Abstract
The ablation model for debris-covered glaciers that uses thermal resistance, which includes both debris thickness and thermal conductivity of the debris layer and requires only surface temperature and meteorological data to be acquired simultaneously. However, this method overestimates the ablation amounts for thick debris layers, since it neglects changes in heat storage in the debris layer. Conversely, recent studies on debris-covered glaciers have concentrated on developing the physical model of ablation of debris covered ice. However, physical model requires several parameters such as thermal conductivity and thickness of debris layers, which are difficult to obtain without digging debris layers. Therefore, it is difficult to employ this model over a wide area. By considering the advantages and disadvantages of each physical model, we could improve the ablation model of debris-covered glaciers.
