Accelerated contributions of Canada's Baffin and Bylot Island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century
Canadian Arctic glaciers have recently contributed large volumes of meltwater to the world's oceans. To place recently observed glacier wastage into a historical perspective and to determine the region's longer-term (~50 years) contribution to sea level, we estimate mass and volume changes...
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Copernicus Publications
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:68f3a8ab29284b0c9b307169d49cc32d 2023-05-15T13:34:51+02:00 Accelerated contributions of Canada's Baffin and Bylot Island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century A. Gardner G. Moholdt A. Arendt B. Wouters 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1103-2012 https://doaj.org/article/68f3a8ab29284b0c9b307169d49cc32d EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1103/2012/tc-6-1103-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1103-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/68f3a8ab29284b0c9b307169d49cc32d The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 5, Pp 1103-1125 (2012) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1103-2012 2022-12-31T14:28:01Z Canadian Arctic glaciers have recently contributed large volumes of meltwater to the world's oceans. To place recently observed glacier wastage into a historical perspective and to determine the region's longer-term (~50 years) contribution to sea level, we estimate mass and volume changes for the glaciers of Baffin and Bylot Islands using digital elevation models generated from airborne and satellite stereoscopic imagery and elevation postings from repeat airborne and satellite laser altimetry. In addition, we update existing glacier mass change records from GRACE satellite gravimetry to cover the period from 2003 to 2011. Using this integrated approach, we find that the rate of mass loss from the region's glaciers increased from 11.1 ± 3.4 Gt a −1 (271 ± 84 kg m −2 a −1 ) for the period 1963–2006 to 23.8 ± 6.1 Gt a −1 (581 ± 149 kg m −2 a −1 ) for the period 2003–2011. The doubling of the rate of mass loss is attributed to higher temperatures in summer with little change in annual precipitation. Through both direct and indirect effects, changes in summer temperatures accounted for 70–98% of the variance in the rate of mass loss, to which the Barnes Ice Cap was found to be 1.7 times more sensitive than either the Penny Ice Cap or the region's glaciers as a whole. This heightened sensitivity is the result of a glacier hypsometry that is skewed to lower elevations, which are shown to have a higher mass change sensitive to temperature compared to glacier surfaces at higher elevations. Between 2003 and 2011 the glaciers of Baffin and Bylot Islands contributed 0.07 ± 0.02 mm a −1 to sea level rise accounting for 16% of the total contribution from glaciers outside of Greenland and Antarctica, a rate much higher than the longer-term average of 0.03 ± 0.01 mm a −1 (1963 to 2006). Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Arctic Baffin Barnes Ice Cap Bylot Island glacier Greenland Ice cap Penny Ice Cap The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Bylot Island Greenland Barnes Ice Cap ENVELOPE(-73.498,-73.498,70.001,70.001) Penny Ice Cap ENVELOPE(-66.214,-66.214,67.284,67.284) The Cryosphere 6 5 1103 1125 |
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 A. Gardner G. Moholdt A. Arendt B. Wouters Accelerated contributions of Canada's Baffin and Bylot Island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Canadian Arctic glaciers have recently contributed large volumes of meltwater to the world's oceans. To place recently observed glacier wastage into a historical perspective and to determine the region's longer-term (~50 years) contribution to sea level, we estimate mass and volume changes for the glaciers of Baffin and Bylot Islands using digital elevation models generated from airborne and satellite stereoscopic imagery and elevation postings from repeat airborne and satellite laser altimetry. In addition, we update existing glacier mass change records from GRACE satellite gravimetry to cover the period from 2003 to 2011. Using this integrated approach, we find that the rate of mass loss from the region's glaciers increased from 11.1 ± 3.4 Gt a −1 (271 ± 84 kg m −2 a −1 ) for the period 1963–2006 to 23.8 ± 6.1 Gt a −1 (581 ± 149 kg m −2 a −1 ) for the period 2003–2011. The doubling of the rate of mass loss is attributed to higher temperatures in summer with little change in annual precipitation. Through both direct and indirect effects, changes in summer temperatures accounted for 70–98% of the variance in the rate of mass loss, to which the Barnes Ice Cap was found to be 1.7 times more sensitive than either the Penny Ice Cap or the region's glaciers as a whole. This heightened sensitivity is the result of a glacier hypsometry that is skewed to lower elevations, which are shown to have a higher mass change sensitive to temperature compared to glacier surfaces at higher elevations. Between 2003 and 2011 the glaciers of Baffin and Bylot Islands contributed 0.07 ± 0.02 mm a −1 to sea level rise accounting for 16% of the total contribution from glaciers outside of Greenland and Antarctica, a rate much higher than the longer-term average of 0.03 ± 0.01 mm a −1 (1963 to 2006). |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. Gardner G. Moholdt A. Arendt B. Wouters |
author_facet |
A. Gardner G. Moholdt A. Arendt B. Wouters |
author_sort |
A. Gardner |
title |
Accelerated contributions of Canada's Baffin and Bylot Island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century |
title_short |
Accelerated contributions of Canada's Baffin and Bylot Island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century |
title_full |
Accelerated contributions of Canada's Baffin and Bylot Island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century |
title_fullStr |
Accelerated contributions of Canada's Baffin and Bylot Island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century |
title_full_unstemmed |
Accelerated contributions of Canada's Baffin and Bylot Island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century |
title_sort |
accelerated contributions of canada's baffin and bylot island glaciers to sea level rise over the past half century |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1103-2012 https://doaj.org/article/68f3a8ab29284b0c9b307169d49cc32d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-73.498,-73.498,70.001,70.001) ENVELOPE(-66.214,-66.214,67.284,67.284) |
geographic |
Arctic Bylot Island Greenland Barnes Ice Cap Penny Ice Cap |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Bylot Island Greenland Barnes Ice Cap Penny Ice Cap |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Arctic Baffin Barnes Ice Cap Bylot Island glacier Greenland Ice cap Penny Ice Cap The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Arctic Baffin Barnes Ice Cap Bylot Island glacier Greenland Ice cap Penny Ice Cap The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 5, Pp 1103-1125 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1103/2012/tc-6-1103-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1103-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/68f3a8ab29284b0c9b307169d49cc32d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1103-2012 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1103 |
op_container_end_page |
1125 |
_version_ |
1766058498964062208 |