Recent changes in glacier mass balance and equilibrium line altitude and the impact of climatic change on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula ...

• Main Authors: Falk, Ulrike, López, Damián, Silva-Busso, Adrian A
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2017
• Subjects: Impact of climate induced glacier melt on marine coastal systems, Antarctica IMCOAST/IMCONet; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica; Ice cap; Ice Shelves; King George Island; South Shetland Islands
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.874599; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.874599

The South Shetland Islands are located at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP). This region was subject to extreme warming trends in the atmospheric surface layer. Surface air temperature increased about 3K in 50 years, concurrent with retreating glacier fronts, an increase in melt areas, ice surface lowering and rapid break-up and disintegration of ice shelves. The positive trend in surface air temperature has currently come to a halt. Observed surface air temperature lapse rates show a high variability during 5 winter months (standard deviations up to 1:0K=100m), and a distinct spatial heterogeneity reflecting the impact of synoptic weather patterns. The increased mesocyclonic activity during the winter time over the past decades in the study area results in intensified advection of warm, moist air with high temperatures and rain, and leads to melt conditions on the ice cap, fixating surface air temperatures to the melting point. Its impact on winter accumulation results in the observed ... : Supplement to: Falk, Ulrike; López, Damián; Silva-Busso, Adrian A (2018): Multi-year analysis of distributed glacier mass balance modelling and equilibrium line altitude on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The Cryosphere, 12(4), 1211-1232 ...