Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland
Over the past two decades Iceland's glaciers have been undergoing a phase of accelerated retreat set against a backdrop of warmer summers and milder winters. This paper demonstrates how the dynamics of a steep outlet glacier in maritime SE Iceland have changed as it adjusts to recent significan...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2014
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1893/22719 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003165 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/22719/1/Phillips_et_al-2014-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research-_Earth_Surface.pdf |
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ftunivstirling:oai:dspace.stir.ac.uk:1893/22719 2023-05-15T16:21:35+02:00 Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland Phillips, Emrys Finlayson, Andrew Bradwell, Tom Everest, Jeremy D Jones, Lee British Geological Survey Biological and Environmental Sciences orcid:0000-0003-0947-3309 2014-10 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1893/22719 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003165 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/22719/1/Phillips_et_al-2014-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research-_Earth_Surface.pdf en eng Wiley-Blackwell Phillips E, Finlayson A, Bradwell T, Everest JD & Jones L (2014) Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 119 (10), pp. 2194-2208. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003165 http://hdl.handle.net/1893/22719 doi:10.1002/2014JF003165 WOS:000345366600006 2-s2.0-84915820749 592634 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/22719/1/Phillips_et_al-2014-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research-_Earth_Surface.pdf ©2014. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY glacier retreat reduction in active glacier length structural evolution Falljökull SE Iceland Journal Article VoR - Version of Record 2014 ftunivstirling https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003165 2022-06-13T18:42:36Z Over the past two decades Iceland's glaciers have been undergoing a phase of accelerated retreat set against a backdrop of warmer summers and milder winters. This paper demonstrates how the dynamics of a steep outlet glacier in maritime SE Iceland have changed as it adjusts to recent significant changes in mass balance. Geomorphological evidence from Falljökull, a high-mass turnover temperate glacier, clearly shows that between 1990 and 2004 the ice front was undergoing active retreat resulting in seasonal oscillations of its margin. However, in 2004–2006 this glacier crossed an important dynamic threshold and effectively reduced its active length by abandoning its lower reaches to passive retreat processes. A combination of ice surface structural measurements with radar, lidar, and differential Global Navigation Satellite Systems data are used to show that the upper active section of Falljökull is still flowing forward but has become detached from and is being thrust over its stagnant lower section. The reduction in the active length of Falljökull over the last several years has allowed it to rapidly reequilibrate to regional snowline rise in SE Iceland over the past two decades. It is possible that other steep, mountain glaciers around the world may respond in a similar way to significant changes in their mass balance, rapidly adjusting their active length in response to recent atmospheric warming. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Iceland University of Stirling: Stirling Digital Research Repository Falljökull ENVELOPE(-16.770,-16.770,63.976,63.976) Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 119 10 2194 2208 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Stirling: Stirling Digital Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivstirling |
language |
English |
topic |
glacier retreat reduction in active glacier length structural evolution Falljökull SE Iceland |
spellingShingle |
glacier retreat reduction in active glacier length structural evolution Falljökull SE Iceland Phillips, Emrys Finlayson, Andrew Bradwell, Tom Everest, Jeremy D Jones, Lee Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland |
topic_facet |
glacier retreat reduction in active glacier length structural evolution Falljökull SE Iceland |
description |
Over the past two decades Iceland's glaciers have been undergoing a phase of accelerated retreat set against a backdrop of warmer summers and milder winters. This paper demonstrates how the dynamics of a steep outlet glacier in maritime SE Iceland have changed as it adjusts to recent significant changes in mass balance. Geomorphological evidence from Falljökull, a high-mass turnover temperate glacier, clearly shows that between 1990 and 2004 the ice front was undergoing active retreat resulting in seasonal oscillations of its margin. However, in 2004–2006 this glacier crossed an important dynamic threshold and effectively reduced its active length by abandoning its lower reaches to passive retreat processes. A combination of ice surface structural measurements with radar, lidar, and differential Global Navigation Satellite Systems data are used to show that the upper active section of Falljökull is still flowing forward but has become detached from and is being thrust over its stagnant lower section. The reduction in the active length of Falljökull over the last several years has allowed it to rapidly reequilibrate to regional snowline rise in SE Iceland over the past two decades. It is possible that other steep, mountain glaciers around the world may respond in a similar way to significant changes in their mass balance, rapidly adjusting their active length in response to recent atmospheric warming. |
author2 |
British Geological Survey Biological and Environmental Sciences orcid:0000-0003-0947-3309 |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Phillips, Emrys Finlayson, Andrew Bradwell, Tom Everest, Jeremy D Jones, Lee |
author_facet |
Phillips, Emrys Finlayson, Andrew Bradwell, Tom Everest, Jeremy D Jones, Lee |
author_sort |
Phillips, Emrys |
title |
Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland |
title_short |
Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland |
title_full |
Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland |
title_fullStr |
Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland |
title_sort |
structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: evidence from falljökull, se iceland |
publisher |
Wiley-Blackwell |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/22719 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003165 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/22719/1/Phillips_et_al-2014-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research-_Earth_Surface.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-16.770,-16.770,63.976,63.976) |
geographic |
Falljökull |
geographic_facet |
Falljökull |
genre |
glacier Iceland |
genre_facet |
glacier Iceland |
op_relation |
Phillips E, Finlayson A, Bradwell T, Everest JD & Jones L (2014) Structural evolution triggers a dynamic reduction in active glacier length during rapid retreat: Evidence from Falljökull, SE iceland. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 119 (10), pp. 2194-2208. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003165 http://hdl.handle.net/1893/22719 doi:10.1002/2014JF003165 WOS:000345366600006 2-s2.0-84915820749 592634 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/22719/1/Phillips_et_al-2014-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research-_Earth_Surface.pdf |
op_rights |
©2014. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003165 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
container_volume |
119 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
2194 |
op_container_end_page |
2208 |
_version_ |
1766009596405612544 |