Articles | Volume 14, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1119-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1119-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
09 Aug 2018
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 09 Aug 2018
| 09 Aug 2018
Testing the consistency between changes in simulated climate and Alpine glacier length over the past millennium
Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain,
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Pierre-Yves Barriat
Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain,
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Quentin Dalaiden
Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain,
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
François Klein
Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain,
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Ben Marzeion
Institut für Geographie, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Fabien Maussion
Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, Universität
Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Paolo Pelucchi
Imperial College, London, UK
Anouk Vlug
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
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Cited
14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- 19th century glacier retreat in the Alps preceded the emergence of industrial black carbon deposition on high-alpine glaciers M. Sigl et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3311-2018
- Decadal re-forecasts of glacier climatic mass balance L. van der Laan et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3879-2025
- Initialization of a global glacier model based on present-day glacier geometry and past climate information: an ensemble approach J. Eis et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3317-2019
- The International Mountain Conference, Innsbruck, Austria, September 2019 (IMC2019): A Synthesis with Recommendations for Research M. Price et al. https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-21-00027.1
- Timing and climatic-driven mechanisms of glacier advances in Bhutanese Himalaya during the Little Ice Age W. Yang et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3739-2022
- Twentieth century global glacier mass change: an ensemble-based model reconstruction J. Malles & B. Marzeion https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3135-2021
- Chasing the melting ice: evidence for the earliest Holocene glacier minimum in the Alps and precise dating of the subsequent advance at the end of the Preboreal K. Nicolussi et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109962
- CMIP6 climate model spread outweighs glacier model spread in 21st-century drought buffering projections L. Ultee et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1339-2026
- Ice thickness inversion assessment: A comparison study for Waldemarbreen and Irenebreen glaciers, Svalbard L. Švinka et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2025.101167
- New insights into the world's longest series of monthly snowfall (Parma, Northern Italy, 1777–2018) N. Diodato et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6766
- Modelling the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble H. Zekollari et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1125-2019
- On the disequilibrium response and climate change vulnerability of the mass-balance glaciers in the Alps L. Carturan et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.71
- Modelling regional glacier length changes over the last millennium using the Open Global Glacier Model D. Parkes & H. Goosse https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3135-2020
- The Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) v1.1 F. Maussion et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-909-2019
14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- 19th century glacier retreat in the Alps preceded the emergence of industrial black carbon deposition on high-alpine glaciers M. Sigl et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3311-2018
- Decadal re-forecasts of glacier climatic mass balance L. van der Laan et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3879-2025
- Initialization of a global glacier model based on present-day glacier geometry and past climate information: an ensemble approach J. Eis et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3317-2019
- The International Mountain Conference, Innsbruck, Austria, September 2019 (IMC2019): A Synthesis with Recommendations for Research M. Price et al. https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-21-00027.1
- Timing and climatic-driven mechanisms of glacier advances in Bhutanese Himalaya during the Little Ice Age W. Yang et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3739-2022
- Twentieth century global glacier mass change: an ensemble-based model reconstruction J. Malles & B. Marzeion https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3135-2021
- Chasing the melting ice: evidence for the earliest Holocene glacier minimum in the Alps and precise dating of the subsequent advance at the end of the Preboreal K. Nicolussi et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109962
- CMIP6 climate model spread outweighs glacier model spread in 21st-century drought buffering projections L. Ultee et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1339-2026
- Ice thickness inversion assessment: A comparison study for Waldemarbreen and Irenebreen glaciers, Svalbard L. Švinka et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2025.101167
- New insights into the world's longest series of monthly snowfall (Parma, Northern Italy, 1777–2018) N. Diodato et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6766
- Modelling the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble H. Zekollari et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1125-2019
- On the disequilibrium response and climate change vulnerability of the mass-balance glaciers in the Alps L. Carturan et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2020.71
- Modelling regional glacier length changes over the last millennium using the Open Global Glacier Model D. Parkes & H. Goosse https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3135-2020
- The Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) v1.1 F. Maussion et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-909-2019
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 02 Aug 2026
Short summary
Glaciers provide iconic illustrations of past climate change, but records of glacier length fluctuations have not been used systematically to test the ability of models to reproduce past changes. One reason is that glacier length depends on several complex factors and so cannot be simply linked to the climate simulated by models. This is done here, and it is shown that the observed glacier length fluctuations are generally well within the range of the simulations.
Glaciers provide iconic illustrations of past climate change, but records of glacier length...
