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The Retreat of Mountain Glaciers since the Little Ice Age: A Spatially Explicit Database

Author

Listed:
  • Silvio Marta

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Roberto Sergio Azzoni

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Davide Fugazza

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Levan Tielidze

    (Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
    School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand)

  • Pritam Chand

    (Department of Geography, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Central University of Punjab, VPO-Ghudda, Bathinda 151401, Punjab, India)

  • Katrin Sieron

    (Centro de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz C.P. 91090, Mexico)

  • Peter Almond

    (Department of Soil and Physical Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand)

  • Roberto Ambrosini

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Fabien Anthelme

    (AMAP, University of Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, 34090 Montpellier, France)

  • Pablo Alviz Gazitúa

    (Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno 5290000, Chile)

  • Rakesh Bhambri

    (Department of Geography, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, Voßstraße 2/4130, D-69115 Heidelberg, Germany)

  • Aurélie Bonin

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Marco Caccianiga

    (Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Sophie Cauvy-Fraunié

    (Centre de Lyon-Villeurbanne, UR RIVERLY, INRAE, 69625 Villeurbanne, France)

  • Jorge Luis Ceballos Lievano

    (Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales IDEAM, Bogotá CP 110911, Colombia)

  • John Clague

    (Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada)

  • Justiniano Alejo Cochachín Rapre

    (Área de Evaluación de Glaciares y Lagunas, Autoridad Nacional del Agua, Huaraz 02002, Peru)

  • Olivier Dangles

    (CEFE, University Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, 34199 Montpellier, France)

  • Philip Deline

    (Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Université Grenoble Alpes, EDYTEM, 73000 Chambéry, France)

  • Andre Eger

    (Mannaki Whenua—Landcare Research, Soils and Landscapes, 54 Gerald St, Lincoln 7608, New Zealand)

  • Rolando Cruz Encarnación

    (Área de Evaluación de Glaciares y Lagunas, Autoridad Nacional del Agua, Huaraz 02002, Peru)

  • Sergey Erokhin

    (Institute of Water Problems and Hydro-Energy, Kyrgyz National Academy of Sciences, Frunze 533, Bishkek 720033, Kyrgyzstan)

  • Andrea Franzetti

    (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DISAT), University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy)

  • Ludovic Gielly

    (Laboratoire d’ECologie Alpine, University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38610 Grenoble, France)

  • Fabrizio Gili

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
    Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Turin, Italy)

  • Mauro Gobbi

    (Section of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, MUSE-Science Museum, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza, 3, 38122 Trento, Italy)

  • Alessia Guerrieri

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Sigmund Hågvar

    (Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management (INA), Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Universitetstunet 3, 1433 Ås, Norway)

  • Norine Khedim

    (Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Université Grenoble Alpes, EDYTEM, 73000 Chambéry, France)

  • Rahab Kinyanjui

    (Palynology and Paleobotany Section, Earth Sciences Department, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40568, Nairobi 00100, Kenya)

  • Erwan Messager

    (Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Université Grenoble Alpes, EDYTEM, 73000 Chambéry, France)

  • Marco Aurelio Morales-Martínez

    (Centro de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz C.P. 91090, Mexico)

  • Gwendolyn Peyre

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of the Andes, Bogotá 111711, Colombia)

  • Francesca Pittino

    (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DISAT), University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy)

  • Jerome Poulenard

    (Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Université Grenoble Alpes, EDYTEM, 73000 Chambéry, France)

  • Roberto Seppi

    (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy)

  • Milap Chand Sharma

    (Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi 110067, India)

  • Nurai Urseitova

    (Institute of Water Problems and Hydro-Energy, Kyrgyz National Academy of Sciences, Frunze 533, Bishkek 720033, Kyrgyzstan)

  • Blake Weissling

    (Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas-San Antonio, Flawn Science Building (FLN), San Antonio, TX 78249, USA)

  • Yan Yang

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China)

  • Vitalii Zaginaev

    (Institute of Water Problems and Hydro-Energy, Kyrgyz National Academy of Sciences, Frunze 533, Bishkek 720033, Kyrgyzstan)

  • Anaïs Zimmer

    (Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA)

  • Guglielmina Adele Diolaiuti

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Antoine Rabatel

    (University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble-INP, Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE, UMR 5001), 38000 Grenoble, France)

  • Gentile Francesco Ficetola

    (Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
    Laboratoire d’ECologie Alpine, University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38610 Grenoble, France)

Abstract

Most of the world’s mountain glaciers have been retreating for more than a century in response to climate change. Glacier retreat is evident on all continents, and the rate of retreat has accelerated during recent decades. Accurate, spatially explicit information on the position of glacier margins over time is useful for analyzing patterns of glacier retreat and measuring reductions in glacier surface area. This information is also essential for evaluating how mountain ecosystems are evolving due to climate warming and the attendant glacier retreat. Here, we present a non-comprehensive spatially explicit dataset showing multiple positions of glacier fronts since the Little Ice Age (LIA) maxima, including many data from the pre-satellite era. The dataset is based on multiple historical archival records including topographical maps; repeated photographs, paintings, and aerial or satellite images with a supplement of geochronology; and own field data. We provide ESRI shapefiles showing 728 past positions of 94 glacier fronts from all continents, except Antarctica, covering the period between the Little Ice Age maxima and the present. On average, the time series span the past 190 years. From 2 to 46 past positions per glacier are depicted (on average: 7.8).

Suggested Citation

  • Silvio Marta & Roberto Sergio Azzoni & Davide Fugazza & Levan Tielidze & Pritam Chand & Katrin Sieron & Peter Almond & Roberto Ambrosini & Fabien Anthelme & Pablo Alviz Gazitúa & Rakesh Bhambri & Auré, 2021. "The Retreat of Mountain Glaciers since the Little Ice Age: A Spatially Explicit Database," Data, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-8, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jdataj:v:6:y:2021:i:10:p:107-:d:652173
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. M. Zemp & M. Huss & E. Thibert & N. Eckert & R. McNabb & J. Huber & M. Barandun & H. Machguth & S. U. Nussbaumer & I. Gärtner-Roer & L. Thomson & F. Paul & F. Maussion & S. Kutuzov & J. G. Cogley, 2019. "Global glacier mass changes and their contributions to sea-level rise from 1961 to 2016," Nature, Nature, vol. 568(7752), pages 382-386, April.
    2. Marcus Nüsser & Susanne Schmidt, 2017. "Nanga Parbat Revisited: Evolution and Dynamics of Sociohydrological Interactions in the Northwestern Himalaya," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 107(2), pages 403-415, March.
    3. Samuel Nussbaumer & Heinz Zumbühl, 2012. "The Little Ice Age history of the Glacier des Bossons (Mont Blanc massif, France): a new high-resolution glacier length curve based on historical documents," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 301-334, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Silvio Marta & Anaïs Zimmer & Marco Caccianiga & Mauro Gobbi & Roberto Ambrosini & Roberto Sergio Azzoni & Fabrizio Gili & Francesca Pittino & Wilfried Thuiller & Antonello Provenzale & Gentile France, 2023. "Heterogeneous changes of soil microclimate in high mountains and glacier forelands," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Leonardo Stucchi & Claudia Dresti & Daniele Bocchiola, 2023. "Centenary (1930–2023) climate, and snow cover changes in the Western Alps of Italy. The Ossola valley," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(6), pages 1-24, June.

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