Twenty-one years of mass balance observations along the K-transect, West Greenland

• Published in: Earth System Science Data
• Main Authors: R. S. W. van de Wal, W. Boot, C. J. P. P. Smeets, H. Snellen, M. R. van den Broeke, J. Oerlemans
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2012
• Subjects: envir; geo; Greenland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-4-31-2012; http://www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/4/31/2012/essd-4-31-2012.pdf; https://doaj.org/article/48c819e7725b4dcca849487747659174

A 21-yr record is presented of surface mass balance measurements along the K-transect. The series covers the period 1990–2011. Data are available at eight sites along a transect over an altitude range of 380–1850 m at approximately 67° N in West Greenland. The surface mass balance gradient is on average 3.8 × 10−3 m w.e. m−1, and the mean equilibrium line altitude is 1553 m a.s.l. Only the lower three sites within 10 km of the margin up to an elevation of 700 m experience a significant increasing trend in the ablation over the entire period. Data are available at: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.779181.