Exceptional retreat of Novaya Zemlya's marine-terminating outlet glaciers between 2000 and 2013

Abstract

Abstract. Novaya Zemlya (NVZ) has experienced rapid ice loss and accelerated marine-terminating glacier retreat during the past 2 decades. However, it is unknown whether this retreat is exceptional longer term and/or whether it has persisted since 2010. Investigating this is vital, as dynamic thinning may contribute substantially to ice loss from NVZ, but is not currently included in sea level rise predictions. Here, we use remotely sensed data to assess controls on NVZ glacier retreat between 1973/76 and 2015. Glaciers that terminate into lakes or the ocean receded 3.5 times faster than those that terminate on land. Between 2000 and 2013, retreat rates were significantly higher on marine-terminating outlet glaciers than during the previous 27 years, and we observe widespread slowdown in retreat, and even advance, between 2013 and 2015. There were some common patterns in the timing of glacier retreat, but the magnitude varied between individual glaciers. Rapid retreat between 2000 and 2013 corresponds to a period of significantly warmer air temperatures and reduced sea ice concentrations, and to changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). We need to assess the impact of this accelerated retreat on dynamic ice losses from NVZ to accurately quantify its future sea level rise contribution.

Geometric Controls on Tidewater Glacier Retreat in Central Western Greenland

“…Total amounts of retreat are closely tied to the length of overdeepening behind the terminus at progressive retreat onset, which is heterogeneous across the region. This provides an explanation for previous studies who found great variability in retreat rate and durations between neighboring glaciers (e.g., Carr et al, 2017;Moon et al, 2015;Murray et al, 2015;Walsh et al, 2012). Assuming that the distance retreated is strongly controlled by the available length of retrograde bed slope, several glaciers in our study could experience additional retreat.…”

Fusion of Multi-Source Satellite Data and DEMs to Create a New Glacier Inventory for Novaya Zemlya

“…In the latter case this would indicate that glaciers in the southern part are loosing mass, whereas in the northern part the situation might be more stable. This assumption is in contrast to other studies [13,50] that have shown that glaciers of NZV are losing mass and retreating. In general, the standard deviation is always slightly higher in the ArcticDEM than in the ASTER GDEM V2.…”

The Expanding Footprint of Rapid Arctic Change

“…This area is diminishing rapidly due to warming air and ocean temperatures. Widespread retreat of glaciers and ice caps is well documented across the Arctic (e.g., Carr et al, 2017;Howat & Eddy, 2011), and long-term records of glaciers across the globe confirm that retreat has accelerated in the 21st century as a result of human-caused climate change (Roe et al, 2016). The speed and magnitude of change is unprecedented.…”