September fieldwork!

With great anticipation, I'm planning to be back on Kibo's glaciers next month. After 17 years of frequent observations and measurements, circumstances beyond my control have foiled research efforts in recent years. Never take high-elevation glacier fieldwork in National Parks for granted! Chief among the issues were a major storm (October 2018), postponement of two consecutive collaborative trips (July & December 2019), a collaborative-and-fun glacier visit with limited time and deep snow (February 2020), the pandemic (2 years), and most recently - failure to get above 2200 m due to logistical/permitting difficulties (September 2022). Phew... I'm ready to get back up there!

Extensive fieldwork and AWS service was conducted in October 2017, including repairs at the station and documenting changes to summit glaciers. Accompanying us on this trip - to the Roof of Africa - was Dr. Ladislaus Chang'a, currently the Acting Director of Tanzanian Meteorological Authority.

Conditions are currently very dry at the summit. Meager high-elevation precipitation during the 2023 long rains (March-May) resulted in no snow accumulation within the caldera as the dry season began in June. By then, any snowcover remaining on glacier surfaces was continuing to thin, although without telemetry or observations, recent changes in surface mass balance remain speculative. Through June, July, and August, isolated patches of snow on Kibo's flanks have been ablating, as shown in the timelapse below - from very little, to almost none!

During this next visit, extensive glacier photography will help us better understand changes at the Northern Icefield (compare with image above). Lesser Penck Glacier (compare with image below), Furtwängler Glacier (compare with image above), and what remains of the Southern Icefield (compare with image below). Glacier images from this October will be posted here after fieldwork.

September and October fieldwork will have two objectives. The first task will be to recover AWS data from the station, extending the weather record which began over 23 years ago. These data are being stored in memory on-site, even if power to the station has been lost. In addition, the weather stations and ablation stakes (photo below) will be removed from the mountain. Both stations tipped over last year, ending the interval of high-quality measurements. Continuing a trustworthy climate record would require replacing instruments and electronics, along with sufficient funding and dedicated personnel willing to perform regular inspections and service.

Stay tuned for updates!

 

Northern Icefield weather stations, and adjacent stakes to measure ablation

Lesser Penck Glacier extent, 1930 to 2008 - continuously shrinking

Southern Icefield, 2003 (GoogleEarth image)