The role of radiation geometry in the climate response of Mount Kenya's glaciers, part I: Horizontal reference surfaces

Abstract

Model calculations of incident shortwave radiation were performed for the Mount Kenya massif with the objectives of: (i) exploring the major factors controlling the ice distribution in the peak region: and (ii) determining the primary forcings that led to the differential retreat of the various glaciers.The ice distribution on Mount Kenya, characterized by largest glaciers lo the south and east, is primarily controlled by the precipitation pattern. By contrast, the radiation pattern is unconducive to maintaining this ice distribution, as insolation tends to be higher on these largest glaciers. Spatial variability in the incident radiation is mostly due to shading effects, with cloudiness however being more important in reducing absolute values. Steep slopes, essentially above 5,100 m, and higher temperatures below 4,600 m are further limiting factors.A drastic glacier recession is borne out by mappings of the ice extent in 1899 and 1963. Over this time span, the number of glaciers diminished from 18 to 11, and another disappeared since 1978. Of the eight defunct ice entities, six were small. By far the largest glacier to disappear since the turn of the century was the Kolbe, in a precipitation‐abundant but radiationally very exposed location on the eastern flank of the mountain. The largest and now easternmost ice body, the Lewis, which occupies the radiationally most exposed location of all the glaciers, has experienced the greatest ice wastage.The model calculations indicate that the drastic ice recession since the late 1800s is largely due to an increase in absorbed shortwave radiation accompanying, and in part brought about by, changes in cloudiness, precipitation, and temperature. In addition to the consequences for the overall ice amount, the spatial distribution of radiation totals, as influenced by topographical shading, appears to account for the remarkably diverse shrinkage of the glaciers on Mount Kenya.