Alpine Glaciology and Climatology
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
This course will give competence and skills to describe and analyze cryosphere dynamics and evolution with a particular focus on climate change driven impacts on Alpine glaciers. Methods and techniques to survey glaciers and several approaches to model their dynamics, to reconstruct their mass and to compute the energy exchanges at the ice-atmosphere interface will be described and explained. The course will take advantage from field activities (mainly at the Forni Glacier, the widest Italian valley glacier where a UNIMI permanent Automatic Weather Station has been running since the last decade) and laboratory experiences to permit to the students to acquire competence and skills for collecting, processing, analyzing and modelling glacier data.
Expected learning outcomes
The students will acquire competence and skills for collecting, processing, analyzing and modelling glacier data.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
From snow to ice: introduction to glaciers, classifications and basic concepts.
Glacier motion: a physical approach to know creep, sliding and ice-bedrock interactions.
Debris-free and debris-covered glaciers: features and distribution.
The glacier mass balance: introduction, computation, applied methods, glaciological and climatic meanings.
The glacier terminus fluctuations: introduction, computation, applied methods, glaciological and climatic meanings.
Glacier energy budget: introduction, computation and exercises.
Glacier meteorology: theoretical features and processing of actual data from AWS on glaciers.
Glacier models: examples of application, simulation and data discussion.
Tropical glaciers: recent dynamics and climate meanings.
The Antarctic cryosphere: features and recent evolution.
The Himalayan cryosphere: ongoing dynamics and climate relations.
Calving processes: analysis of a spreading phenomenon on the Alps.
Sea level rising and glaciers.
Glacier motion: a physical approach to know creep, sliding and ice-bedrock interactions.
Debris-free and debris-covered glaciers: features and distribution.
The glacier mass balance: introduction, computation, applied methods, glaciological and climatic meanings.
The glacier terminus fluctuations: introduction, computation, applied methods, glaciological and climatic meanings.
Glacier energy budget: introduction, computation and exercises.
Glacier meteorology: theoretical features and processing of actual data from AWS on glaciers.
Glacier models: examples of application, simulation and data discussion.
Tropical glaciers: recent dynamics and climate meanings.
The Antarctic cryosphere: features and recent evolution.
The Himalayan cryosphere: ongoing dynamics and climate relations.
Calving processes: analysis of a spreading phenomenon on the Alps.
Sea level rising and glaciers.
Prerequisites for admission
The students need to have appropriate knowledge of math, physics, physical geography and climatology
Teaching methods
During the course will be given both lectures on the theoretical basis of glaciology and technical practical activities to understand how to manage and analyse glaciological data.
The practical activities will be done in the computer rooms (Labs) of UNIMI.
The practical activities will be done in the computer rooms (Labs) of UNIMI.
Teaching Resources
Notes are available at the ARIEL web site.
Students can also use:
- Benn and Evans, Glaciers and Glaciations
- J. Oerlemans Glaciers and Climate
Students can also use:
- Benn and Evans, Glaciers and Glaciations
- J. Oerlemans Glaciers and Climate
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam will take place in oral form (vote out of thirty). The students can present an original work they performed by analyzing glaciological data or they can discuss a paper (dealing with a cryospheric topic) they have selected on an international peer reviewed journal. After this presentation, the teacher makes a list of questions with the aim of evaluating how much of the used methodologies have been assimilated by the student and how much the student is able to critically approach the investigated problem (in case of data analysis), or evaluating how much of the presented methodologies have been assimilated by the student critically discussing the results (in case of the peer reviewed paper). Finally the teacher makes a couple of questions about the other part of the program.
GEO/04 - PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY - University credits: 6
Lessons: 48 hours
Professors:
Diolaiuti Guglielmina Adele, Senese Antonella
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