Slow change since the Little Ice Age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: Thores Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada
Relatively little is known about the glaciers of northern Ellesmere Island, Canada. Here we describe the first field and remote sensing observations of Thores Glacier, located 50 km inland from the Arctic Ocean. The glacier is slow-moving, with maximum velocities of 26 m a−1 and a maximum observed t...
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Canadian Science Publishing
2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0012 https://doaj.org/article/d58390c45c2c4328a0b9f7644062a303 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d58390c45c2c4328a0b9f7644062a303 2023-06-18T03:38:25+02:00 Slow change since the Little Ice Age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: Thores Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada Will Kochtitzky Luke Copland Trudy Wohlleben Pilipoosie Iqaluk Catherine Girard Warwick F. Vincent Alexander I. Culley 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0012 https://doaj.org/article/d58390c45c2c4328a0b9f7644062a303 EN FR eng fre Canadian Science Publishing https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2022-0012 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2022-0012 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/d58390c45c2c4328a0b9f7644062a303 Arctic Science, Vol 9, Iss 2, Pp 451-464 (2023) Arctic climate change glaciers proglacial lake Little Ice Age Last ice area Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0012 2023-06-04T00:34:28Z Relatively little is known about the glaciers of northern Ellesmere Island, Canada. Here we describe the first field and remote sensing observations of Thores Glacier, located 50 km inland from the Arctic Ocean. The glacier is slow-moving, with maximum velocities of 26 m a−1 and a maximum observed thickness of 360 ± 4.3 m. There has been little change in terminus position since at least 1959, with a maximum advance of 170 m at the northwest terminus ending on land and retreat up to 130 m at the southeast terminus ending in Thores Lake. There is little evidence for change since the Little Ice Age as bedrock weathering patterns suggest retreat of no more than 20–30 m around most of the glacier margin. The supraglacial drainage network is generally poorly developed, without moulins and with few crevasses, and therefore no evidence of water reaching the glacier bed. This is supported by one-dimensional modelling, which suggests current basal temperatures of −7.0 °C to −12.0 °C along the centerline. Thores Glacier currently dams Thores Lake, which causes drainage to flow to the southeast. However, if the glacier thins or retreats sufficiently, regional drainage will reverse and flow to the north, and Thores Lake would no longer exist. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Ellesmere Island glacier* Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Arctic Ocean Canada Ellesmere Island Thores Lake ENVELOPE(-73.683,-73.683,82.650,82.650) Arctic Science |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
Arctic climate change glaciers proglacial lake Little Ice Age Last ice area Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic climate change glaciers proglacial lake Little Ice Age Last ice area Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 Will Kochtitzky Luke Copland Trudy Wohlleben Pilipoosie Iqaluk Catherine Girard Warwick F. Vincent Alexander I. Culley Slow change since the Little Ice Age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: Thores Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada |
topic_facet |
Arctic climate change glaciers proglacial lake Little Ice Age Last ice area Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
description |
Relatively little is known about the glaciers of northern Ellesmere Island, Canada. Here we describe the first field and remote sensing observations of Thores Glacier, located 50 km inland from the Arctic Ocean. The glacier is slow-moving, with maximum velocities of 26 m a−1 and a maximum observed thickness of 360 ± 4.3 m. There has been little change in terminus position since at least 1959, with a maximum advance of 170 m at the northwest terminus ending on land and retreat up to 130 m at the southeast terminus ending in Thores Lake. There is little evidence for change since the Little Ice Age as bedrock weathering patterns suggest retreat of no more than 20–30 m around most of the glacier margin. The supraglacial drainage network is generally poorly developed, without moulins and with few crevasses, and therefore no evidence of water reaching the glacier bed. This is supported by one-dimensional modelling, which suggests current basal temperatures of −7.0 °C to −12.0 °C along the centerline. Thores Glacier currently dams Thores Lake, which causes drainage to flow to the southeast. However, if the glacier thins or retreats sufficiently, regional drainage will reverse and flow to the north, and Thores Lake would no longer exist. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Will Kochtitzky Luke Copland Trudy Wohlleben Pilipoosie Iqaluk Catherine Girard Warwick F. Vincent Alexander I. Culley |
author_facet |
Will Kochtitzky Luke Copland Trudy Wohlleben Pilipoosie Iqaluk Catherine Girard Warwick F. Vincent Alexander I. Culley |
author_sort |
Will Kochtitzky |
title |
Slow change since the Little Ice Age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: Thores Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada |
title_short |
Slow change since the Little Ice Age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: Thores Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada |
title_full |
Slow change since the Little Ice Age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: Thores Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Slow change since the Little Ice Age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: Thores Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Slow change since the Little Ice Age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: Thores Glacier, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada |
title_sort |
slow change since the little ice age at a far northern glacier with the potential for system reorganization: thores glacier, northern ellesmere island, canada |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0012 https://doaj.org/article/d58390c45c2c4328a0b9f7644062a303 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-73.683,-73.683,82.650,82.650) |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Canada Ellesmere Island Thores Lake |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Canada Ellesmere Island Thores Lake |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Ellesmere Island glacier* |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change Ellesmere Island glacier* |
op_source |
Arctic Science, Vol 9, Iss 2, Pp 451-464 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2022-0012 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2022-0012 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/d58390c45c2c4328a0b9f7644062a303 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0012 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
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1769003435435229184 |