Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland: the 2002–2003 collapse and nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage List

Jakobshavn Isbræ (also known as Sermeq Kujalleq or Ilulissat Isbræ) is situated at about 69°10′N and 50°00′W in West Greenland. This major outlet from the Inland Ice has an extremely high rate of movement (nearly 1 m/hour) and thus a high production of icebergs, which via the icefjord float westward...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) Bulletin
Main Authors: Weidick, Anker, Mikkelsen, Naja, Mayer, Christoph, Podlech, Steffen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) 2004
Subjects:
Greenland
Ilulissat
Jakobshavn Isbræ
Isfjord
Kujalleq
Jakobshavn Isfjord
Davis Strait
Disko bugt
glacier
Jakobshavn
Jakobshavn isbræ
Kangia
Sermeq Kujalleq
Online Access:https://geusbulletin.org/index.php/geusb/article/view/4792
https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v4.4792
Description
Summary:Jakobshavn Isbræ (also known as Sermeq Kujalleq or Ilulissat Isbræ) is situated at about 69°10′N and 50°00′W in West Greenland. This major outlet from the Inland Ice has an extremely high rate of movement (nearly 1 m/hour) and thus a high production of icebergs, which via the icefjord float westwards through Disko Bugt to Davis Strait (Fig. 1). Estimates of the iceberg production are in the range of 35 ± 10 km3 ice per year, more than 10% of the entire calf-ice production of the Inland Ice (e.g. Bauer l968; Bindschadler 1984). The icefjord into which Sermeq Kujalleq calves is Kangia, best known in glaciological literature as Jakobshavn Isfjord. Spectacular changes of the glacier were observed during 2002 and 2003 at the same time as it was nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List under the name ‘Ilulissat Icefjord’.

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