Identifying new active glaciers, and climate condition, mass balance, flow mechanism and recent retreat of the active glaciers in the northern Japanese Alps, central Japan

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25702016
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Geography
• Research Institution: Tateyama Caldera Sabo Museum
• Principal Investigator: FUKUI Kotaro 公益財団法人立山カルデラ砂防博物館, その他部局等, その他 (10450165)
• Research Collaborator: IIDA HAJIME 富山県立山カルデラ砂防博物館, 学芸課長 (70574309)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 氷河 / 多年性雪渓 / 飛騨山脈 / 質量収支 / 平衡線高度 / 雪崩

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We carried out ground-penetrating radar soundings and geodetic survey in 4 perennial snow patches in the northern Japanese Alps and considered the possibility of the active glacier. The Kakunezato and the Ikenotan perennial snow patches have large ice masses that had flowed over 2m/a. Hence, we regarded both the snow patches as active glaciers. Since the Kuranosuke perennial snow patch had flowed only 3cm/a, we regarded the snow patch as active glacier which had been transforming into perennial snow patch.
The climate condition of the alpine zone in the northern Japanese Alps was similar to that in equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) of Nisqually glacier, Cascade range, USA. This indicated that active glaciers could be formed and preserved under current climatic condition in the northern Japanese Alps. Some of the　glaciers have lost only 12 to 16 percent of their surface areas between 1955 and 2016. Hence, the recent retreat of the glaciers in this region should be slow.

Free Research Field

自然地理学