Recent glacial history and climatic change, Bergsfjord, Troms-Finnmark, Norway
Systematic documentation of climatic change using historical records of glacier fluctuations in North Norway is complicated by the strong topographic control exerted on glacier and ice-cap development in plateau regions. Ice avalanches from high plateaux maintain valley glaciers up to 600 m below in...
| Published in: | Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
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Routledge
1989
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/99652/ https://doi.org/10.1080/00291958908552214 |
| Summary: | Systematic documentation of climatic change using historical records of glacier fluctuations in North Norway is complicated by the strong topographic control exerted on glacier and ice-cap development in plateau regions. Ice avalanches from high plateaux maintain valley glaciers up to 600 m below in the surrounding valleys. Ice-marginal recession due to changing mass balance on the plateau ice caps has reduced ice avalanching and contributed to the subsequent decline of outlet and valley glaciers. The plateau ice caps on the Bergsfjord Peninsula occupy a critical altitudinal threshold between 900 and 1200 m which is particularly sensitive to recent climatic change. Patterns of glacier response are recorded with the aid of historical records and field mapping. The changes in ice distribution are linked to both fluctuations in mass balance and to important topographic controls on summit ice caps. |
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