Altitude variation of glacier mass balance in Scandinavia

For each of ten glaciers in Norway and two in Sweden, vertical profiles of net balance b(n)(z), which are typically published as values at about a dozen altitudes, are strongly linear and nearly parallel from year to year. Separate linear functions fit the b(n)(z) from year to year with r(2) greater than or equal to 0.89 over the 12 glaciers. A family of parallel lines for each glacier that differ from year to year only by an amount Deltab(n) constant with altitude has r(2) greater than or equal to 0.85. There is an altitude z' on each glacier where the measured balance b(n)(z') correlates well with the glacier-total b(n) with r greater than or equal to 0.97 over the 12 glaciers. A remarkable consequence of this and of the high correlation of bn between many of the glaciers in the region is that measurements on one glacier ( 1775 meters on Hardangerjokulen) provide a good estimate of b(n) at several other glaciers.