Williams, CN, Carrivick, JL orcid.org/0000-0002-9286-5348, Evans, AJ et al. (1 more author) (2016) QUANTIFYING UNCERTAINTY IN USING MULTIPLE DATASETS TO DETERMINE SPATIOTEMPORAL ICE MASS LOSS OVER 101 YEARS AT KARSAGLACIAREN, SUB-ARCTIC SWEDEN. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 98 (1). pp. 61-79. ISSN 0435-3676
Abstract
Glacier mass balance and mass balance gradient are fundamentally affected by changes in glacier 3D geometry. Few studies have quantified changing mountain glacier 3D geometry, not least because of a dearth of suitable spatiotemporally distributed topographical information. Additionally, there can be significant uncertainty in georeferencing of historical data and subsequent calculations of the difference between successive surveys. This study presents multiple 3D glacier reconstructions and the associated mass balance response of Kårsaglaciären, which is a 0.89 ± 0.01 km2 mountain glacier in sub-arctic Sweden. Reconstructions spanning 101 years were enabled by historical map digitisation and contemporary elevation and thickness surveys. By considering displacements between digitised maps via the identification of common tie-points, uncertainty in both vertical and horizontal planes were estimated. Results demonstrate a long-term trend of negative mass balance with an increase in mean elevation, total glacier retreat (1909–2008) of 1311 ± 12 m, and for the period 1926–2010 a volume decrease of 1.0 ± 0.3 × 10–3 km3 yr–1. Synthesising measurements of the glaciers’ past 3D geometry and ice thickness with theoretically calculated basal stress profiles explains the present thermal regime. The glacier is identified as being disproportionately fast in its rate of mass loss and relative to area, is the fastest retreating glacier in Sweden. Our long-term dataset of glacier 3D geometry changes will be useful for testing models of the evolution of glacier characteristics and behaviour, and ultimately for improving predictions of meltwater production with climate change.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016, Wiley. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: "Williams, C.N., Carrivick, J.L., Evans, A.J. and Rippin, D.M., 2016. Quantifying uncertainty in using multiple datasets to determine spatiotemporal ice mass loss over 101 years at Kårsaglaciären, arctic Sweden. Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography, 98, 61–79" which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geoa.12123. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
Keywords: | mountain glacier; mass balance; glacier reconstruction; glacier geometry |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Centre for Spatial Analysis & Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 17 Aug 2016 12:08 |
Last Modified: | 17 Mar 2018 01:38 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geoa.12123 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/geoa.12123 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:99191 |