Environmental and landscape changes
Climate changes in western Sørkapp Land mirror globalfluctuations. TheLittle Ice Age ended with a cold period in the 1890s. A warm contemporary periodbegan in the early twentieth century. Afterwards, secondary cold and warm climatefluctuations occurred. The most recentfluctuation, since the 1980s, s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Book Part |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/19415 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26574-2_4 |
| Summary: | Climate changes in western Sørkapp Land mirror globalfluctuations. TheLittle Ice Age ended with a cold period in the 1890s. A warm contemporary periodbegan in the early twentieth century. Afterwards, secondary cold and warm climatefluctuations occurred. The most recentfluctuation, since the 1980s, shows a sig-nificant warming trend. The mean annual temperature increased by almost 2°C andthe mean annual total precipitation increased by about 60 mm since the 1980s(according to data of the station located 10 km from the study area). Almost all thesnow patches melt during the warmest and sunniest summer seasons. The so-calledactive layer of permafrost had doubled at sites below 100 m of altitude from the1980s to 2008. Almost all Sørkapp Land glaciers have undergone a continuousrecession since the beginning of the twentieth century. Two processes are importantfor glacier recession: decrease in snow accumulation infirnfields due to the summerthawing of a larger snow mass, and summer thawing of ice on the surface of glaciertongues, which results in a decrease in ice thickness. Thus, the equilibrium-linealtitude of a glacier shifts upward, reducing the accumulation zone. Hence, the entiresurface of the glaciers undergoes lowering each year, which results in a decrease intheir volume and their overall retreat. Since the 1980s, an acceleration of the gla-ciers’recession has occurred, causing great changes in landforms and Quaternary.New accumulation landforms appeared in the front of glaciers and around glaciertongues in their marginal zones, that is, on lowlands and valleyfloors abandoned byglaciers and in their forefields situated below the marginal zones (i.e., beyond theformer extent of the glaciers). New erosion landforms, apart from proglacial riverincisions, prevail on the steep slopes of valleys and mountain massifs. The cliffs oftidewater glaciers undergo the quickest retreat. Karst processes have intensified due to higher air temperatures and larger quantities offlowing water. Surface andunderground streams ... |
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