The thermal structure of Hansbreen, a tidewater glacier in southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Jania, Jacek; Mochnacki, Dariusz; Gądek, Bogdan

doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.1996.tb00458.x

Cited by 55 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…To our knowledge, the hydrothermal structure of the glaciers studied in this paper has only been discussed in the literature for Hansbreen (e.g., Dowdeswell et al, 1984aDowdeswell et al, , 1984bMacheret et al, 1993;Jania, 1996;Jania et al, 1996;Moore et al, 1999;Pälli et al, 2003;Grabiec et al, 2012), Recherchebreen (e.g., Macheret and Zhuravlev, 1982;Dowdeswell et al, 1984aDowdeswell et al, , 1984b, Werenskioldbreen (e.g., Macheret and Zhuravlev, 1982;Dowdeswell et al, 1984aDowdeswell et al, , 1984bPälli et al, 2003), and Ariebreen (Lapazaran et al, 2013), all of them polythermal except the latter, which is entirely made of cold ice. On the basis of the presence or absence of scattering in the radargrams as an indicator of temperate or cold glacier ice (Navarro and Eisen, 2010), we here interpret that all other glaciers in our data set (Austre Torellbreen, Paierlbreen, Renardbreen, and Scottbreen) have a polythermal structure.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ice Volume Estimates from Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys, Wedel Jarlsberg Land Glaciers, Svalbard

Navarro

Martín-Español

Lapazaran

et al. 2014

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ice Volume Estimates from Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys, Wedel Jarlsberg Land Glaciers, Svalbard

Navarro

Martín-Español

Lapazaran

et al. 2014

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…GPR surveys combined with temperature measurements in bore holes have indicated a close relation between internal reflections and the thermal structure [Bamber, 1987;Jania et al, 1996]. However, these studies did not emphasize the polythermal structure of the entire glacier and often had poor depth resolution in the temperature measurements.…”

Section: Detection Of Polythermal Structure In Glaciers With Gprmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, they lost the internal reflections at lower frequencies . An internal reflection may also be attributed to the englacial water table or piezometric surface in both temperate and polythermal glaciers, which can complicate the interpretation of GPR surveys [Blindow and Thyssen, 1986;Bamber, 1987;Jania et al, 1996].…”

Section: Detection Of Polythermal Structure In Glaciers With Gprmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cold surface layer thinning on Storglaciären, Sweden, observed by repeated ground penetrating radar surveys

2003

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[1] A characteristic feature of ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys on polythermal glaciers is an internal reflection presumably caused by the cold temperate transition surface (CTS), hence providing a possible tool for mapping thermal structure with high accuracy. Comparison of detailed temperature measurements in bore holes and GPR profiles at 345 MHz and 800 MHz center frequencies on Storglaciären, Sweden, show that the CTS can be detected and mapped with an accuracy of about ±1 m at both frequencies. A comparison between comprehensive GPR surveys of the cold surface layer, separated by 12 years (1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001), shows a substantial and complex thinning of the cold layer. An overall decrease of 8.3 m (22% of average thickness) of the CTS depth is much larger than uncertainties in CTS depth determinations. The stability of the cold surface layer depends on the net ice ablation at the surface and the downward migration of CTS. There is no evidence of substantial increased net ablation between the survey dates that could explain the observed thinning. However, small increase in average winter air temperature, a limiting factor for the temperature gradient through the cold surface layer, may provide a partial explanation. The weaker temperature gradient reduces the transport of latent heat from the CTS, thus slowing down its downward migration.

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“…Refreezing of percolating and stored water in snow and firn contributes significantly to the mass balance of glaciers (Schytt, 1949;Koerner, 1970) and has a pronounced impact on the thermal structure (Greuell and Oerlemans, 1989;Jania et al, 1996). Refreezing of percolating water is most pronounced in spring when low subsurface temperatures and the presence of a snow pack increase the potential for refreezing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating melt, runoff and refreezing on Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard, using a coupled snow and energy balance model

et al. 2012

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Abstract.A distributed energy balance model is coupled to a multi-layer snow model in order to study the mass balance evolution and the impact of refreezing on the mass budget of Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard. The model is forced with output from the regional climate model RACMO and meteorological data from Svalbard Airport. Extensive calibration and initialisation are performed to increase the model accuracy. For the period 1989-2010, we find a mean net mass balance of −0.39 m w.e. a −1 . Refreezing contributes on average 0.27 m w.e. a −1 to the mass budget and is most pronounced in the accumulation zone. The simulated mass balance, radiative fluxes and subsurface profiles are validated against observations and are generally in good agreement. Climate sensitivity experiments reveal a non-linear, seasonally dependent response of the mass balance, refreezing and runoff to changes in temperature and precipitation. It is shown that including seasonality in climate change, with less pronounced summer warming, reduces the sensitivity of the mass balance and equilibrium line altitude (ELA) estimates in a future climate. The amount of refreezing is shown to be rather insensitive to changes in climate.

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The thermal structure of Hansbreen, a tidewater glacier in southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Cited by 55 publications

References 9 publications

Ice Volume Estimates from Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys, Wedel Jarlsberg Land Glaciers, Svalbard

Ice Volume Estimates from Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys, Wedel Jarlsberg Land Glaciers, Svalbard

Cold surface layer thinning on Storglaciären, Sweden, observed by repeated ground penetrating radar surveys

Simulating melt, runoff and refreezing on Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard, using a coupled snow and energy balance model

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