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. The surface mass balance (SMB) of a glacier provides the linkbetween the glacier and the local climate. For this reason, it isintensively studied and monitored. However, major efforts are required todetermine the point SMB at a sufficient number of locations to capture theheterogeneity of the SMB pattern. Furthermore, because of the time-consumingand costly nature of these measurements, detailed SMB measurements arecarried out on only a limited number of glaciers. In this study, weinvestigate how to accurately determine the SMB in the ablation zone ofVadret da Morteratsch and Vadret Pers (Engadin, Switzerland) using thecontinuity equation method, based on the expression of conservation of massfor glacier flow with constant density. An elaborate dataset (spanning the2017–2020 period) of high-resolution data derived from unoccupied aerialvehicle (UAV) measurements (surface elevation changes and surfacevelocities) is combined with reconstructed ice thickness fields (based onradar measurements). To determine the performance of the method, we comparemodelled SMB with measured SMB values at the position of stakes. Our resultsindicate that with annual UAV surveys, it is possible to obtain SMBestimates with a mean absolute error smaller than 0.5 m of iceequivalent per year. Yet, our study demonstrates that to obtain theseaccuracies, it is necessary to consider the ice flow over spatial scales ofseveral times the local ice thickness, accomplished in this study byapplying an exponential decay filter. Furthermore, our study highlights thecrucial importance of the ice thickness, which must be sufficiently wellknown in order to accurately apply the method. The latter currently seems tocomplicate the application of the continuity equation method to derivedetailed SMB patterns on regional to global scales.

the cryosphere

Estimating surface mass balance patterns from unoccupied aerial vehicle measurements in the ablation area of the Morteratsch–Pers glacier complex (Switzerland)