and hydrology highlights the influence of
    these variables on the cliff population dynamics, which is usually not a direct
    one due to the complexity and interdependence of the processes taking place at
    the glacier surface. In some extreme cases (here, a glacier surge), these external
    drivers may lead to a reorganization of the cliffs at the glacier surface and
    a change in the natural variability. These results have implications for the melt
    of debris-covered glaciers, in addition to showing the high rate of changes at
    their surface and highlighting some of the links between cliff population and
    glacier state.
article_number: e2021JF006179
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: M.
  full_name: Kneib, M.
  last_name: Kneib
- first_name: E. S.
  full_name: Miles, E. S.
  last_name: Miles
- first_name: P.
  full_name: Buri, P.
  last_name: Buri
- first_name: P.
  full_name: Molnar, P.
  last_name: Molnar
- first_name: M.
  full_name: McCarthy, M.
  last_name: McCarthy
- first_name: S.
  full_name: Fugger, S.
  last_name: Fugger
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
citation:
  ama: 'Kneib M, Miles ES, Buri P, et al. Interannual dynamics of ice cliff populations
    on debris‐covered glaciers from remote sensing observations and stochastic modeling.
    <i>Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>. 2021;126(10). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021jf006179">10.1029/2021jf006179</a>'
  apa: 'Kneib, M., Miles, E. S., Buri, P., Molnar, P., McCarthy, M., Fugger, S., &#38;
    Pellicciotti, F. (2021). Interannual dynamics of ice cliff populations on debris‐covered
    glaciers from remote sensing observations and stochastic modeling. <i>Journal
    of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>. American Geophysical Union. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021jf006179">https://doi.org/10.1029/2021jf006179</a>'
  chicago: 'Kneib, M., E. S. Miles, P. Buri, P. Molnar, M. McCarthy, S. Fugger, and
    Francesca Pellicciotti. “Interannual Dynamics of Ice Cliff Populations on Debris‐covered
    Glaciers from Remote Sensing Observations and Stochastic Modeling.” <i>Journal
    of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>. American Geophysical Union, 2021.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021jf006179">https://doi.org/10.1029/2021jf006179</a>.'
  ieee: 'M. Kneib <i>et al.</i>, “Interannual dynamics of ice cliff populations on
    debris‐covered glaciers from remote sensing observations and stochastic modeling,”
    <i>Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>, vol. 126, no. 10. American
    Geophysical Union, 2021.'
  ista: 'Kneib M, Miles ES, Buri P, Molnar P, McCarthy M, Fugger S, Pellicciotti F.
    2021. Interannual dynamics of ice cliff populations on debris‐covered glaciers
    from remote sensing observations and stochastic modeling. Journal of Geophysical
    Research: Earth Surface. 126(10), e2021JF006179.'
  mla: 'Kneib, M., et al. “Interannual Dynamics of Ice Cliff Populations on Debris‐covered
    Glaciers from Remote Sensing Observations and Stochastic Modeling.” <i>Journal
    of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface</i>, vol. 126, no. 10, e2021JF006179, American
    Geophysical Union, 2021, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021jf006179">10.1029/2021jf006179</a>.'
  short: 'M. Kneib, E.S. Miles, P. Buri, P. Molnar, M. McCarthy, S. Fugger, F. Pellicciotti,
    Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 126 (2021).'
date_created: 2023-02-20T08:11:36Z
date_published: 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-28T13:18:26Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1029/2021jf006179
extern: '1'
intvolume: '       126'
issue: '10'
keyword:
- Earth-Surface Processes
- Geophysics
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006179
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: 'Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface'
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2169-9003
  - 2169-9011
publication_status: published
publisher: American Geophysical Union
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Interannual dynamics of ice cliff populations on debris‐covered glaciers from
  remote sensing observations and stochastic modeling
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 126
year: '2021'
...