Evolution of Ossoue Glacier (French Pyrenees) since the end of the Little Ice Age

Renaud Marti (1, 2) , Simon Gascoin (2) , Thomas Houet (1) , O. Ribière (1) , Dominique Laffly (1) , T. Condom (3) , S. Monnier (4) , M. Schmutz (5) , Christian Camerlynck (6, 7) , J. P. Tihay (8) , J. M. Soubeyroux (9) , P. René (10)

1 GEODE - Géographie de l'environnement
2 CESBIO - Centre d'études spatiales de la biosphère
3 LTHE - Laboratoire d'étude des transferts en hydrologie et environnement
4 PUCV - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
5 Bordeaux INP - Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux
6 METIS - Milieux Environnementaux, Transferts et Interactions dans les hydrosystèmes et les Sols
7 SISYPHE - Structure et fonctionnement des systèmes hydriques continentaux
8 UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour
9 CNRM - Centre national de recherches météorologiques
10 Association Moraine

Little is known about the fluctuations of the Pyre-nean glaciers. In this study, we reconstructed the evolution of Ossoue Glacier (42 • 46 N, 0.45 km 2), which is located in the central Pyrenees, from the Little Ice Age (LIA) onwards. To do so, length, area, thickness, and mass changes in the glacier were generated from historical data sets, topo-graphical surveys, glaciological measurements (2001–2013), a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey (2006), and stereo-scopic satellite images (2013). The glacier has receded considerably since the end of the LIA, losing 40 % of its length and 60 % of its area.

Mots clés: climate change; little ice age; glacier; pyrenees

Domaines: Glaciologie; Climatologie; Géographie

Renaud Marti, Simon Gascoin, Thomas Houet, O. Ribière, Dominique Laffly, et al.. Evolution of Ossoue Glacier (French Pyrenees) since the end of the Little Ice Age. The Cryosphere, 2015, 9 (5), pp.1773-1795. ⟨10.5194/tc-9-1773-2015⟩. ⟨hal-01218974⟩