Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys of the 205 km 2 Milne Ice Shelf conducted in 2008 and 2009 are compared with radio echo sounding (RES) data from 1981 to provide the first direct measurements of thinning for any northern Ellesmere Island ice shelf. Our results show an average thinning for the...
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Online Access: | https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/6394 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002074 |
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ftcarletonunivir:oai:carleton.ca:6394 2023-05-15T16:05:56+02:00 Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950 Mortimer, C.A. (Colleen A.) Copland, L. (Luke) Mueller, D. (Derek) 2012-12-01 https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/6394 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002074 en eng https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/6394 doi:10.1029/2011JF002074 Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface vol. 117 no. 4 info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2012 ftcarletonunivir https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002074 2022-02-06T21:51:35Z Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys of the 205 km 2 Milne Ice Shelf conducted in 2008 and 2009 are compared with radio echo sounding (RES) data from 1981 to provide the first direct measurements of thinning for any northern Ellesmere Island ice shelf. Our results show an average thinning for the ice shelf as a whole of 8.1 2.8 m, with a maximum of >30 m, over this 28-year period. Direct-line comparisons along a 7.5 km transect near the front of ice shelf indicate a mean thinning of 2.63 2.47 m over the same period. Reductions in areal extent (29%, 82 8.4 km 2 : 1950-2009) and volume (13%, 1.5 0.73 km 3 water equivalent (w.e.): 1981-2008/2009) indicate that the Milne Ice Shelf has been in a state of negative mass balance for at least the last 59 years. A comparison of mean annual specific mass balance measurements with the nearby Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (WHIS) suggests that basal melt is a key contributor to Milne Ice Shelf thinning. Glacier inflow to the ice shelf has also reduced markedly over the past 28 years. The transition of ice shelf ice to lake ice was the most important source of mass loss. A 28.5 km 2 epishelf lake now exists on the landward side of the ice shelf. Given these recent changes, disintegration of the Milne Ice Shelf will almost certainly continue in the future. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ellesmere Island glacier* Ice Shelf Milne Ice Shelf Nunavut Ward Hunt Ice Shelf Carleton University's Institutional Repository Canada Ellesmere Island Milne Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-81.747,-81.747,82.736,82.736) Nunavut Ward Hunt Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-73.499,-73.499,83.122,83.122) Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 117 F4 n/a n/a |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Carleton University's Institutional Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftcarletonunivir |
language |
English |
description |
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys of the 205 km 2 Milne Ice Shelf conducted in 2008 and 2009 are compared with radio echo sounding (RES) data from 1981 to provide the first direct measurements of thinning for any northern Ellesmere Island ice shelf. Our results show an average thinning for the ice shelf as a whole of 8.1 2.8 m, with a maximum of >30 m, over this 28-year period. Direct-line comparisons along a 7.5 km transect near the front of ice shelf indicate a mean thinning of 2.63 2.47 m over the same period. Reductions in areal extent (29%, 82 8.4 km 2 : 1950-2009) and volume (13%, 1.5 0.73 km 3 water equivalent (w.e.): 1981-2008/2009) indicate that the Milne Ice Shelf has been in a state of negative mass balance for at least the last 59 years. A comparison of mean annual specific mass balance measurements with the nearby Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (WHIS) suggests that basal melt is a key contributor to Milne Ice Shelf thinning. Glacier inflow to the ice shelf has also reduced markedly over the past 28 years. The transition of ice shelf ice to lake ice was the most important source of mass loss. A 28.5 km 2 epishelf lake now exists on the landward side of the ice shelf. Given these recent changes, disintegration of the Milne Ice Shelf will almost certainly continue in the future. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mortimer, C.A. (Colleen A.) Copland, L. (Luke) Mueller, D. (Derek) |
spellingShingle |
Mortimer, C.A. (Colleen A.) Copland, L. (Luke) Mueller, D. (Derek) Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950 |
author_facet |
Mortimer, C.A. (Colleen A.) Copland, L. (Luke) Mueller, D. (Derek) |
author_sort |
Mortimer, C.A. (Colleen A.) |
title |
Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950 |
title_short |
Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950 |
title_full |
Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950 |
title_fullStr |
Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Volume and area changes of the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, since 1950 |
title_sort |
volume and area changes of the milne ice shelf, ellesmere island, nunavut, canada, since 1950 |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/6394 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002074 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-81.747,-81.747,82.736,82.736) ENVELOPE(-73.499,-73.499,83.122,83.122) |
geographic |
Canada Ellesmere Island Milne Ice Shelf Nunavut Ward Hunt Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
Canada Ellesmere Island Milne Ice Shelf Nunavut Ward Hunt Ice Shelf |
genre |
Ellesmere Island glacier* Ice Shelf Milne Ice Shelf Nunavut Ward Hunt Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Ellesmere Island glacier* Ice Shelf Milne Ice Shelf Nunavut Ward Hunt Ice Shelf |
op_source |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface vol. 117 no. 4 |
op_relation |
https://ir.library.carleton.ca/pub/6394 doi:10.1029/2011JF002074 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002074 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
container_volume |
117 |
container_issue |
F4 |
container_start_page |
n/a |
op_container_end_page |
n/a |
_version_ |
1766401846377709568 |