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Age history of the Glacier des Bossons (Mont Blanc massif, France): a new high-resolution glacier length curve based on historical documents |
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Authors: | Samuel U Nussbaumer Heinz J Zumbühl |
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Institution: | (1) Hydrology Group, Institute of Geography, Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; |
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Abstract: | Historical and proxy records document that there is a substantial asynchronous development in temperature, precipitation and
glacier variations between European regions during the last few centuries. The causes of these temporal anomalies are yet
poorly understood. Hence, highly resolved glacier reconstructions based on historical evidence can give valuable insights
into past climate, but they exist only for few glaciers worldwide. Here, we present a new reconstruction of length changes
for the Glacier des Bossons (Mont Blanc massif, France), based on unevaluated historical material. More than 250 pictorial
documents (drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, maps) as well as written accounts have been critically analysed, leading
to a revised picture of the glacier’s history, especially from the mid-eighteenth century up to the 1860s. Very important
are the drawings by Jean-Antoine Linck, Samuel Birmann and Eugène Viollet-le Duc, which depict meticulously the glacier’s
extent during the vast advance and subsequent retreat during the nineteenth century. The new glacier reconstruction extends
back to AD 1580 and proves maxima of the Glacier des Bossons around 1610/1643, 1685, 1712, 1777, 1818, 1854, 1892, 1921, 1941,
and 1983. The Little Ice Age maximum extent was reached in 1818. Until the present, the glacier has lost about 1.5 km in length,
and it is now shorter than at any time during the reconstruction period. The Glacier des Bossons reacts faster than the nearby
Mer de Glace (glacier reconstruction back to AD 1570 available). The Mont Blanc area is, together with the valley of Grindelwald
in the Swiss Alps (two historical glacier reconstructions available back to AD 1535, and 1590, respectively), among the two
regions that are probably best-documented in the world regarding historical glacier data. |
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