Changes in the southeast Vatnajökull ice cap, Iceland, between ~ 1890 and 2010

Abstract

Abstract. Area and volume changes and the average geodetic mass balance of the non-surging outlet glaciers of the southeast Vatnajökull ice cap, Iceland, during different time periods between ∼ 1890 and 2010, are derived from a multi-temporal glacier inventory. A series of digital elevation models (DEMs) (∼ 1890, 1904, 1936, 1945, 1989, 2002, 2010) are compiled from glacial geomorphological features, historical photographs, maps, aerial images, DGPS measurements and a lidar survey. Given the mapped basal topography, we estimate volume changes since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) ∼ 1890. The variable volume loss of the outlets to similar climate forcing is related to their different hypsometry, basal topography, and the presence of proglacial lakes. In the post-LIA period, the glacierized area decreased by 164 km 2 (or from 1014 to 851 km 2 ) and the glaciers had lost 10-30 % of their ∼ 1890 area by 2010 (anywhere from 3 to 36 km 2 ). The glacier surface lowered by 150-270 m near the terminus and the outlet glaciers collectively lost 60 ± 8 km 3 of ice, which is equivalent to 0.15 ± 0.02 mm of sea-level rise. The volume loss of individual glaciers was in the range of 15-50 %, corresponding to a geodetic mass balance between −0.70 and −0.32 m w.e. a −1 . The annual rate of mass change during the post-LIA period was most negative in 2002-2010, on average −1.34 ± 0.12 m w.e. a −1 , which is among the most negative mass balance values recorded worldwide in the early 21st century.

Simulating the evolution of Hardangerjøkulen ice cap in southern Norway since the mid-Holocene and its sensitivity to climate change

“…Moreover, the proglacial lake in front of Rembesdalskåka may have modulated LIA frontal behavior, as suggested for Icelandic glaciers (Hannesdóttir et al, 2015). However, we expect this effect to be minor compared to other model uncertainties.…”

The geomorphology of Svínafellsjökull and Virkisjökull-Falljökull glacier forelands, southeast Iceland

“…Hannesdóttir et al, 2015aHannesdóttir et al, , 2015b. However, reference to the twin glaciers has been made by various workers undertaking wider glacier-evolution studies.…”

“…The recent ice-front fluctuations and history of landform development at Svínafellsjökull are relatively well known (Hannesdóttir et al, 2015a(Hannesdóttir et al, , 2015bSigurdsson, 1998;Thompson, 1988;Thorarinsson, 1943). During the Little Ice Age (LIA -eighteenth and nineteenth centuries) and first few years of the twentieth century, the terminus of Svínafellsjökull extended well beyond its present-day position where it coalesced with the neighbouring Skaftafellsjökull until 1935 (Thompson, 1988;Thorarinsson, 1943).…”

“…The relative accessibility of southeast Iceland's glaciers and the preservation of their landscape legacy have enabled the development of a deeper understanding of glacial and glacial geomorphic processes and continue to encourage new research (e.g. Boulton & Hindmarsh, 1987;Eyles, 1979;Hannesdóttir, Björnsson, Pálsson, Aðalgeirsdóttir, & Guðmundsson, 2015a, 2015bPhillips, Finlayson, Bradwell, Everest, & Jones, 2014;Spedding & Evans, 2002).…”

Glacio-hydrological melt and runoff modelling: a limits of acceptability framework for model selection

“…yr -1 in the main ablation zone (Flett, 2016). It has been in a phase of retreat since 1990 due to warming of the climate over this period (Hannesdóttir et al, 2015). Since 2005 the rate of retreat has accelerated to >30 m yr -1 as a result of the detachment on the ice front from the active part of the glacier, resulting in rapid down wasting (Bradwell et al, 2013;IGS, 2017;Phillips 15 et al, 2014).…”