Monitoring glacier mass change in northern Sweden from 2003 to 2023 using satellite altimetry data

• Main Author: Cheng, Cheng
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Lunds universitet/Institutionen för naturgeografi och ekosystemvetenskap 2024
• Subjects: Altimetry; Climate change; Glaciology; ICESat; ICESat-2; Mass change; Satellite; Sea-level rise; Sweden; Earth and Environmental Sciences; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9170796

The analysis of glacier mass changes in northern Sweden from 2003 to 2023 employed the non-repeat observation method, utilizing data from altimetry data ICESat and ICESat-2, along with Swedish national DEM and RGI v7.0 glacier boundary. The total volume decreased by -2.78 ± 0.58 km³, corresponding to a total mass loss of 10.41 ± 6.60 m w.e. over the past two decades. These changes contribute approximately 6.52∙10−3 mm to global sea-level rise. The study reveals a general trend of glaciers losing mass throughout the observation period. Additionally, in-situ measurements in northern Sweden were obtained to evaluate the results from the altimetry remote sensing method. The results are all reasonable compared to the insitu measurements. Except for Storglaciären, the in-situ measurements of the other glaciers exhibit more negative mass balances compared to those measured by altimetry data. The relationship between glacier mass changes and temperature changes was also analyzed by comparing the average temperature during the glacier melt season with the annual average glacier mass balance obtained from the results. As the average temperature of melt season increases, the glacier mass changes increase.