TEMPEST - global air TEMPerature ESTimation for high mountain glaciers

Near surface air temperature is one the most crucial variables for determining glacier melt around the world, yet we mostly ignore how the local glacier boundary layer modifies above-ice air temperatures and thus the glaciers' response to a changing climate. TEMPEST combines an unprecedented inventory of historic glacier meteorological datasets around the world with dedicated measurements in the Swiss Alps to improve the estimation of air temperature for mountain glaciers. The project will leverage detailed meteorological and remotely sensed surface and topographic information to explore the processes governing on-glacier air temperatures and develop a global model of on-glacier temperature that can be used in melt modelling. The project will assess the importance of the new temperature estimation framework to the glacio-hydrological response of mountain catchments around the world.