Surface-elevation changes and mass balance of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya

• Published in: Ice and Snow
• Main Authors: F. J. Navarro, P. Sánchez-Gámez, A. F. Glazovsky, C. Recio-Blitz
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Nauka 2020
• Subjects: арктика; баланс массы ледника; изменения высоты ледниковой поверхности; ледниковый купол; северная земля; Science; Q; Arctic; Severnaya Zemlya; Ice cap; Арктика
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.31857/S2076673420010021; https://doaj.org/article/d8fd38d9af304d5c829cc059d6bb6155

We have determined the surface-elevation change rates of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Arctic, for two different periods: 2004–2016 and 2012/2013–2016. The former was calculated from differencing of ICESat and ArcticDEM digital elevation models, while the latter was obtained by differencing two sets of ArcticDEM digital elevation models. From these surface-elevation change rates we obtained the geodetic mass balance, which was nearly identical for both periods, at −1,72±0,67 Gt a−1, equivalent to −0,31±0,12 m w.e. a−1 over the whole ice cap area. Using an independent estimate of frontal ablation for 2016−2017 of −1,93±0,12 Gt a−1 (−0,31±0,12 m w.e. a−1), we get an estimate of the climatic mass balance not significantly different from zero, at 0,21±0,68 Gt a−1 (0,04±0,13 m w.e. a−1), which agrees with the near-zero average balance at a decadal scale observed during the last four decades. Making an observationally-based assumption on accumulation rate, we estimate the current total ablation from the ice cap, and its partitioning between frontal ablation, dominated by calving (~54%) and climatic mass balance, mostly surface ablation (~46%).