Accelerating glacier mass loss on Franz Josef Land, Russian Arctic

Zheng, Whyjay; Pritchard, M. E.; Willis, M. J.; Tepes, Paul; Gourmelen, Noël; Benham, Toby; Dowdeswell, Julian A.

doi:10.1016/j.rse.2018.04.004

Cited by 37 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…We find an interannual variability in the time series of glacier mass change that is similar to that observed on the Svalbard and the Franz Josef Land archipelagoes [7]. In these regions, an increased glacier mass loss between 2010 and 2017 was associated with enhanced ice thinning at the margin of all marine-terminating glaciers [62,86]. This pattern suggests that the NZEM glacier mass balance is largely influenced by shifts in atmospheric and ocean conditions over the entire Barents Sea region.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Mass Balance of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russian High Arctic, Using Time-Variable Gravity from GRACE and Altimetry Data from ICESat and CryoSat-2

Ciracì

Sutterley

2018

Remote Sensing

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We examine the mass balance of the glaciers in the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, located in the Russian High Arctic using time series of time-variable gravity from the NASA/DLR Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, laser altimetry data from the NASA Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) mission, and radar altimetry data from the European Space Agency (ESA) CryoSat-2 mission. We present a new algorithm for detecting changes in glacier elevation from these satellite altimetry data and evaluate its performance in the case of Novaya Zemlya by comparing the results with GRACE. We find that the mass loss of Novaya Zemlya glaciers increased from 10 ± 5 Gt/year over 2003–2009 to 14 ± 4 Gt/year over 2010–2016, with a brief period of near-zero mass balance between 2009 and 2011. The results are consistent across the gravimetric and altimetric methods. Furthermore, the analysis of elevation change from CryoSat-2 indicates that the mass loss occurs at elevation below 700 m, where the highest thinning rates are found. We also find that marine-terminating glaciers in Novaya Zemlya are thinning significantly faster than land-terminating glaciers, which indicates an important role of ice dynamics of marine-terminating glaciers. We posit that the glacier changes have been caused by changes in atmospheric and ocean temperatures. We find that the increase in mass loss after 2010 is associated with a warming in air temperatures, which increased the surface melt rates. There is not enough information on the ocean temperature at the front of the glaciers to conclude on the role of the ocean, but we posit that the temperature of subsurface ocean waters must have increased during the observation period.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Mass Balance of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russian High Arctic, Using Time-Variable Gravity from GRACE and Altimetry Data from ICESat and CryoSat-2

Ciracì

Sutterley

2018

Remote Sensing

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“…The annual ice volume change and annual ice mass change above sea level are derived from the elevation change, assuming a fixed ice density of 850 ± 60 kg/m 3 (2 sigma; Huss, 2013;Zheng et al, 2018). In order to estimate the ELA, we identify the snow line location from Landsat 8 late-summer images around the entire ice cap and read the corresponding elevations from the DSMs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To extend the time series, we use SETSM to generate additional WorldView-DSMs from 2017-2019. We use ICESat elevation returns over nonglacierized areas as a standard reference to align all DSMs and calculate DSM uncertainty (Text S1 in the supporting information; Melkonian et al, 2016;Zheng et al, 2018). We mosaic DSMs from March to April each year to (Bassford et al, 2006;Dowdeswell et al, 2002), and elevation difference (j-l).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to estimate the ELA, we identify the snow line location from Landsat 8 late-summer images around the entire ice cap and read the corresponding elevations from the DSMs. The annual ice volume change and annual ice mass change above sea level are derived from the elevation change, assuming a fixed ice density of 850 ± 60 kg/m 3 (2 sigma; Huss, 2013;Zheng et al, 2018). We also estimate the total ice mass of the collapsed basin using the glacier outline from Randolf Glacier Inventory version-6 (Pfeffer et al, 2014) and the density assumed here.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Possible Transition From Glacial Surge to Ice Stream on Vavilov Ice Cap

Zheng

Pritchard

Willis

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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Surge-type glaciers typically undergo cyclical flow instability due to mass accumulation; however, some recent glacier surges have caused irreversible ice loss in a short period. At Vavilov Ice Cap, Russia, surge-like behavior initiated in 2013 and by spring 2019 the ice cap had lost 9.5 Gt of ice (11% mass of the entire basin). Using time series of surface elevation and glacier velocity derived from satellite optical and synthetic-aperture radar imagery, we identify a shift of flow pattern starting in 2017 when shear margins formed within the grounded marine piedmont fan. Multiple summer speedups correlate with warmer summers during 2015-2019 and suggest that surface melt may access the subglacial environment. Force balance analysis and examination of the Péclet number show that glacier thinning propagated upstream in 2016-2017, and diffusion became a significant dynamic response to thinning perturbations. Our results suggest that the glacier has entered a new ice stream-like regime. Plain Language SummaryA glacier surge is a sudden speedup of glacier flow coinciding with a large advance of the ice front. Some glaciers surge periodically every 10-100 years, and so surge mechanism is thought to be independent of climate change. However, some recent surges have evacuated so much ice that another surge is unlikely to occur in the same place again. A glacier surge at the Vavilov Ice Cap, Russia, is one of these cases. Since 2013, the glacier has drained more than 11% of the ice basin (9.5 Gt) into the ocean. After the initial surge in 2013, the glacier still retains fast flow at around 1.8 km/year, an unusually high and long-lasting speed for a glacier surge. To understand the future of the surge, we use satellite images to calculate surface elevations and ice speeds, and analyze their change over time for the glacier. The results reveal that the glacier now physically behaves more like an "ice stream," a stream of fast-flowing ice within an ice sheet, which can probably flow at high speed for a long time and drain ice efficiently. This is the first documented case of an ice stream-like feature ever being formed.

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“…Melkonian et al (2016) [32] reported general ice loss from the glaciers of Novaya Zemlya basing on their newest satellite data analyses. Also, in Franz Josef land glacier retreat is widespread and in general a trend of increasing glacier thinning is observed from the NE towards the SW (Zheng et al 2018) [33]. The process of glacial recession is even more intensive in Svalbard [5,8,19].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Morphogenesis of New Straits and Islands Originated in the European Arctic Since the 1980s

Ziaja

Ostafin

2019

Geosciences

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Several new islands and many islets have appeared in the European Arctic since the end of the 20th century due to glacial recession under climate warming. The specificity of the formation of each individual strait and island is shown in the paper (apart from its location and timing of its origin). Analysis of available maps and satellite images of all three European Arctic archipelagos, from different times since 1909–1910, was the main research method. There are three pathways of the morphogenesis of the new islands: (1) simultaneous recession of glaciers from both sides of a depression in bedrock being a potential strait (typical in Franz Josef Land), (2) uncovering a rocky hill (which protrudes from a depression in bedrock) from under a receding glacier, (3) recession of one glacier which had reached a rocky fragment of a coastline (e.g., headland or peninsula), being a potential new island, during a maximum extent of this glacier during the Little Ice Age (in the beginning of the 20th century). Additional straits and islands are currently at the stage of formation and will continue to form in the European Arctic in the case of further warming or stabilization of the current climate conditions.

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Accelerating glacier mass loss on Franz Josef Land, Russian Arctic

Cited by 37 publications

References 46 publications

Mass Balance of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russian High Arctic, Using Time-Variable Gravity from GRACE and Altimetry Data from ICESat and CryoSat-2

Mass Balance of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russian High Arctic, Using Time-Variable Gravity from GRACE and Altimetry Data from ICESat and CryoSat-2

The Possible Transition From Glacial Surge to Ice Stream on Vavilov Ice Cap

Morphogenesis of New Straits and Islands Originated in the European Arctic Since the 1980s

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