Remote-Sensing Studies of Kvitøyjøkulen, an Ice Cap on Kvitøya, North-East Svalbard
Abstract Airborne 60 MHz radio echo-sounding data were collected over 250 km of flight track from an ice cap (Kvitøyjøkulen) on Kvitøya in north-eastern Svalbard. These were combined with Landsat imagery to provide ice-surface and bed topographic information and inferences about the thermal and clim...
| Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1990
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002214300000558x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214300000558X |
| Summary: | Abstract Airborne 60 MHz radio echo-sounding data were collected over 250 km of flight track from an ice cap (Kvitøyjøkulen) on Kvitøya in north-eastern Svalbard. These were combined with Landsat imagery to provide ice-surface and bed topographic information and inferences about the thermal and climatic conditions on the ice cap. Quantitative analysis of radio-echo strength measurements and the existence of offshore plumes of sediment-laden melt water indicate significant basal melting and a warmer thermal regime than would be expected from the geographical location of the ice cap. Analysis of the dielectric absorption of radio waves by the ice and data from a recently recovered ice core from a neighbouring ice cap (Austfonna) suggest considerable anthropogenic contamination of the precipitation falling on Kvitøya, most probably originating from Eurasia. |
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