Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Cryospheric Sciences
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1442884

Identification and persistence mechanism of very small glaciers and perennial snow patches in the northern Japanese Alps

Provisionally accepted
Kenshiro Arie Kenshiro Arie 1*Chiyuki Narama Chiyuki Narama 2Kotaro Fukui Kotaro Fukui 3Hajime Iida Hajime Iida 3
  • 1 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Tokyo, Japan
  • 2 Niigata University, Niigata, Niigata, Japan
  • 3 Tateyama Caldera Sabo Museum, Toyama, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In this study, we measure ice thickness and flow and reveal that Shakushizawa and Kaerazuzawa perennial snow patches (PSPs) in the northern Japanese Alps are glaciers instead. Due to their size, they are very small glaciers (VSGs). For the Shakushizawa VSG investigated by this study, we also calculate the long-term average annual surface mass balances to assess the persistence mechanisms of VSGs in this region. The mass balance calculation is done by substituting the ice thickness and surface flow velocity measured on the Shakushizawa VSG into the continuity equation under the assumption of the steady-state in the long-term average. The annual surface mass balance altitude profile in the long-term average of the Shakushizawa VSG has a positive gradient with the accumulation area upstream and the ablation area downstream. If the other VSGs in the northern Japanese Alps have the same characteristics, these have a localized accumulation area in the long-term average below the climatic ELA by topographic effects. These results suggest that glaciers in the northern Japanese Alps are maintained due to topographic effects, despite being located below the climatic equilibrium line altitude (ELA).

    Keywords: glaciers, Glacier flow, Glacier ice thickness, mass balance, very small glaciers, Japanese glaciers, Perennial snow patches

    Received: 03 Jun 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Arie, Narama, Fukui and Iida. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kenshiro Arie, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Tokyo, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.