Brief communication "Historical glacier length changes in West Greenland"

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: P. W. Leclercq, A. Weidick, F. Paul, T. Bolch, M. Citterio, J. Oerlemans
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2012
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; Greenland; glacier; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1339-2012; https://doaj.org/article/58718d34b4bf4f63a8b9389cb5b87ada

Past glacier fluctuations provide insight into glacier dynamics, climate change, and the contribution of glaciers to sea-level rise. Here, the length fluctuations since the 19th century of 18 local glaciers in West and South Greenland are presented, extending and updating the study by Weidick (1968). The studied glaciers all showed an overall retreat with an average of 1.2 ± 0.2 km over the 20th century, indicating a general rise of the equilibrium line along the west coast of Greenland during the last century. Furthermore, the average rate of retreat was largest in the first half of the 20th century.