Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability
Compared to other Arctic ice masses, Svalbard glaciers are low-elevated with flat interior accumulation areas, resulting in a marked peak in their current hypsometry (area-elevation distribution) at ~450 m above sea level. Since summer melt consistently exceeds winter snowfall, these low-lying glaci...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/408934 |
id |
ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/408934 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/408934 2023-12-03T10:17:47+01:00 Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability Noël, Brice Jakobs, C. L. van Pelt, W. J. J. Lhermitte, S. Wouters, B. Kohler, J. Hagen, J. O. Luks, B. Reijmer, C. H. van de Berg, W. J. van den Broeke, M. R. Sub Dynamics Meteorology Marine and Atmospheric Research 2020 application/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/408934 en eng 2041-1723 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/408934 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Article 2020 ftunivutrecht 2023-11-08T23:19:16Z Compared to other Arctic ice masses, Svalbard glaciers are low-elevated with flat interior accumulation areas, resulting in a marked peak in their current hypsometry (area-elevation distribution) at ~450 m above sea level. Since summer melt consistently exceeds winter snowfall, these low-lying glaciers can only survive by refreezing a considerable fraction of surface melt and rain in the porous firn layer covering their accumulation zones. We use a high-resolution climate model to show that modest atmospheric warming in the mid-1980s forced the firn zone to retreat upward by ~100 m to coincide with the hypsometry peak. This led to a rapid areal reduction of firn cover available for refreezing, and strongly increased runoff from dark, bare ice areas, amplifying mass loss from all elevations. As the firn line fluctuates around the hypsometry peak in the current climate, Svalbard glaciers will continue to lose mass and show high sensitivity to temperature perturbations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Svalbard Utrecht University Repository Arctic Svalbard |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
description |
Compared to other Arctic ice masses, Svalbard glaciers are low-elevated with flat interior accumulation areas, resulting in a marked peak in their current hypsometry (area-elevation distribution) at ~450 m above sea level. Since summer melt consistently exceeds winter snowfall, these low-lying glaciers can only survive by refreezing a considerable fraction of surface melt and rain in the porous firn layer covering their accumulation zones. We use a high-resolution climate model to show that modest atmospheric warming in the mid-1980s forced the firn zone to retreat upward by ~100 m to coincide with the hypsometry peak. This led to a rapid areal reduction of firn cover available for refreezing, and strongly increased runoff from dark, bare ice areas, amplifying mass loss from all elevations. As the firn line fluctuates around the hypsometry peak in the current climate, Svalbard glaciers will continue to lose mass and show high sensitivity to temperature perturbations. |
author2 |
Sub Dynamics Meteorology Marine and Atmospheric Research |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Noël, Brice Jakobs, C. L. van Pelt, W. J. J. Lhermitte, S. Wouters, B. Kohler, J. Hagen, J. O. Luks, B. Reijmer, C. H. van de Berg, W. J. van den Broeke, M. R. |
spellingShingle |
Noël, Brice Jakobs, C. L. van Pelt, W. J. J. Lhermitte, S. Wouters, B. Kohler, J. Hagen, J. O. Luks, B. Reijmer, C. H. van de Berg, W. J. van den Broeke, M. R. Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability |
author_facet |
Noël, Brice Jakobs, C. L. van Pelt, W. J. J. Lhermitte, S. Wouters, B. Kohler, J. Hagen, J. O. Luks, B. Reijmer, C. H. van de Berg, W. J. van den Broeke, M. R. |
author_sort |
Noël, Brice |
title |
Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability |
title_short |
Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability |
title_full |
Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability |
title_fullStr |
Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability |
title_sort |
low elevation of svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/408934 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Svalbard |
op_relation |
2041-1723 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/408934 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1784264735040995328 |