Space and Time Distribution of Glacier Mass-Balance in the Northern Hemisphere

Long mass-balance series are compared within four areas of the Northern Hemisphere (The Alps, Scandinavia, the Tien Shan in the Soviet Union, and western North America), using Lliboutry's linear model. This model separates the mass-balance into two main additive terms, one of them depending on time only, and the other one being characteristic of the glacier situation. This study shows that for each mountain range the same type of spatio-temporal distribution pattern for the mass balance can be found that classifies the glaciers according to their distance from the main humidity source. Beyond the mountain range scale, this pattern can no longer be recognized. Available reconstructed mass-balance series for the century are then used. They show that secular trends compare well within Europe and the USSR, but not beyond the continent.