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

• Published in: Ice and Snow
• Main Authors: F. Navarro J., P. Sánchez-Gámez, A. Glazovsky F., C. Recio-Blitz, А. Глазовский Ф.
• Other Authors: This study has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 727890 and from Agencia Estatal de Investig- ación under grant CTM2017-84441-R of the Spanish Estate Plan for R & D. Support to AG by the Russian Fund for Basic Research grant 18-05-60109 is also acknowledged. DEMs were provided by the Polar Geospatial Center under NSF OPP awards 1043681, 1559691 and 1542736.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: IGRAS 2020
• Subjects: Arctic;glacier mass balance;ice cap;ice surface-elevation change;Severnaya Zemlya; Арктика;баланс массы ледника;изменения высоты ледниковой поверхности;ледниковый купол;Северная Земля; Arctic; Severnaya Zemlya; Annals of Glaciology; Antarctic and Alpine Research; Ice cap; The Cryosphere; Арктика
• Online Access: https://ice-snow.igras.ru/jour/article/view/781; https://doi.org/10.31857/S2076673420010021

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%). На основе разновременных ЦМР установлены скорости изменения высоты поверхности ледникового купола Академии Наук на Северной Земле за два периода: 2004−2016 и 2012/2013−2016 гг. и определён геодезический баланс его массы (−1,72±0,67 Гт/год). Сделан расчёт климатического баланса массы (0,21±0,68 Гт/год) и полной абляции (−3,18 Гт/год) ледника, где на отёл приходится ≈54%, а на поверхностную абляцию – ≈46%.