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25 Sep 07 -
A recent article appeared in the Journal of Geophysical Research entitled
"Very high-elevation Mont Blanc glaciated areas not affected by the
20th century
climate change."
The research, conducted by six scientists from leading agencies and
departments
in France and Switzerland that deal with hydrology and
glaciology, was funded by
Observatoire des Sciences de l’Univers de
Grenoble (OSUG), the European
Programs ALPCLIM and CARBOSOL, and by the
city of Chamonix Mont-Blanc.
Mont Blanc is located on the border of Switzerland and France, and
the summit
of Mont Blanc is clearly visible from the United Nations
complex in Geneva, the
home of countless meetings of the IPCC and other
international agencies addressing
the climate change issue. How ironic.
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| The French Alps. The
map shows the location of the Mont Blanc and Dôme du Goûter
ice fields. The Chamonix, Bourg St. Maurice, and Besse en Oisans
meteorological stations are also plotted (from Vincent et al.,
2007). |
The Vincent et al. team used accurate survey maps from 1905 to
compare to
maps they generated with modern GPS measurements, and by
subtracting the two
surfaces, they could determine changes in the ice
fields during the 20th century.
Vincent et al. state "The most striking features of these
figures are the small
thickness changes observed over the 20th century.
For both areas, thickness
variations do not exceed ±15 m. The average
changes are +2.6 m at Dôme du
Goûter and -0.3 m at Mont Blanc.
Considering the uncertainty interval, i.e.,±5 m,
it can be concluded
that no significant thickness change is detectable over most
of these
areas".
Putting all their findings together regarding the surface mass
balance (SMB) of
these two glaciers, they state "All these results
suggest that the SMB at Dôme du
Goûter and Mont Blanc did not
experience any significant changes over the 20th
century."
"Geodetic measurements carried out in 1905 and 2005 on the highest
ice
fields of the Mont Blanc range indicate small thickness changes and
show that these
very high-elevation glaciated areas have not been
significantly affected by climate
change over the last 100 years."
Reference:
Vincent, C., E. Le Meur, D. Six, M. Funk, M. Hoelzle, and S.
Preunkert (2007),
Very high-elevation Mont Blanc glaciated areas not
affected by the 20th century
climate change, Journal of
Geophysical Research, 112, D09120, doi:10.1029/2006JD007407.
http://www.worldclimatereport.com/index.php/2007/06/26/mont-blanc-glaciers-refuse-to-shrink/
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