Meteorological controls on glacier mass balance in High Asia

The aim of this study is to investigate spatial and temporal variations of meteorological variables known to control glacier mass-balance processes, and to demonstrate their relevance in High Asia. The study uses the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis database (US National Centers for Environmental Prediction and US National Center for Atmospheric Research), which is global and continuous since 1 January 1948. A positive degree-day (PDD) model of annual glacier-wide summer surface balance, B-s, uses upper-air temperatures at NCEP/NCAR gridpoints near each of six glaciers between 40 and 45 degrees N and between 71 and 87 degrees E and two others near 50 degrees N, 87 degrees E. Model error ranged between 0.19 and 0.41 m w.e., comparable with the observational accuracy of B-s. Sensitivity to temperature change, dB(s)/dT, ranges between -0.5 and -0.2 m w.e. a(-1) degrees C-1 for these glaciers.