Surface speed and frontal ablation of Kronebreen and Kongsbreen, NW Svalbard, from SAR offset tracking
Kronebreen and Kongsbreen are among the fastest-flowing glaciers on Svalbard and, therefore, important contributors to the total dynamic mass loss from the archipelago. Here, we present a time series of area-wide surface velocity fields from April 2012 to December 2013 based on offset tracking on re...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2403b54c9de64dc98202ce621e7d7b42 2023-05-15T18:29:45+02:00 Surface speed and frontal ablation of Kronebreen and Kongsbreen, NW Svalbard, from SAR offset tracking T. Schellenberger T. Dunse A. Kääb J. Kohler C. H. Reijmer 2015-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2339-2015 https://doaj.org/article/2403b54c9de64dc98202ce621e7d7b42 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/2339/2015/tc-9-2339-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-9-2339-2015 https://doaj.org/article/2403b54c9de64dc98202ce621e7d7b42 The Cryosphere, Vol 9, Iss 6, Pp 2339-2355 (2015) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2339-2015 2022-12-31T15:56:59Z Kronebreen and Kongsbreen are among the fastest-flowing glaciers on Svalbard and, therefore, important contributors to the total dynamic mass loss from the archipelago. Here, we present a time series of area-wide surface velocity fields from April 2012 to December 2013 based on offset tracking on repeat high-resolution Radarsat-2 Ultrafine data. Surface speeds reached up to 3.2 m d −1 near the calving front of Kronebreen in summer 2013 and 2.7 m d −1 at Kongsbreen in late autumn 2012. Additional velocity fields from Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2 and TerraSAR-X data since December 2007 together with continuous GPS measurements on Kronebreen since September 2008 revealed complex patterns in seasonal and interannual speed evolution. Part of the ice-flow variations seem closely linked to the amount and timing of surface meltwater production and rainfall, both of which are known to have a strong influence on the basal water pressure and hence basal lubrication. In addition, terminus retreat and the associated reduction in back stress appear to have influenced the speed close to the calving front, especially at Kongsbreen in 2012 and 2013. Since 2007, Kongsbreen retreated up to 1800 m, corresponding to a total area loss of 2.5 km 2 . In 2011 the retreat of Kronebreen of up to 850 m, responsible for a total area loss of 2.8 km 2 , was triggered after a phase of stable terminus position since ~ 1990. Retreat is an important component of the mass balance of both glaciers, in which frontal ablation is the largest component. Total frontal ablation between April 2012 and December 2013 was estimated to 0.21–0.25 Gt a −1 for Kronebreen and 0.14–0.16 Gt a −1 for Kongsbreen. Article in Journal/Newspaper Svalbard The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Svalbard Kronebreen ENVELOPE(13.333,13.333,78.833,78.833) Kongsbreen ENVELOPE(12.475,12.475,78.984,78.984) The Cryosphere 9 6 2339 2355 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 T. Schellenberger T. Dunse A. Kääb J. Kohler C. H. Reijmer Surface speed and frontal ablation of Kronebreen and Kongsbreen, NW Svalbard, from SAR offset tracking |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Kronebreen and Kongsbreen are among the fastest-flowing glaciers on Svalbard and, therefore, important contributors to the total dynamic mass loss from the archipelago. Here, we present a time series of area-wide surface velocity fields from April 2012 to December 2013 based on offset tracking on repeat high-resolution Radarsat-2 Ultrafine data. Surface speeds reached up to 3.2 m d −1 near the calving front of Kronebreen in summer 2013 and 2.7 m d −1 at Kongsbreen in late autumn 2012. Additional velocity fields from Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2 and TerraSAR-X data since December 2007 together with continuous GPS measurements on Kronebreen since September 2008 revealed complex patterns in seasonal and interannual speed evolution. Part of the ice-flow variations seem closely linked to the amount and timing of surface meltwater production and rainfall, both of which are known to have a strong influence on the basal water pressure and hence basal lubrication. In addition, terminus retreat and the associated reduction in back stress appear to have influenced the speed close to the calving front, especially at Kongsbreen in 2012 and 2013. Since 2007, Kongsbreen retreated up to 1800 m, corresponding to a total area loss of 2.5 km 2 . In 2011 the retreat of Kronebreen of up to 850 m, responsible for a total area loss of 2.8 km 2 , was triggered after a phase of stable terminus position since ~ 1990. Retreat is an important component of the mass balance of both glaciers, in which frontal ablation is the largest component. Total frontal ablation between April 2012 and December 2013 was estimated to 0.21–0.25 Gt a −1 for Kronebreen and 0.14–0.16 Gt a −1 for Kongsbreen. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
T. Schellenberger T. Dunse A. Kääb J. Kohler C. H. Reijmer |
author_facet |
T. Schellenberger T. Dunse A. Kääb J. Kohler C. H. Reijmer |
author_sort |
T. Schellenberger |
title |
Surface speed and frontal ablation of Kronebreen and Kongsbreen, NW Svalbard, from SAR offset tracking |
title_short |
Surface speed and frontal ablation of Kronebreen and Kongsbreen, NW Svalbard, from SAR offset tracking |
title_full |
Surface speed and frontal ablation of Kronebreen and Kongsbreen, NW Svalbard, from SAR offset tracking |
title_fullStr |
Surface speed and frontal ablation of Kronebreen and Kongsbreen, NW Svalbard, from SAR offset tracking |
title_full_unstemmed |
Surface speed and frontal ablation of Kronebreen and Kongsbreen, NW Svalbard, from SAR offset tracking |
title_sort |
surface speed and frontal ablation of kronebreen and kongsbreen, nw svalbard, from sar offset tracking |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2339-2015 https://doaj.org/article/2403b54c9de64dc98202ce621e7d7b42 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(13.333,13.333,78.833,78.833) ENVELOPE(12.475,12.475,78.984,78.984) |
geographic |
Svalbard Kronebreen Kongsbreen |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Kronebreen Kongsbreen |
genre |
Svalbard The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Svalbard The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 9, Iss 6, Pp 2339-2355 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/2339/2015/tc-9-2339-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-9-2339-2015 https://doaj.org/article/2403b54c9de64dc98202ce621e7d7b42 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2339-2015 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2339 |
op_container_end_page |
2355 |
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1766213113773817856 |