IASC Workshop
on the dynamics and mass
budget of Arctic glaciers
Abstracts and Programme
IASC Workshop, 23-25 January 2017
Bethel, Maine, USA

IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology

IASC Workshop on the dynamics andmass budget of Arctic glaciers

Abstracts and program

IASC Workshop &Network on Arctic Glaciology annual meeting,23-25 January 2017, Bethel, Maine, USA

Organised by Gordon Hamilton, Ellyn Enderlin and Thorben Dunse

Network on Arctic Glaciology

Cover photo: Waves break upon an iceberg calved off from Breiðamerkurjökull,
Iceland. Photo by T. Dunse.
ISBN: 978-90-393-6780-3

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

Posters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8

Minutes of the Open Forum meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9Abstracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

121

Preface
The 2017 annual workshop and open forum meeting of the IASC Network on
Arctic Glaciology took place in Bethel, Maine, USA. 27 participants from 8 countries came together to discuss a broad range of topics in Arctic Glaciology, fromglacier-atmosphere and glacier-ocean interactions, including impacts on the marine ecosystem, to ice-dynamics and advancements in methodology to monitor
glacier processes and glacier change.
Discussions continued outside the meeting room at joined meals, as well ason the the local cross-country ski tracks and nearby downhill-ski slope. The open
forum meeting provided an opportunity to discuss further activities and development of the Network on Arctic Glaciology. An overview of the meeting, theprogram and abstracts of the presented work, can be found in this book.
A key person of the meeting was deeply missed by all participants: Gordon
Hamilton, the initial local host of the meeting. Gordon tragically passed away in
October 2016, doing fieldwork in Antarctica. I am very grateful to Ellyn Enderlin,
for taking over Gordon’s responsibilities as a local organizer. The meeting would
not have happened without the help from Ellyn and her team from the Universityof Maine, including Jessica Scheick, Lynn Kaluzienski, and Will Kochtitzky.
The next year’s meeting will take place in Obergurgl, Austria, 21 - 25 January,
2018. I hope to meet you all there.

Thorben Dunse
April 20172

Program
The meeting took place at The Bethel Inn, Bethel, Maine, USA, 23-25 January,
2017.

27 participants representing 8 IASC-NAG member countries came together in
Bethel Maine to discuss a broad range of topics in Arctic Glaciology.

Sunday 22 January
ARRIVAL

Monday 23 January
08:30 - 09:00
09:00 - 09:10

Registration
Welcome Ellyn Enderlin and Thorben Dunse3

09:10 - 11:40

Special session on glacier-atmosphere interactions

Convener:

Shin Sugiyama

09:10 - 09:30

Retrieving fog thickness and inversion characteristics fromradiosonde data in coastal East Greenland Gaëlle Gilson, H.
Jiskoot

09:30 - 09:50

The current state and potential for fog investigations in theHornsund Ewa Łupikasza, A. Migała, T. Niedzwiedz

09:50 - 10:10

Fog on Arctic Glaciers from Time-lapse Photography and Energy
Balance Stations Hester Jiskoot, A. Fossheim, B. Fox, T. Fox, M.
Hierath, B. Danielson, M. Nolan

10:10 - 10:30

Study on importance of winter liquid precipitation for massbalance of Spitsbergen glaciers Katarzyna Cielecka, E.
Łupikasza, Jacek Jania, M. Grabiec, D. Ignatiuk, B. Luks, A.
Uszczyk

10:30 - 11:00

Coffee break

Convener:

Hester Jiskoot

11:00 - 11:20

Contemporary patterns and trends in water isotope compositionof snow and ice across the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadianhigh Arctic Brittany Main, F. Delaney, L. Copland, D. Lacelle, D.
Fisher, L. Thomson, J. Zheng, D. Burgess

11:20 - 11:40

Industrial-age doubling of snow accumulation in Alaska linked totropical ocean warming Dom Winski

11:40 - 12:00

Mass balance of the Austfonna Ice Cap, Svalbard, 2004-2015
Jon Ove Hagen, T. Dunse, T. Eiken, J. Kohler, G. Moholdt, T.V.
Schuler, T. Østby, C. Reijmer

12:00 - 12:20

Recent glacier changes at Novaya Zemlya based on remotesensing, ice thickness and ice flow velocity measurements I.I.
Lavrentiev, A.F. Glazovsky, Stanislav S. Kutuzov, Yu.Ya.
Macheret

12:20 - 16:30

Very long lunch break / Skiing

16:30 - 17:00

Coffee break

17:00 - 17:15

Poster presentations by authors

17:15 - 19:00

Poster session
DinnerTuesday 24 January
09:00 - 12:10

Special session on glacier-ocean interactions

Convener:

Ellyn Enderlin4

09:00 - 09:20

Coupling glacier dynamics and fjord circulation models throughsubmarine melt at the glacier front Eva de Andrés, J. Otero,Francisco Navarro, A. Prominska, J. lapazaran, W. Walczowski

09:20 - 09:40

Spring submarine melt rate estimates for a seasonal ice tongue
in Kangersuneq Fjord, southwest Greenland, fromhigh-resolution satellite imagery Alexis N. Moyer, P. Nienow, N.
Gourmelen, A. Sole

09:40 - 10:00

Tidewater glaciers, ocean and atmosphere interactions inHornsund Fiord Małgorzata Błaszczyk, J. Jania, A. Prominska,
W. Walczowski, D. Ignatiuk, T. Wawrzyniak, M. Ciepły, M.
Grabiec, M. Moskalik

10:00 - 10:20

Multi-year surface velocities and sea-level rise contribution of
the Basin-3 and Basin-2 surges, Austfonna, Svalbard Thomas
Schellenberger, T. Dunse, A. Kääb, T. V. Schuler, J. O. Hagen, C.
H. Reijmer

10:20 - 10:50

Coffee break

Convener:

Jessica Scheick

10:50 - 11:10

Mass loss of outlet glaciers and ice caps in the Qaanaaq region,
northwestern Greenland Shin Sugiyama, S. Tsutaki, D.
Sakakibara, E.Podolskiy, M. Minowa, Y. Ohashi., M. Funk, G.
Jouvet, J. Seguinot, Y. Weidmann, R. Genco

11:10 - 11:30

Turbid meltwater discharge and its impact on phytoplankton
growth in the fjord of Bowdoin Glacier in northwest Greenland
Naoya Kanna, S. Sugiyama, Y. Ohashi, D. Sakakibara, B.
Nishizawa, I. Asaji, Y. Fukamachi

11:30 - 11:50

Freshwater discharge from glaciers in Svalbard and possible
implications for the marine ecosystem Thorben Dunse, K. S.
Aas, K. Dong, J. O. Hagen, T. V. Schuler, T. Schellenberger, L. C.
Stige

11:50 - 12:10

Submarine iceberg melting measurements using high-spatial
resolution remote sensing observations in Greenland fjords Will
Kochtitzky, E. Enderlin

12:10 - 13:30

Lunch

13:30 - 15:00

Workshop session on the importance of calving (frontal
ablation) for the mass budget of Arctic glaciers

Convener:

Ellyn Enderlin, Luke Copland (via skype) and Thorben Dunse

13:30 - 13:50

Introduction to the Pan-Arctic ice discharge session Luke
Copland, Ellyn Enderlin
Overview, status and results from the various regions

13:50 - 14:10

Svalbard Thorben Dunse on behalf of the Svalbard group

14:10 - 14:20

Hornsund, Svalbard Jacek Jania on behalf of theHornsund-Svalbard group5

14:50 - 15:10

Canadian Arctic Alison Cook and Luke Copland on behalf of
the Canadian-Arctic group
Greenland peripheral glaciers Ellyn Enderlin on behalf of theGreenland-peripheral-glaciers group
General discussion Ellyn Enderlin, Luke Copland

15:10 - 15:30

Coffee break

17:00 - 18:30

IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology Open Forum meeting
Thorben Dunse

14:20 - 14:35
14:35 - 14:50

DinnerWednesday 25 January
Convener:
09:00 - 09:20
09:20 - 09:40
09:40 - 10:00

10:00 - 10:30

Ice Dynamics
Thomas Schellenberger
High-Resolution Analysis of Columbia Glacier Dynamics Ellyn
Enderlin, G. Hamilton, I. Joughin, S. O’Neel, T. Bartholomaus
Changes in velocity of White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island,
Canada, over the past 50 years Luke Copland, S. Thomson
Glacier Velocity Variation and Surge Type Glaciers on Manson
Icefield, Southeast Ellesmere Island 1999 - 2016 Danielle
Hallé, L: Copland
Coffee break

11:30 - 11:40

Methods
Francisco Navarro
Enhancing Greenland fjord bathymetry maps using remotelysensed data Jessica Scheick, E. Enderlin
Towards automated glacier monitoring using open-accesssatellite data Tereza Smejkalová, R. D. Briggs
Improvements to the processing of the interferometric mode of
CryoSat radar altimeter using results from Devon Ice Cap andwest Greenland Laurence Gray, D.Burgess, L. Copland, T.
Dunse, K. Langley, G. Moholdt
Final words E. Enderlin / T. Dunse

11:40 -

Lunch / Departure / Skiing / Side events

Convener:
TBD

Hester Jiskoot
Side event: Fog in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic

Convener:
10:30 - 10:50
10:50 - 11:10
11:10 - 11:30(Dinner)6

Posters
 Pushing the boundaries of UAV monitoring on Arctic glaciers Eleanor Bash
 Rapid Shrinkage of the Grise Fiord Glacier, Nunvaut, Canada Dave Burgess
 Multi-decadal frontal change rates of 300 tidewater glaciers in the Canadian
Arctic Archipelago Alison Cook Monitoring of mass balance at Austre Grønfjordbreen, Nordenskjöld land,
Svalbard Nelly Elagina, S. Kutuzov, R. Chernov, I. Lavrentiev, T. Vasilyeva, B.
Mavlyudov, A. Kudikov
 Glacial loading of persistent organic pollutants Kimberly Miner Glacier surface velocities of the Svalbard Archipelago Thomas
Schellenberger, W. Van Wychen, Luke Copland, A. Kääb and L. Gray

7

Participants
1. Eleanor Bash* (eleanor.bash@gmail.com)
2. Małgorzata Błaszczyk (malgorzata.blaszczyk@us.edu.pl)
3. Dave Burgess (david.burgess@canada.ca)
4. Alison J. Cook (alison.cook@durham.ac.uk)
5. Luke Copland§ (luke.copland@uottawa.ca)
6. Thorben Dunse (thorben.dunse@geo.uio.no)
7. Nelly Elagina* (nelly.e.elagina@gmail.com)
8. Ellyn Enderlin (ellyn.enderlin@gmail.com)
9. Gaëlle Gilson* (gaelle.gilson@uleth.ca)
10. Laurence Gray (laurence.gray@sympatico.ca)
11. Jon Ove Hagen (j.o.m.hagen@geo.uio.no)
12. Danielle Hallé (dhall058@uottawa.ca)
13. Jacek Jania (jacek.jania@us.edu.pl)
14. Hester Jiskoot (hester.jiskoot@uleth.ca)
15. Lynn Kaluzienski (lynn.kaluzienski@maine.edu)
16. Naoya Kanna (kanna@arc.hokudai.ac.jp)
17. Will Kochtitzky* (william.kochtitzky@maine.edu)
18. Ewa Łupikasza (ewa.lupikasza@us.edu.pl)
19. Brittany Main* (bmain018@uottawa.ca)
20. Kimberly Rain Miner (kimberley.miner@maine.edu)
21. Alexis Moyer* (a.moyer@ed.ac.uk)
22. Francisco Navarro (francisco.navarro@upm.es)
23. Jessica Scheick* (jessica.scheick@maine.edu)
24. Thomas Schellenberger* (thomas.schellenberger@geo.uio.no)
25. Tereza Smejkalová (tereza.smejkalova@c-core.ca)
26. Shin Sugiyama (sugishin@lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp)
27. Dom Winski (dominic.winski@gmail.com)(Young scientists receiving support are marked *).
(§ attended via skype)8

Minutes of the Open Forum meeting
Chair: Thorben Dunse
Invited to attend: all participants of the workshop.
Agenda1. Other items for the agenda?
2. Background on IASC and NAG
3. NAG structure and national contacts
4. NAG website
5. IASC Network review
6. Recent activities
7. Funding
8. Extended Abstracts
9. Upcoming IASC-NAG workshops
10. Anything else
Ad. 1
See point 10.
Ad. 2
Short Introduction to International Arctic Science Committee (IASC):- Background to IASC
- IASC has 5 working groups representing the different disciplines involved in Arctic Research- IASC encourages multi-disciplinary research in order to foster a greater scientificunderstanding of the Arctic region and its role in the Earth system- The Network on Arctic Glaciology (NAG) is closely affiliated with the Cryosphere
Working Group but can cross-cut the IASC working groups- NAG objectives: address rapid changes in Arctic land-ice masses and links toatmospheric and oceanic drivers; initiate scientific programs; facilitating international cooperation- Jazek Jania presented the initiation of the Working Group on Arctic Glaciology
during a workshop in Poland, 1994, which later became the Network on Arctic
Glaciology
Ad. 3
Network organization:- Thorben Dunse, University of Oslo, Norway, nominated as new chair during the2016 NAG annual meeting in Benasque, Spain. He took over after Carleen TijmReijmer from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands who served as chair for
four years.
- Martin Sharp, University of Alberta, Canada, remains vice-chair of NAG, ensuringcontinuity

9

Changes in national contacts from 18 member countries:- Finland: Thomas Zwinger, CSC, steps in for John Moore- Japan: Shin Sugiyama, Hokkaido University, new Japanese contact- UK: Poul Christoffersen, University of Cambridge, steps in for Julian Dowdeswell- USA: Ellyn Enderlin, University of Maine, accepts nomination as new US national
contact (taking over after Matt Nolan)

Ad. 4
NAG website:- updates include listing of recent workshops (Activities) and workshop reports(Publications), as well as changes in national contacts

Ad. 5
IASC network review:- all networks are reviewed by the IASC executive committee every 5 years- IASC executive committee is currently developing an IASC strategic plan for the
next five years which includes somestructural changes that also affect the IASC networks- the executive committee was pleased with the NAG report and that IASC willcontinue supporting and endorsing NAG- planning to simplify the IASC structure and to better link the Networks to the IASC
Working Groups (WG). Therefore, NAG could become a program of the CryosphereWG- A draft will be discussed at the next meeting of the Executive Committee, late
January in Iceland, and the final version will be presented to the IASC Council at
Arctic Science Summit Week in Prague, 31 March – 7 April, 2017

Ad. 6
Recent activities - thematic workshops in 2016:- Importance of Calving for the Mass Balance of Arctic Glaciers, Sopot Poland, 1517 October, 2016
- Observing and modelling meltwater retention processes in snow and firn on ice
sheets and glaciers, Copenhagen. Danmark, 1-3 June 2016

Ad. 7
Funding:- During the past year, NAG received a total of 8000 EUR from the Cryosphere
working group for the proposed activity: Understanding glacier-atmosphere-oceaninteractions and their implications for the pan-Arctic glacier mass budget- the meeting in Sopot, Poland received 2000 EUR for Early-career scientists travel
funds- for this 2017 NAG annual meeting, 5000 EUR are allocated for ECS travel fundand 1000 EUR for general workshop funding- an application for direct IASC funding (cross-cutting call) was not successfull

10Ad. 8Extended abstracts:-deadline for submission of extended abstracts is 1. March 2017
- The book of extended abstracts will be published in digital form on the IASC-NAG
website (http://nag.iasc.info/publications).

Ad. 9
Location for future meetings:- the next Workshop on the dynamics and mass budget of arctic glaciers and the2018 NAG annual meeting will be held in Obergurgl, Austria, 21 - 25 January 2018(the meeting venue was already booked by Michael Kuhn)- Japan and Norway were presented as candidates for 2019
- Norway was favoured by the majority, partly in order to keep the meeting inEurope for two subsequent years. Possible location is Skeikampen north of Lillehammer, which earlier served as venue for an IGS conference.

Ad. 10- update on the publication policy of the Journal/Annals of Glaciology (Hester
Jiskoot, University of Lethbridge, Canada): as of 1 January 2016, the Journal/Annals
are published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) under a partnership agreement and published as Gold Open Access and under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.

11

Abstracts

12

Abstracts
Pushing the boundaries of UAV monitoring on arctic glaciers
Eleanor Bash*, Brian Moorman, Allison Cully
Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada*Corresponding author: eleanor.bash(at)gmail.com
Monitoring glacier change in the Arctic can be challenging, due to the expense of fieldwork andremoteness of glaciers. Recent advances in computing software and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
technology present the possibility of new monitoring techniques that address these challenges. In
fact, the use of UAVs in glaciological research is growing rapidly. This project tests the limits of UAV
capabilities in monitoring glacier melt on difficult to access arctic glaciers. Specifically we focus ondetecting changes at short (daily) timescales and fine spatial resolutions. In July and August 2016, afield campaign was conducted on Fountain Glacier, Bylot Island, Canada. Surveys were conducted on
July 21, 23 and 24 over a portion of the toe, using a 6-propeller electric helicopter carrying a 12 MP
digital camera. An automatic weather station (AWS) and a grid of 17 ablation stakes were also set up
in the same area and stakes were measured prior to each UAV survey. A grid of 26 ground control
points were installed in the study area, and were measured prior to each UAV survey using
differential GPS.
Imagery from the UAV surveys was used to produce three dense point clouds using Agisoft
Photoscan Professional. These point clouds were oriented in a real-world coordinate system using a
subset of 13 ground control points. The remainder of the points were used to determine the error in
final point clouds. The vertical error ranged from 0.027 m to 0.047 m (July 24 and 23), and horizontal
errors were 0.033 m and 0.038 m (July 24 and July21, 23). The differences between point clouds
were computed using Cloud Compare and the Multiscale Model to Model Cloud Comparison tool
(Lague et al, 2013). Differences were computed for July 21-23 and July 21-24. The average computed
difference was calculated in the vicinity of the AWS and each ablation stake for comparison (Fig.1).
The average melt measured (calculated) at ablation stakes was 0.10 (0.11) m and 0.16 (0.19) m for
the July 21-23 and 21-24 periods. Similarly, at the AWS measured (calculated) melt was 0.11 (0.08) m
and 0.17 (0.23) m. Given the registration errors and errors associated with insitu measurements ofsurface melt, surface change calculated from UAV imagery is in agreement with measurements takenin the field.
Results of this project indicate that UAVs may be useful tools for monitoring small-scale glacierphenomena, such as daily melt. This has implications for improving modelling of glacier change
through employment of large training and validation datasets.
References
Lague, D., Brodu, N., & Leroux, J. (2013). Accurate 3D comparison of complex topography with terrestrial laser
scanner: Application to the Rangitikei canyon (NZ). ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 82,
10-26.

13

Figure 1: Surface change calculated from
UAV imagery compared to surface melt
measured at ablation stakes for (a) July 2123 and (b) July 21-24. (c) Surface change
calculated from UAV imagery compared tosurface melt measured at the AWS. Error
bars are based on point cloud error (forcalculatedchange)andliteraturesuggestions (for measured melt)

Tidewater glaciers, ocean and atmosphere interactions in Hornsund Fiord
Małgorzata Błaszczyk (1), Jania Jacek (1), Promińska Agnieszka (2), Walczowski Waldemar (2),Ignatiuk Dariusz (1), Wawrzyniak Tomasz (3), Ciepły Michał (1), Grabiec Mariusz (1), Moskalik
Mateusz (3)1) University of Silesia, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Centre for Polar Studies, Sosnowiec, Poland;
2) Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Centre for Polar Studies, Sopot, Poland
3) Institute of Geophysics Polish Academy of Sciences, Centre for Polar Studies, Warszawa, Poland
Arctic fjords - being a link between a land and ocean - are highly vulnerable to warming and are
expected to exhibit the earliest environmental changes resulting from climate changes. Improved
understanding of the interaction between tidewater glaciers, atmosphere and ocean within Arctic
fjords is of a highest importance for assessments of input of fresh water into the fjord system.
Seasonal variability of fresh water input into the fiord is correlated with surface melting and glacierretreat due to calving processes. Whilst surface melting is governed mainly by atmosphericconditions, ice-cliff position and fronts dynamics is influenced by a group of different agents.
This work presents results of studies on multi-year and seasonal variability of front positions oftidewater glaciers terminating into the Hornsund (Southern Spitsbergen) in period 1992-2015.
Observations of ice-cliff positions were based on satellite data. Results were validated using precise
location of Hansbreen front obtained by panoramic radar, time lapse camera, distance meter andlaser scanner. Results show clear seasonal cycle of fluctuations with winter/spring advance andsummer & fall retreat related to more intense calving. Minimal extension of tidewater glaciers inHornsund occurs in December-January.
14

Seasonal and inter-annual changes in the cliffs positions were analyzed taking into account the airtemperature measured in Polish Polar Station in Hornsund and sea water temperature collectedduring RV Oceania summer cruises every July. Other agents such as PDD+ index, precipitation,
temperature of Atlantic Water, sea-ice condition in the fiord and bathymetry were used to
distinguish between primary and secondary factors responsible for long- and short-term fluctuationsof tidewater glaciers.
Studies were conducted within the frame of the Polish-Norwegian project ’Arctic climate systemstudy of ocean, sea ice and glaciers interactions in Svalbard area’ (AWAKE-2) aimed to understandthe interactions between the ocean, atmosphere and cryosphere.

Re-analysis of the Glacier Mass Balance Time Series From Meighen Ice Cap, Nunavut,
Canada (1960-2016)
David Burgess
Natural Resources Canada
Mountain glaciers and ice caps currently represent one-half of the total contribution to eustatic sealevel rise and are expected to become increasingly important to 2100 (IPCC, 2014). In-situ glaciermass balance monitoring provides a primary measurement for (i) detecting the rate and magnitudeof glacier change, (ii) the causes of the changes measured, and (iii) calibration and validation of
remote sensing observations of glacier change. Recent attempts to reconcile measurements ofglacier change from a variety of sources (Gardner et al., 2013) have revealed discrepancies between
glaciological (in-situ) and geodetic measurements of glacier change. As a result, an internationally
coordinated effort to re-analyze in-situ glacier mass balance time series data through comparisonswith independent geodetic observations has been initiated to identify systematic biases or sampling
errors that may be over (or under) estimating rates of regional and/or global glacier change (Zemp
et. al., 2014). In this study, reanalysis of the in-situ glacier mass balance time series reveals nosignificant bias for the Meighen ice cap (1960-2016) which is one of the longest mass balance timeseries for an Arctic glacier or ice cap.

Study on importance of winter liquid precipitation for mass balance of Spitsbergen glaciersK. Cielecka1, E. Lupikasza2, J. Jania3, M. Grabiec3, D. Ignatiuk3, B. Luks4, A. Uszczyk1
1

University of Silesia in Katowice, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Centre for Polar Studies KNOW, Leading
National Research Centre
2
University of Silesia in Katowice, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Department of Climatology
3
University of Silesia in Katowice, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Department of Geomorphology
4Institute of Geophysics Polish Academy of Sciences
Climate warming results in more frequent winter liquid precipitation on glaciers as observed in thelast decades. The impact of this phenomenon on mass budget of Spitsbergen glaciers is not entirely
understood. Our research aims at estimating the frequency and amount of liquid precipitation fed toa glacier system in cold season (October – May) considering Hansbreen (S Spitsbergen) as an
example. The frequency of liquid and mixed (sleet or snow and rain) winter precipitation was
analyzed at Hornsund and other meteorological stations in Spitsbergen with respect to atmosphericcirculation types. Long-term variability in the frequency of the precipitation types was also studied.
Due to the lack of data on precipitation type on the glaciers, air temperature gradients were used to15

assess the possible precipitation type in the accumulation area when rainfall was observed in the
shore station. Liquid and mixed precipitation frequency was combined with winter mass balancemeasurements and snow cover structure. One can speculate that liquid precipitation in the colder
part of the winter season (thick and cold snow cover) affects snow cover structure and thus
conditions for internal feeding but hardly impacts the total accumulation. This implies that potential
contribution of winter rainfalls to accumulation depends on snow cover conditions. The problem
requires further development of instrumental studies to be solved.

Multi-decadal frontal change rates of 300 tidewater glaciers in the Canadian Arctic
Archipelago
Alison J. Cook
Durham University, UK
Recent studies of post-2000 observational data have shown that many tidewater glaciers in the
Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) are currently in retreat. Expanding this to all tidewater glaciers in
the region on a decadal time scale using earlier records can help identify when glacier retreat began,and determine longer-term temporal trends in frontal retreat rates.
Our study shows that over 94% of 300 tidewater glaciers in the CAA (from southern Baffin Island to
Ellesmere Island, excluding those on the northern coast) have retreated since the earliest
observational records (aerial photographs acquired in 1959/60). Mean overall length change rate of
the 211 glaciers in the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI) is -9.3 ma-1 (± 1.38 SE), and of the 89 glaciers on
Baffin and Bylot Islands (BBI) is -7.1 ma-1 (± 0.72 SE). Mean frontal widths of tidewater glaciers in the
QEI are greater than those on islands to the south, resulting in greater mean area loss from thisregion. Each glacier has ~6 frontal positions digitised from a range of image sources at approximately
decadal intervals. Length change rates have been calculated across each time interval for eachglacier, based on area changes divided by frontal width. Results indicate a similar temporal pattern
throughout the region, whereby glaciers show minimal change in early years with retreat rates slowly
increasing, followed by an acceleration in retreat rates since the late 1990s (QEI) and early 2000s(BBI). Mean change rates in the QEI and BBI in the 1960s were -6.92 ma-1 and -0.51 ma-1 respectively,
increasing to -28.96 ma-1 and -24.84 ma-1 since 2010. The same trend (at differing magnitudes) has
been observed within each latitudinal degree band, and for glaciers of differing frontal widths.
Further observations of decadal trends are revealed on the poster.

Changes in velocity of White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island, Canada, over the past 50 years
Luke Copland1, Laura Thomson2
1

Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada

2

A major unresolved question in glaciology is whether glaciers will speed up or slow down in response
to increased surface melt. To investigate this, a comparison of long-term changes in glacier velocity
has been undertaken for White Glacier. Historical velocity measurements at three locations on theglacier were made by Almut Iken and co-workers using theodolites between 1960-1970. The surface
velocity at these sites was remeasured with differential GPS units between 2012 and 2016. Mean
annual velocities reduced by >30% at lower elevations, likely due to increased ice deformation driven
16

by ice thinning and reduced basal motion due to increased efficiency of the subglacial hydraulicsystem. At higher elevations, near the historical equilibrium line altitude, there was no detectablechange in annual velocity despite significant surface thinning, with the expected decrease in ice
deformation likely offset by increased basal motion. This increased basal motion likely reflects
supraglacial melt accessing a still inefficient subglacial drainage system, and highlights the complexity
in velocity response that polythermal glaciers can have in a warming climate.

Freshwater discharge from glaciers in Svalbard and possible implications for the marine
ecosystem
Thorben Dunse1, Kjetil Schanke Aas1, Kaixing Dong2, Jon Ove Hagen1, Thomas V. Schuler1, Thomas
Schellenberger1, Leif Christian Stige2
1

Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

2

Socio-economic impacts of glacier-mass loss are not limited to sea-level rise. Glacial freshwater
discharge into the ocean also affects the physical and chemical properties of the fjord systems andadjacent shelves and enhances estuarine circulation and nutrient input, with effects on biologicalproductivity. Ocean primary production, i.e. the production rate of organic carbon or phytoplankton,
is an important measure of biological productivity and its dynamics commonly linked to seasonalchanges in sea ice cover and solar radiation. Within the project GreenMAR (Green growth based on
marine resources: ecological and socio-economic constraints) we investigate possible links between
glacial-derived freshwater and the marine ecosystem.
Here, we focus on Svalbard in the Eurasian Arctic. 34000 km2 or 57% of the total land area on
Svalbard is covered by glaciers and ice caps. 68% of the glacierized area drains through tidewater
glaciers with a total calving-front length of ~740 km. A 10-year simulation of the climatic massbalance of Svalbard-glaciers using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) coupled to a
climatic mass balance model shows large interannual variation, especially in terms of the summer
balance. This variability is also reflected in annual runoff curves, computed for 14 hydrologicalsubregions of the archipelago. Preliminary results show that primary production in Svalbard fjord
systems and adjacent shelves was low in summer 2008, coincident with low rates of meltwaterrunoff, whereas it was high and more widespread in August 2013, coincident with high rates of
meltwater runoff. The possible correlation of meltwater runoff and ocean primary production
remains to be confirmed by considering changes in sea-ice fraction, sea-surface temperature andsea-surface salinity.

Monitoring of mass balance at Austre Grønfjordbreen, Nordenskjöld land, Svalbard
Nelly Elagina, Stanislav Kutuzov, Robert Chernov, Ivan Lavrentiev, Tatiana Vasilyeva, Bulat
Mavlyudov, Arseny Kudikov
Department of Glaciology, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
The glaciers of the Arctic archipelago Svalbard undergo an increase in average summer temperatureand duration of melt period along with the impact of early summer and late autumn rainfalls. Due to17the recent warming Svalbard glaciers significantly contribute to sea level rise outside of Greenlandand Antarctica.
Since the 1960s, the glaciers of Nordenskiöld land were studied by Soviet scientists from Institute ofGeography RAS, Moscow until the late 1980s, when the monitoring was stopped due to the collapseof the Soviet Union. In 2003 the direct observations of winter accumulation and summer ablation
were resumed on some glaciers in Nordenskiöld land. However, until recent times snow pit and stake
data was very inconsistent and randomly reported. Recent glaciological observations of Institute ofGeography RAS in Nordenskiöld land have been aimed, in particular, at the study of mass balance ofAustre Grønfjordbreen glacier (7 km2) located 16 km south of Barentsburg.
The survey have been conducted with following efforts. Starting from 2014 the ablation observations
have been supplemented by additional 15 stakes network measured twice a year along with two new
automatic weather stations at the glacier tongue and at the accumulation zone.

Figure 1. The area of Austre Grønfjordbreen glacier in 2016 (green line) and in 1985 (blue line + grey
inflow). The stakes location is shown by the red points and two portable weather stations - by thegreen triangles. Blue points show the additional stakes to be installed in 2017.
Active layer (10 m) borehole temperatures are measured annually at stake locations. The obtainedmass balance gradients are compared with the geodetic mass balance changes in 1990-2005 and18

recent Arctic DEM data. The high resolution GPR surveys of snow thickness together with snow pit
measurements are provided annually each spring. The glacier bedrock, polythermal structure andsurface topography maps have been supplemented with recent GPR data and DGPS measurements.
The changes in snow line level have been reconstructed using all available satellite images from 1986
to 2016. Noteworthy a full absence of accumulation zone was pointed out in recent years.
Overall, the glacier has been in a permanent state of negative mass balance (cumulative massbalance 2013-2016: -6054 mm w.e.). The ELA was located at 450 m a.s.l. (AAR=1,6%) in 2014, at 368
m a.s.l. (AAR= 1,5%) in 2015 and at 421 m a.s.l. (AAR= 2,0%) in 2016 respectively. Current plans are to
apply a spatially distributed mass balance model to seasonal mass balance surveys.

Figure 2. Mass balance of Austre Grønfjordbreen glacier versus altitude.

High-Resolution Analysis of Columbia Glacier Dynamics
Ellyn M. Enderlin1,2, Gordon S. Hamilton1,2, Ian Joughin3, Shad O’Neel4, Tim Bartholomaus5
1

Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA 04469
School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA 04469
3
Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98105
4
US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK, USA
5
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
2

Columbia Glacier, Alaska, has served as the archetype for the retreat phase of the tidewater glaciercycle for the past three decades. Since the mid-1980s, the terminus has retreated ~16 kilometers andthe two major tributaries have thinned by > 400 m. This retreat and thinning led to separation of amajor, western tributary, Post Glacier, from the larger Columbia Glacier in the late 2000s. Since their19separation, the two glaciers have exhibited strikingly different dynamic behaviors over seasonal tointer-annual time scales as they continue to adjust to the long-term changes in geometry.
Here we use a combination of ground, airborne, and satellite remote sensing datasets to characterize
the dynamic behavior of Columbia and Post glaciers. We focus on seasonal to inter-annual changes indynamics from 2011-2015, when the observational record is most extensive, but also invetigate
longer-term changes in dynamics using sparser datasets extending back to the 1980s.
From the mid 2000s through 2012, the glaciers thinned at comparable rates (~25 m/yr) based on
repeat DEM differencing. Their behavior diverged in 2012, when Post continued its sustained
thinning trend, eventually triggering ~4 km of additional retreat in 2015, but the thinning nearlyceased along Columbia’s trunk and the terminus position stabilized. Although differences in nearterminus geometry strongly control the dynamic evolution of the glacier systems, we find that
Columbia’s recent period of dynamic quiescence is also marked by asynchronous pulses of seasonalice flow acceleration that originate from the glacier’s two largest tributaries and propagate to thetrunk. These high spatial and temporal resolution observations reveal complicated surge-type
behavior at Columbia Glacier that were previously unresolved but may play an important role in theglacier’s dynamic evolution.

Retrieving fog thickness and inversion characteristics from radiosonde data in coastal East
GreenlandGaëlle Gilson and Hester Jiskoot
Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
Coastal East Greenland glaciers and the margin of the Greenland ice sheet are influenced by frequentsea fog and temperature inversions. Both influence glacier ablation, but the effects of fog may becomplex, and both increase and decrease melt energy. To understand fog’s radiative and thermal
properties it is important to determine accurate Arctic coastal fog macrophysical properties. In
previous research we determined that fog in East Greenland peaks in the melt season, is mostly of
the advection type and can be spatially extensive over glacierized terrain. In this study we focus on
the quantification of fog height and temperature inversion characteristics. We analyze temperature
inversions extracted from the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA) profiles between 19802012, coincident with manual and automated fog observations at three synoptic weather stations.
We developed a new method, based on air mass saturation and stability, to calculate fog height from
IGRA radiosonde profiles. With our automated method we will be able to retrieve fog height fromany IGRA data, which we plan to do over Arctic terrain around the entire North Atlantic region. Our
results for East Greenland show that fog mostly occurs under stable synoptic conditions
characterized by deep and strong low-level temperature inversions, of which the top is often higher
than the fog top elevation. Fog is commonly 100-400 m thick, often reaching the top of the boundary
layer. Fog is thicker at northern stations, where daily fog duration is longer and relative humidity
lower. Fog top elevation range was compared to land-terminating glacier hypsometry in East
Greenland, where we calculate the percentage of the ablation zone covered by fog. Preliminary
analysis show an approximate range of 1-30%. These results, together with energy balance effects offog measured on glaciers, will be included in an existing glacier energy-balance model to account for
the influence of fog and temperature inversions on glacier melt.

20

Improvements to the processing of the interferometric mode of CryoSat radar altimeterusing results from Devon Ice Cap and west Greenland
Laurence Gray1, David Burgess2, Luke Copland1, Thorben Dunse3, Kirsty Langley4, Geir Moholdt5.
1

Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, K1N 6N5,
Canada2
GSC NRCan, Ottawa, K1A 0E8, Canada
3
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
4
Asiaq, Greenland Survey, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
5
Norwegian Polar Institute, NO-9296 Tromso, Norway
CryoSat geocoded heights are compared with surface heights from calibration-validation sites on
Devon Ice Cap and West Greenland. Using these results, we show that the pre-launch interferometricbaseline coupled with an additional roll correction (~0.0075°), or equivalent phase correction(~0.0435 radians), provides an improved calibration of the interferometric SARIn mode.
Using the revised processing scheme we study change in the periphery of Greenland. This represents
an important area for the use of the CryoSat SARIn mode: The ice loss in this area is very significant
and hard to quantify at high spatial resolution with existing satellite sensors. In the presentation weshow that the CryoSat SARIn mode can provide useful information on the summer melt throughwaveform signature and height change estimates, including height change of supraglacial lakes. An
adaptation of ‘swath processing’ is used for estimating supraglacial lake heights, and height
accuracies of order 0.5 m are possible. The CryoSat SARIn mode results from supraglacial lakes
complement the use of optical satellite imagery.

Mass balance of the Austfonna Ice Cap, Svalbard, 2004-2015.
Jon Ove Hagen1, Thorben Dunse1, Trond Eiken1, Jack Kohler2, Geir Moholdt2, Thomas
Schellenberger1, Thomas V. Schuler1, Torbjørn Østby1 and Carleen Tijm-Reijmer3.
1

Department of geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, 2Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø,
Norway.3 IMAU, University of Utrecht, The Netherland.
The Austfonna ice cap (~8000 km2) is the largest ice cap in Svalbard. Direct surface mass balancemeasurements were started in 2004 and have been run continuously since then. Specific net massbalances are measured at ~20 stakes across the ice cap, and winter balances are inferred from snow
soundings, snow pits and GPR profiles of the snow distribution. The south-west facing drainage basinof Etonbreen covering ~640km2 has the best continuous data indicating a slightly negative mean net
surface mass balance of - 0.1 m ± 0.1 m w.eq./yr for 2004-2015. Extrapolated to the entire
Austfonna, this corresponds to a total mass loss of - 0.8 ± 0.5 Gt/yr. Yearly variations are large, andmainly driven by the summer ablation. The years 2004 and 2013 were strongly negative while 2008
was strongly positive. The annual net balance is well correlated to that of Kongsvegen on North-West
Spitsbergen (R2 = 0,75) for the 12 years of joint measurements.
The geodetic mass balance of entire Austfonna based on ICESat data for the period 2003-2008
revealed a mean annual balance close to zero of +0.01 m ± 0.04 m w.eq./yr, in good agreementwith the direct measurements during the same period.
Calving is important with 2.5 Gt/yr in the period 1990 to 2001 and stands for 30-40 % of the total
mass loss. When this number is used the overall mass balance is negative, by ca. 3,3 Gt/yr or - 0.4 m
w.eq./yr.

21

However, many outlets are of surge-type and a recent surge in Basin 3 resulted in a temporary
tripling of the calving loss from the entire ice cap with 5,2 Gt/year calving loss during April 2012 toJuly 2016 and thus has a temporary large impact on the mass balance, giving ~-7,5 Gt/yr or – 0,9 m
w.eq./yr during these years.

Glacier Velocity Variation and Surge Type Glaciers on Manson Icefield, Southeast Ellesmere
Island 1999 – 2016
Danielle Hallé and Luke CoplandDepartment of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Strong summer warming has been known to be a dominant factor influencing the mass balance ofglaciers in the Canadian Arctic since the start of the 21st century, but little is currently known about
the variability in velocity of these glaciers.
The study is therefore assessing the factors that control glacier motion in the Canadian Arctic, with aparticular focus on surge-type glaciers. Manson Icefield has been chosen as the study location, since
it contains a high percentage of tidewater glaciers and many have previously been observed to surge.
Using feature tracking of repeat pairs of Landsat imagery, the evolution in velocity of glaciers acrossManson Icefield has been quantified on an almost annual basis since 1999. This provides informationon the spatial and temporal distribution of glacier surges, and information on where along the lengthof a glacier the surges initiate. Preliminary results have captured the motion of Mittie and Clarence
Head South glaciers in their active and quiescent phases, with peak velocities of > 1 km yr-1 recordedon Mittie Glacier in the early to mid-2000s.

Fog on Arctic Glaciers from Time-lapse Photography and Energy Balance Stations
Hester Jiskoot (1), Amy Fossheim (1), Benjamin Fox (1), Thomas Fox (1), Mariah Hierath (1), Brad
Danielson (2) and Matt Nolan (3)1Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, AB, Canada
2Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, AB, Canada
3Fairbanks Fodar, Fairbanks, AK, Canada
Fog corresponds in part to sea ice breakup and it is unknown how its occurrence will change withsustained warming. Little is known about the local and regional effects of coastal fog on glaciers. We
use time-lapse imagery and weather station data to present fog spatio-temporal patterns over two
Arctic glaciers and its effect on glacier energy balance components. For tidewater-terminating
Belcher Glacier, Devon Island, Canada, 1-6 hourly images from three off-glacier time-lapse cameras
were analysed over May-Aug 2007-2009. For land-terminating McCall Glacier, Brooks Range, Alaska,
hourly images from an on-glacier camera over May-Sept 2011-2014 were analysed. From thousandsof images on both glaciers we extracted over 5000 images with fog, which allowed us to analyse fog
frequency, extent, height, temporal and spatial patterns, as well as concurrent cloud types,
precipitation, and sea ice break-up. On both glaciers fog occurs on 25-35% of the images in all years.
The highest fog frequency on Belcher Glacier occurs in Jun-Jul (>30%) and on McCall Glacier in JunAug (25-45%). On both glaciers fog migrates upglacier, from either the proglacial fjord or the Alaskan
North Slope coastal tundra. Maximum extent usually occurs between noon and evening. Duringsignificant fog extent most of the ablation areas are under dense fog up to several hundreds of22

metres thick. Weather and energy balance data below and above the fog layer were analysed toquantify the influence of fog on melt energy, while controlling for overlying cloud conditions. Bothcase studies and longitudinal studies will be presented, showing both reduction and enhancement of
temperature and radiation by fog, while the net effect is likely an overall reduction in melt energy.

Turbid meltwater discharge and its impact on phytoplankton growth in the fjord of
Bowdoin Glacier in northwest Greenland
N. Kanna1, S. Sugiyama1, 2, Y. Ohashi2, 3, D. Sakakibara1,
B. Nishizawa4, I. Asaji2, 3 and Y. Fukamachi1, 2
1

Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University
Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University
3
Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University
4
Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University
2

In Greenland, marine-terminating outlet glaciers discharge turbid subglacial water into the ocean. To
elucidate its impacts on nutrient availability and phytoplankton growth in the ocean, observational
studies were conducted on Bowdoin Glacier and its fjord in northwestern Greenland during summer
2016. Meltwater sampled on the glacier contained few macronutrients (<0.5 μM for NO3+NO2),
indicating that supraglacial meltwater is not a significant source of macronutrients in the fjord. In a
subglacial discharge plume near the calving front, concentration of surface macronutrients was anorder of magnitude higher (~12.8 μM for NO3+NO2) than that in surrounding surface waters (<1.6 μM
for NO3+NO2). The plume water was saltier than the surrounding surface waters, suggesting
upwelling of nutrient-rich and saline deep water. Within a vertical cross-section along the centerlineof the fjord, highly turbid water was observed in a sub-surface layer at depths of 10–50 m. Less saline
water with low macronutrients concentration was lying upon this highly turbid water. Massive
phytoplankton bloom (~6.5 μg/L for Chl. a) was observed near the boundary between the less saline
water and the turbid water, where a concentration of macronutrients was sufficiently high (~10 μM
for NO3+NO2) to generate the bloom. Overall, our study results show that turbid meltwater discharge
from Bowdoin Glacier affects nutrient availability and the subsequent growth of phytoplankton in thefjord. Entrainment and upwelling of macronutrients associated with subglacial meltwater plumeformation is an important process for phytoplankton growth in the near-surface layer.

Submarine iceberg melting measurements using high-spatial resolution remotesensing observations in Greenland fjords
Will Kochtitzky1 & Ellyn Enderlin1
1

Climate Change Institute and School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, USA

Submarine melting of marine-terminating glaciers is an important driver of changes in glacier
dynamics and, by association, glacier mass loss and sea level rise. As such, understanding
stratification and circulation of glacial fjords is critical because changes in fjord circulation will alterheat transport to the termini of glaciers. Recent studies have shown that variations in iceberg
melting (in regard to both magnitudes and locations) can be a key component to the freshwater
budget of glacial fjords, necessitating a better understanding of iceberg melting. Here we quantify
the submarine freshwater fluxes and melt rates of icebergs from Greenland outlet glaciers using23

repeat very high-resolution stereo satellite images. Differences in volume between repeat digital
elevation models are used to estimate iceberg freshwater fluxes at multiple times in a melt season,
which are also converted to area-averaged melt rate estimates. We compare melt rate estimates ofseveral glaciers in NW, NE, and SE Greenland to measure spatial and temporal variations in iceberg
melting to explore the possibility of using iceberg melt change as a proxy for variability in fjord
circulation and heat delivery to glacier termini.

The current state and potential for fog investigations in the HornsundŁupikasza E1, Migała K2, Niedźwiedź T1
1

University of Silesia in Katowice, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Department of Climatology, Poland
University of Wrocław, Institute of Geography & Regional Development, Department of Climatology& Atmosphere Protection, Poland
2

Data from the Hornsund synoptic station and Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) in the ablation zoneof Hans Glacier, and data from field campaigns, allow investigation of fog phenomena including type,climatology, development conditions, and its effect on glacier energy balance. Fog is quite frequent
over Hornsund – averaging 33 days a year, particularly between April and September with amaximum in July and September. Fog development is related to atmospheric circulation and is mostprobable (50-60%) on days with south-westerly air advection from the Greenland Sea.
Field measurements carried out in summers 2005 and 2006 indicate a shallow (250-350 m a.g.l.)
atmospheric mixing layer over Hornsund, frequent stable conditions, and a multi-layered ABL(Atmospheric Boundary Layer) indicated by lapse rate analysis. During unstable conditions the heightof the ABL exceeded 500 m a.g.l. Combined measurements from AWS, HOBO loggers, monostatic
Doppler sodar and tethered balloon soundings imply frequent temperature inversions up to about
200 m, and resulting fog formation that probably contributed to the variable ablation on Hans
Glacier. AWS data from the ablation zone of Hans Glacier (200 m a.s.l.) in 2004-2006 were used toestimate the contribution of the condensation process (in some cases related to fog formation) to
the glacier mass balance. The following estimates were obtained: Accumulation due to condensation: 0.86 - 1.6 cm w.e.
 Release of latent heat from condensation contributes 6.4 - 12 cm w.e. to ablation
 The above processes combines increase ablation by 7-8%
 Evaporation only contributes 0.2-0.8% of the total ablation
This study presents current knowledge and potentials for detailed fog investigation and its effecton glacier energy balance in Svalbard. Fog frequency in Svalbard varies spatially (e.g. 33 days in
Hornsund and 4 days at Svalbard Airport), but is much lower than over East Greenland (>60 days: see
Gilson and Jiskoot, this volume). This regional variability over glacierized regions suggests comparison
studies over the Atlantic sector of the Arctic are needed. We, together with the research group of Dr.
Jiskoot, suggest this joint research could be structured as shown in figure 1.

24

Fig. 1 The structure of joint investigations on fog in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic

Contemporary patterns and trends in water isotope composition of snow and ice acrossthe Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadian high Arctic
Brittany Main1, Frances Delaney1, Luke Copland1, Denis Lacelle1, David Fisher2, Laura Thomson1,
James Zheng3 and David Burgess3
1

Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
3
Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Canada
2

In spring 2014, 84 snow samples were collected from five ice caps and two glaciers across the
Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and at every 10 cm in a 10 m ice core from White Glacier, Axel Heiberg
Island. In the western Canadian Arctic, the δ18O values in the 2014 snow samples showed a 5‰
increase over those measured in 1974 by Koerner (1979), suggesting warmer temperatures in thisarea, most likely due to an increase of open water in the Arctic Ocean. The ice core showed anincrease in δ18O values through time, further supporting a warming of the climate in the western
Canadian Arctic over the past 30-40 years. In contrast, the δ18O values in the eastern Canadian Arctic
were similar to those values found in 1974, which can be attributed to the fairly constant annual
variability of sea ice in Baffin Bay. Given that the enhanced meridional vapour flux to the QEI best
explains the observed increase in δ18O of precipitation, the study provides insights into the potential
limitation of using δ18O precipitation (i.e., ice cores) as a proxy of temperature alone without propercorrection.
25

Glacial loading of persistent organic pollutants
Kimberly Miner
University of Maine, USA
Pollutants released by industrialized nations between 1960 and 2004 have been transported
northward through atmospheric processes and deposited into glaciated alpine ecosystems. Many ofthese chemicals retain their original structure and are absorbed into the biota thousands of miles
away from where they were originally utilized. With a warming climate increasing the melt of alpine
glaciers, these glaciers may be introducing growing amounts of toxins into the watershed. Whilestudies have demonstrated the existence of resident pollutants within glaciated ecosystems, no one
has used standard toxicological testing methods to assess the risk posed by these compounds whenreleased in glacial outflows. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop a framework to assess theconditions under which glacial release of persistent organic pollutants are a risk to the health ofdownstream communities. In order to get an understanding of the potential risks, multiple disciplines
must be integrated to set a baseline for the current state of the problem and test future risks based
upon modeled scenarios. Combining toxicology, hydrology, glaciology and climate models this study
seeks to understand chemical movement through the glacial watersheds and potential humanimpacts. Testing glacier outflow to establish a current baseline, and then modeling future discharge
as a function of glacier morphology, will allow us to better understand the risk that varying rates ofincreased melting will pose. Ultimately, a better understanding of the potential for release of stored
toxins in glacier watersheds will allow development of relevant management strategies.

Spring submarine melt rate estimates for a seasonal ice tongue in Kangersuneq Fjord,southwest Greenland, from high-resolution satellite imagery
A. N. Moyer1, P. Nienow1, N. Gourmelen1, A. Sole2
1

University of Edinburgh, 2University of Sheffield

The accelerating dynamic mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet has been concentrated around thecoastal margins, where marine terminating (‘tidewater’) glaciers are in contact with warm ocean
waters. Oceanic forcing around the ice sheet margin leads to the thinning of tidewater glaciers,
which promotes increased glacier velocity, calving, and retreat. It has been estimated thatapproximately 40% of recent mass loss from the ice sheet is due to changes in the dynamics of thesetidewater glaciers, the mechanisms of which are unknown. While increasing evidence points towards
the influence of submarine melt rates (SMRs), estimates of SMR remain uncertain.
This study presents a new approach to estimating SMR, by examining freeboard changes in theseasonal ice tongue of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia (KNS) glacier in Kangersuneq Fjord, southwest
Greenland. Melt rates from mid-March to mid-May 2013 are derived from high-resolution digital
elevation models created from interferometry applied to TanDEM-X synthetic aperture radar
imagery and ice velocities from the feature tracking of TerraSAR-X imagery. Along-fjord transects
extending up to 2 km from the glaciers grounding line, in conjunction with ice-velocity, allow for theevaluation of spatial and temporal variations in SMR during the spring, when the elevation of thefloating tongue decreases with distance seaward from the grounding line of KNS. Initial mean andmaximum SMR along 2 km of the seasonal ice tongue are 1.69 ± 0.06 m d-1 and 2.62 ± 0.04 m d-1
respectively, which show reasonable agreement with SMR estimated from modelling using buoyant
plume theory.
26

Coupling Glacier Dynamics to Fjord Circulation Model through Submarine Melt at the
Glacier Front
Eva De Andrés1, Jaime Otero1, Francisco Navarro1, Agnieszka Prominska2, Javier Lapazaran1,
Waldemar Walczowski2
1
2

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Science, Poland
1. INTRODUCTION

Among the processes taking place at the front of marine-terminating glaciers the formation of abuoyant plume is one exerting a critical control on submarine melting [Motyka et al., 2013; O’Learyand Christoffersen, 2013; Sciascia et al., 2013; Xu et al., 2013]. In this study, a high-resolution fjord
circulation model, which incorporates subglacial discharge, is coupled with a flowline glacier
dynamics model, simulating a summer period of 4 months. We calculate submarine melt rates at theglacier front and analyze its potential influence on calving processes.
2. METHODOLOGY
2.1 STUDY AREA AND DATA
Hansbreen is a tidewater glacier which flows into Hansbukta forebay, as a part of the Hornsund fjord
system in southern Spitsbergen. The glacier is about 16 km long and terminates in a 1.5 km-wide
calving front.
For Hansbreen, we use glacier surface topography data from the SPIRIT DEM, subglacial topography
from GPR, surface mass balance from the European Arctic Reanalysis (EAR), center line glaciervelocities from stake measurements (May 2005-April 2011), weekly terminus positions from timelapse photos (Sept. 2009-Sept. 2011) and ASTER images, and sea-ice concentrations from time-lapse
photos and Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data.
Hansbukta forebay is about 2 km long, with depths varying from 55 m at the glacier front to 80 m inthe middle of the basin and a minimum of 25 m at the sill. The bathymetry of the entire system has
been determined from ground penetrating radar and sonar data. In the fjord we have got
temperature and salinity data measured from April to August of 2010.
2.2 MODEL SET UP (I): FJORD CIRCULATION
Massachussets Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) solves the Navier-Stokes
set of equations in the Boussinesq approximation form (Marshall et al., 1997). We used it innonhydrostatic configuration and calculate submarine melt rates (SMR) using the icefront package[Xu et al., 2012, slightly modified by Slater et al., 2015], which is based on the parametrization of thethermodynamical equilibrium taking place at the ice-ocean interface [Holland and Jenkins, 1999]. 2D
fjord domain is around 2 km long, varying according to glacier front position every 1 to 2 weeks.
Spatial mesh was divided into 200 cells along the x coordinate, with resolution of 1 m for the first 100
m near the glacier front and linearly increasing to the end of the domain. For the z coordinate we set
90 levels of 1 m resolution each. Our time step was 0.5 s and total run time was 20 weeks. Sea level
was considered as a free surface, the lower (seabed) and left (glacier front) boundaries were
implemented as rigid with non-slip conditions and an open boundary was considered at the end of
the domain (to the right), with a sponge boundary layer evolving as an oceanic forcing fortemperature and salinity profiles. Subglacial discharge was introduced by adding mass of fresh water
through one cell (1 m2) at the glacier front grounding point.
2.3 MODEL SET UP (II): GLACIER DYNAMICS

27

The glacier model solves the Stokes system using the open-source finite-element software Elmer/Ice[Gagliardini et al., 2013], incorporating a crevasse-depth calving criterion [Todd and Christoffersen,
2014]. Terminus position is updated at each time step. Upon calving, a new regular mesh is definedfor the updated glacier geometry. For further details see Otero et al. [2017, in review]. The shape ofthe calving front is updated with the modelled submarine met rates (SMR) from Hansbukta
circulation model.
3. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Since turbulent entrainment processes are parameterized by constant eddy diffusivity and viscosity,
the correct orders of magnitude for these parameters are crucial in our model. We carried out
several experiments to fix such coefficients, based on literature [Xu et al., 2013; Slater et al., 2015]
and constrained by the Richardson number for water (101). There is no estimation available for the
subglacial discharge (Qsg), so we carefully looked at data to figure out how the system might work.
We assumed different potential scenarios of Qsg constrained by surface meltwater runoff (calculated
from a regional climate model) and compared the results with measured temperature (T) and salinity(S) profiles.
With the minimum addition of fresh water, S profile highly differs from real data, while T fits quite
well. The uppermost T-S conditions (1 to 10 m depth) are not properly reproduced by our model for
Qsg above 0.1 m3/s.
We calculated SMR for three different scenarios of Qsg (minimum, maximum and best fit), varying
from 0.01 to 1 m3/s, and introduced them at 1-week steps into the glacier dynamics model. Resulting
SMR ranged from 0.05 to 7.9 m/week, increasing with time, and reaching its maximum during
August, at 10 to 30 m depth (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Submarine melt rates calculated at the glacier front as simulated for the best-fit Qsg scenario.

While prescribing variable crevasse depth, the implementation of different SMR generates new
calving processes and a retreat trend of about 20 m in the front position with respect to the ice
model itself (Figure 2).

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Figure 2. Front position evolution calculated in different experiments and comparison with observed data.

Additionally, with constant crevasse depth and no SMR glacier front tends to move forward withtime. However, using the same crevasse conditions and SMR, from best-fit Qsg, calving takes place
and the front starts to retreat, although not enough to reproduce real conditions.
In our coupled model, both submarine melting and crevasse water depth influence calving processes.
Thus, they both seem to be first-order mechanisms in determining the glacier front position.
REFERENCES
Gagliardini, O. et al. (2013), Capabilities and performance of Elmer/Ice, a new-generation ice sheet model,
Geosci. Model Dev., 6(4), 1299–1318, doi:10.5194/gmd-6-1299-2013.
Holland, D. M., and A. Jenkins (1999), Modeling Thermodynamic Ice–Ocean Interactions at the Base of an Ice
Shelf, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 29(8), 1787–1800, doi:10.1175/1520-0485(1999)029<1787:MTIOIA>2.0.CO;2.
Motyka, R. J., W. P. Dryer, J. Amundson, M. Truffer, and M. Fahnestock (2013), Rapid submarine melting driven
by subglacial discharge, LeConte Glacier, Alaska, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40(19), 5153–5158,
doi:10.1002/grl.51011.
O’Leary, M., and P. Christoffersen (2013), Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting,
Cryosphere, 7(1), 119–128, doi:10.5194/tc-7-119-2013.
Sciascia, R., F. Straneo, C. Cenedese, and P. Heimbach (2013), Seasonal variability of submarine melt rate andcirculation in an East Greenland fjord, J. Geophys. Res. Ocean., 118(5), 2492–2506,
doi:10.1002/jgrc.20142.
Slater, D. A., P. W. Nienow, T. R. Cowton, D. N. Goldberg, and A. J. Sole (2015), Effect of near-terminus
subglacial hydrology on tidewater glacier submarine melt rates, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42(8), 2861–2868,
doi:10.1002/2014GL062494.
Todd, J., and P. Christoffersen (2014), Are seasonal calving dynamics forced by buttressing from ice m??langeor undercutting by melting? Outcomes from full-Stokes simulations of Store Glacier, West Greenland,
Cryosphere, 8(6), 2353–2365, doi:10.5194/tc-8-2353-2014.
Xu, Y., E. Rignot, D. Menemenlis, and M. Koppes (2012), Numerical experiments on subaqueous melting ofgreenland tidewater glaciers in response to ocean warming and enhanced subglacial discharge, Ann.
Glaciol., 53(60), 229–234, doi:10.3189/2012AoG60A139.
Xu, Y., E. Rignot, I. Fenty, D. Menemenlis, and M. M. Flexas (2013), Subaqueous melting of Store Glacier, west
Greenland from three-dimensional, high-resolution numerical modeling and ocean observations,Geophys. Res. Lett., 40(17), 4648–4653, doi:10.1002/grl.50825.

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Enhancing Greenland fjord bathymetry maps using remotely sensed data
Jessica Scheick and Ellyn Enderlin
University of Maine
Glacier-ocean interactions at the marine-terminating boundaries of the Greenland ice sheet arestrongly modulated by the bathymetry of the fjords and coastal shelf. Warm, salty water masses arelocated at depth on the Greenland continental shelf, with colder, fresher waters near the surface.
The ability of these warm, dense waters to reach the marine termini of outlet glaciers is strongly
influenced by the presence or absence of bathymetric sills. Sills can effectively block warm
subsurface water from reaching glacier termini, limiting the impact of changes in ocean temperatureon submarine glacier melt.
Despite the importance of these relatively large-scale bathymetric features with respect to glaciersubmarine melting and terminus position change, they remain largely unresolved for many ofGreenland’s fjords. We have developed methods to qualitatively and quantitatively improvebathymetry in Greenland’s fjords using icebergs as observed in remotely sensed datasets.
Specifically, optical images are used to identify locations of iceberg stranding and movement. Then,
iceberg keel depths are estimated from iceberg freeboards extracted from digital elevation models(DEMs) constructed using very-high resolution stereo satellite images, allowing us to estimate
minimum and maximum water depths at locations of iceberg movement and stranding. This
presentation will present the methodology and associated challenges as well as showcase results
derived for several fjords around Greenland.

Multi-year surface velocities and sea-level rise contribution of the Basin-3 and Basin-2
surges, Austfonna, Svalbard
T. Schellenberger1, T. Dunse1, A. Kääb1, T. V. Schuler1, J. O. Hagen1 and C. H. Reijmer2
1

Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC
Utrecht, the Netherlands
2

The surge of Basin-3 which started in summer 2012 is still ongoing as of November 2016. Here we
present an extended time series of area wide speed fields based on TerraSAR-X and Radarsat-2 data
as well as GPS data. The analysis reveals the evolution of the basin wide surge after its peak in
January 2013. The speed slows down to ∼ 8–9 m d −1 at the calving front until April 2016, and isinterrupted by yearly summer speed-ups during the melt seasons. The highest speed in July 2016 was
10.2 m d −1 some 22 km upglacier of the calving front.
Next to this, Basin-2 - the basin south-east to Basin-3 - also started to accelerate in autumn 2014. The
highest speed of 8.71 m d −1 was measured in summer 2015. We provide an estimate of the frontal
ablation and se-level rise contribution of both basins.

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Glacier surface velocities of the Svalbard Archipelago
Thomas Schellenberger1, Wesley Van Wychen2,3 Luke Copland2, Andreas Kääb1 and Laurence Gray2
1

Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0371, Norway
Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5
3Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0Y7
2

In this study we exploit Radarsat-2 (RS-2) and European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS-1/2) tandem
data to determine the surface speed of Svalbard glaciers. The RS-2 WF mode combines theadvantages of the large spatial coverage of the Wide mode (150 × 150 km) and the high pixel
resolution (9 m) of the Fine mode. Thus it has a major potential for glacier velocity monitoring fromspace by means of offset and speckle tracking especially for fast moving glaciers.
In the maritime climate of Svalbard surface features and speckle pattern regularly change over thecourse of the 24-days repeat cycle of RS-2 and lead erroneous velocity estimates.
Therefore we fill these gaps with velocity maps based on ERS-1/2 tandem interferometry. The shorttime period of only one day between the acquisitions often allows the application of this moreaccurate technique.

Towards automated glacier monitoring using open-access satellite data
Tereza Šmejkalová1, Robert D. Briggs1
1

C-CORE, Captain Robert A. Bartlett Building, Morrissey Rd., St. John's, NL A1B 3X5, CanadaThis project aims to investigate, develop and refine automated techniques for operational glaciermonitoring using open-access satellite data provided by the Copernicus program (namely from
Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and augmented by data from Landsat-8). Two study sites havebeen selected as representative examples: Store Glacier in Western Greenland, a fast-flowing
tidewater glacier where the primary discharge mechanism is calving, and Llewellyn Glacier in Yukon,
a slow flowing mountain glacier. Using a combination of SAR imagery and optical imagery we
automatically delineate glacier outline and the position of the glacier front and are currently working
towards automatic determination of the facies. The extraction of the glacier calving front from SAR isbased on smoothed image thresholding. We have tested a number of smoothing and segmentation
methods to improve the accuracy of the detection. The presence of ice mélange beyond the calving
front during the spring period is especially problematic. Optical imagery is used to delineate theglacier/bare rock boundary. Mass loss time series, based on area-change and velocity, with greaterthan monthly temporal resolution will be derived for both glaciers. We are currently using
predetermined velocity fields from MEaSUREs Greenland Ice Velocity (Version 1) and a dataset
compiled using the CIAS Image Correlation Software. For the Store glacier the estimates of mass loss
will be used for the prediction of iceberg production statistics (iceberg size distribution and areal
density). For Llewellyn Glacier, the computed mass-loss will be integrated into estimates for
managing hydro-power generation. The toolsets are being developed such that they can be
integrated and operated on the new ESA Polar Thematic Exploitation Platform (P-TEP). P-TEP will
provide polar researchers with access to cloud based computing resources, including earth
observation (EO) and other related data and software tools.

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Mass loss of outlet glaciers and ice caps in the Qaanaaq region, northwestern Greenland
Shin Sugiyama1, Shun Tsutaki2, Daiki Sakakibara3, Evgeny Podolskiy3, Masahiro Minowa1, Yoshihiko
Ohashi1, Martin Funk4, Guillaume Jouvet4, Julien Seguinot4, Yvo Weidmann4, Riccardo Genco5
1

Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University
Earth Observation Research Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
3
Arctic Environment Research Center, National Institute of Polar Research
4
Laboratory for Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology, ETH-Zurich, Switzerland
5
Department of Earth Science, University of Florence
The Greenland ice sheet and peripheral ice caps are rapidly losing mass. Recently, mass loss isincreasing particularly in northwestern Greenland (e.g. Kahn et al., 2010 GRL; Enderlin et al., 2014
GRL), but in-situ data are sparse in the northern area of Greenland. To quantify recent ice mass loss
in northwestern Greenland and better understand the drivers of the changes, we studied ice caps
and outlet glaciers in the Qaanaaq region as a part of a Japanese integrated Arctic research project,
GRENE Arctic Climate Change Research Project. Field and satellite observations were performed toquantify ice mass loss of the ice caps and outlet glaciers. We also investigated processes occurring
near the front of outlet glaciers to better understand their interaction with the ocean. Our study
includes mass balance monitoring on Qaanaaq Ice Cap since 2012, intensive field observations near
the front of Bowdoin Glacier since 2013, and ocean measurements nearby outlet glaciers. In thiscontribution, we present the overview of the results obtained in the GRENE project, and introduce a
new project established under the framework of ArCS (Arctic Challenge for Sustainability Project). In
the new ArCS project, we focus on the ice-ocean interaction, and extend our study to changing ocean
environment and its consequence to human activity in the Qaanaaq region.
2

Industrial-age doubling of snow accumulation in Alaska linked to tropical ocean warming
Dom Winski,
Dartmouth College, USA
Future precipitation changes in a warming climate will depend regionally on the response of natural
climate modes to greenhouse gas forcing. North Pacific hydroclimate is dominated by the Aleutian
Low (ALow) pressure system, a semi-permanent feature that is strongly influenced by tropical ocean
temperatures through the Pacific-North American (PNA) teleconnection pattern. Indicies that
document ALow and PNA variability during the instrumental period demonstrate the interannualscale downstream impact on North American climate, but are of insufficient length to accurately
assess low frequency behavior and trends. Here we present a 1200-year ice core record of snow
accumulation from the Alaska Range that shows a doubling of precipitation since 1840, with recent
values well outside variability observed over the past millennium. Regional 20th century warming
likely accounts for a portion of the observed increase, however the magnitude and seasonality of the
precipitation change implies a strengthening of the AL system. The precipitation increase is nearly
synchronous with the warming of Western tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures beginning in 1840,
attributed to rising greenhouse gas concentrations. Our results indicate that modern central Alaskan
precipitation exceeds natural pre-industrial levels, and will likely continue to rise along atmospherictemperature, tropical ocean temperatures, and enhanced tropical-extra tropicalteleconnections.Kreutz

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