Gerbaux M., 2005, Reconstruction du bilan de masse des glaciers alpins et impact d'un changement climatique (Alpine glaciers mass balance reconstruction and climate change impact), PhD Thesis, University of Grenoble I, France, 1-132.
A new physically-based distributed surface mass balance model is presented for Alpine glaciers. The model resolves both the temporal and spatial variability of the energy and mass balance of glaciers. Mass balance reconstructions for the 1981-2004 period are produced for St Solrin and Argentière glaciers (French Alps). Both glaciers lost mass at an accelerated rate in the last 23 years. With the model, glacier sensitivity to climate change can be separately evaluated with respect to a full range of meteorological parameters, contrary to simpler models that only account for temperature and precipitation. The sensitivity of the equilibrium line altitude to air temperature is found to be 125 m/K, or 160 m/K if concurrent long-wave radiation change is taken into account. Long-term simulations over 1800-2165 are carried out using IPCC AR4 GCM output. St Sorlin glacier is likely to vanish before 2100.
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