IASC Workshop on the dynamics
and mass budget of Arctic glaciers& proglacial marine ecosystems
Abstracts and Programme
IASC Workshop, 21-23 January 2019
Bardola Hotel, Geilo, Norway.

IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology

IASC Workshop on the dynamics
and mass budget of Arctic glaciers &proglacial marine ecosystems

Abstracts and program

Network on Arctic Glaciology annual meeting &IASC cross-cutting activity on the importance of Arctic
glaciers for the Arctic marine ecosystem
21-23 January 2019, Geilo, Norway
Organised by Thorben Dunse (NAG chair) and members of
local organizing committee: Pierre-Marie Lefeuvre, Bas Altena andJon Ove Hagen
Steering committee of cross-cutting activity:
Thorben Dunse (NAG), Renate Degen (MWG), Monika K˛edra (MWG), Marit Reigstad(MWG), Martin Sharp (CWG/NAG) and Shin Sugiyama (CWG)

Network on Arctic Glaciology

Cover photo: A fishing boat navigates through stranded icebergs at the mouth of
Illulisat Isfjord in Western Greenland. Glacier fjords provide rich fishing grounds
for men, seabirds and marine mammels alike. (Photo: T. Dunse)

ISBN: 978–90–393–7111–4

Photo of the participants in front of the hotel at −10◦ C. (Photo: T. Dunse)Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

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

5

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

10Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

Minutes of the cross-cutting break-out session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

Minutes of the IASC-NAG open forum meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17

Abstracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21

Recent changes in the continental ice margin in Northwest Greenland . . .

21

Bridging the trenches – ice sheet monitoring for the atmosphere and oceansin PROMICE and INTAROS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Winter rain induced soft-bed warming - A potential acceleration mechanism 22
Development of phosphorus forms in soil chronosequence of the Nordenskioldbreen glacier (Svalbard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22

Observing glacier dynamics in the Southern Alaskan mountain ranges . .

22

Glaciological and geodetic mass balance of Norway’s glaciers – an overview 23
Mass balance of Devon Ice Cap: comparing in-situ and geodetic measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23

Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier primed for runaway retreat by ocean warming .

24

Application of digital elevation models produced from satellite and aerial
images to estimation of geodetic mass balance over southern Spitsbergen 25
Greenland land ice surface physical properties from Sentinel-3 optical retrievals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

Challenges to understanding ice-ocean interactions and their impact onmarine biogeochemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

Observations of vertical mixing and nitrate fluxes at four marine terminating glaciers in NE Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27

Wintertime sea-ice chemistry and effect of glacial freshwater runoff during
two contrasting years in a Spitsbergen fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

Estimate of current dynamic discharge from Northern Hemisphere glaciersand ice caps to the ocean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

Glacier meltwater runoff as a potential driver of phytoplankton dynamics
around Svalbard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29

Experimental design of in-situ mass-balance measurement networks . . .

30

Influence of glacial water on carbonate chemistry and biogeochemical processes in Svalbard fjords with different characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30

Structure-from-Motion DEMs of glaciers in northeast Spitsbergen . . . . . .

31

Into the Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

32

1

Spatio-Temporal Variations of Firn Properties on the Western Greenland Ice
Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33

Impacts of Greenland Ice Sheet melt on heterotrophic processes in adjacent fjords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33

Contrasting the effects of glaciers and icebergs on marine primary production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

34

The role of winter rains in glacial system on Svalbard . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35

Is the frequency of glacier floods in Norway increasing? . . . . . . . . . . . .

35

Biogeochemical surveys near the fronts of marine-terminating glaciers in
Inglefield Gulf, Northwestern Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

36

Surge controls at Donjek Glacier, Yukon, Canada from 1935 to present . .

37

Impact of tidewater glacier retreat on the fjord system: present and future
circulation in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

37

Fjord-shelf dynamics control Fe fluxes from the 79N glacier . . . . . . . . . .

38

Impact of glacially-derived Fe(III) on carbon mineralization pathways in
Arctic fjord sediments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39

Acceleration prior to calving controlled by ice damage . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39

Geodetic mass balance evolution of surge-type glaciers in Svalbard andYukon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40

Daily freshwater and weekly ice fluxes into Greenland fjords . . . . . . . . .

41

The impact of melting glaciers on coastal productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

Elevation and mass changes of glaciers and ice caps in Svalbard, Norwegian High Arctic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

42

Dynamic discharge and mass balance of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap,
Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Arctic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

42

Utilization of satellite-derived surface snow physical properties to improve
the performance of the SMAP physical snowpack model . . . . . . . . . . . .

43

Closing the mass budget of a tidewater glacier: the example of Kronebreen, Svalbard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43

Climatic mass balance and associated freshwater runoff in Kongsfjord basin,
northwest Svalbard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Climate, and Surface energy and mass balance of Ulvebreen, Svalbard . .

45

Marine ecosystem responses to climate change in Greenland - a view frombelow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

45

Depth profiling of the particle size distribution in glacial meltwater using
laser diffractometry in the Svalbard archipelago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

46

Projecting Svalbard glacier mass balance for future climate . . . . . . . . . .

47

Hypersaline subglacial lakes beneath the Devon Ice Cap . . . . . . . . . . . .

48

Glacier change, ice-ocean interaction, and their impacts on human society
in Qaanaaq, northwestern Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

482020 Expedition to for Interactions between Ocean Forcing with the Marine
Ecological Response at Arctic Glacier Termini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

49

Monitoring and modeling a recurrent calving event at Bowdoin Glacier,Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

49

A multidecadal simulation of climatic mass balance, snow conditions andrunoff across Svalbard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

50

Water discharge changes of the rivers with glacier feeding due to climaticfluctuations in Arctic region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

51

Analysing calving activity using continuous direct observations . . . . . . .

51

Response of Norwegian plateau icefields to climate warming since the Little Ice Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

52

The need for water vapor fluxes in long-term modeling of the Greenland
ice sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

52

Preface
The 2019 IASC Workshop on the dynamics and mass balance of Arctic glaciersand the annual meeting of the Network on Arctic Glaciology took place in Geilo,
Norway, 21-23 January 2019. Bardøla Hotel had already served earlier as meetingvenue for the 2004 IGS symposium on Arctic Glaciology, which was co-sponsoredby IASC. This year’s meeting integrated a follow-up of the cross-cutting activity“The importance of Arctic glaciers for the Arctic marine ecosystem”, endorsed by
the Cryosphere (CWG) and Marine working group of IASC (MWG). The meetingbrought together 58 participants from 16 countries (67 had registered). 11 earlycareer scientists (ECS) received travel support provided by CWG and MWG.
During two–and–a–half days of scientific sessions, participants presented oralpresentations and posters on a wide-range of topics related to glacier dynamics
and mass balance. The cross-cutting activity featured presentations on the glacial
impacts on marine ecosystems, with special emphasis on biogeochemistry of water masses and primary production in glacial fjords. Two keynote speakers shedlight on aspects that were little discussed during the first cross-cutting activity:(1) physical oceanographic processes, which modulate the effects of glacier runoff
and nutrient distribution; and (2) past changes in species composition in response
to environmental changes inferred from marine sediment records. Scientific discussions continued during joined meals and on the ski slopes/cross-country tracks
during extended lunch breaks. Thereby, the workshop offered a good framework
for the glacier and marine communities to get to know each other better and establish networks for future interdisciplinary collaboration.
Thanks to all participants contributing to the workshop. Special thanks to Pim
Lefeuvre and Bas Altena, who helped to run the sessions smoothly and to Gerlis
Fugmann from the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) for handling of travel funds. I hope to see many of you again at the next year’s workshop
in Obergurgl, Austria, 28-30 January 2020.

February 20194

Program
The meeting takes place at Bardøla Hotel in Geilo, Norway, 21 - 23 January, 2019.

Sunday 20 January
ARRIVAL
19:00

Dinner
19:00 or any time upon arrival; the kitchen closes at 21:00

Monday 21 January
08:15 - 08:40

Prepare your name badge, pick up the program and/or upload
your presentation

08:40 - 08:50

Welcome Thorben Dunse & Jon Ove Hagen

08:50 - 10:00

Cross-cutting session I

Convener:

Thorben Dunse

08:50 - 09:15

Keynote talk Marine ecosystem responses to climate change
in Greenland - a view from below, Ribeiro, Sofia

09:15 - 09:30

The impact of melting glaciers on coastal productivity, Meire,
Lorenz

09:30 - 09:45

Impact of glacially-derived Fe(III) on carbon mineralization
pathways in Arctic fjord sediments, Laufer, Katja, Alexander B
Michaud, Hans Røy, Bo Barker Jørgensen

09:45 - 10:00

Biogeochemical surveys near the fronts of marine-terminating
glaciers in Inglefield Gulf, Northwestern Greenland, Kanna,
Naoya, Shin Sugiyama, Takuto Ando, Izumi Asaji, Yoshiki Fujishi

10:00 - 10:30

Coffee break

10:30 - 12:00

Cross-cutting session II

Convener:

Nicole Treholm

10:30 - 10:55

Keynote talk Challenges to understanding ice-oceaninteractions and their impact on marine biogeochemistry, Cape,
Mattias, Fiamma Straneo, Maria Vernet

10:55 - 11:10

Contrasting the effects of glaciers and icebergs on marine
primary production, Hopwood, Mark, Stephan Krisch, Dustin
Carroll5

11:10 - 11:25

Fjord-shelf dynamics control Fe fluxes from the 79N glacier,Krisch, Stephan, Mark Hopwood, Janin Schaffer, Pablo Lodeiro,
Shao-Min Chen, Torsten Kanzow,Eric P. Achterberg

11:25 - 11:40

Daily freshwater and weekly ice fluxes into Greenland fjords,
Mankoff, Kenneth, Andreas Ahlstrøm, Anne Solgaard, William
Colgan, Sofia Ribeiro

11:40 - 11:55

Glacier change, ice-ocean interaction, and their impacts onhuman society in Qaanaaq, northwestern Greenland,
Sugiyama, Shin, ArCS Greenland Project members

12:00 - 14:00

Lunch & health break

14:00 - 14:45

Cross-cutting break-out session: How do glaciers affectmarine primary production in the ocean?

Moderator:

Shin Sugiyama and Mark Hopwood

14:45 - 15:45

Glaciology session I

Convener:

Chris Nuth

14:45 - 15.00

Glaciological and geodetic mass balance of Norway’s glaciers –an overview, Andreassen, Liss Marie, Hallgeir Elvehøy, Bjarne
Kjøllmoen

15:00 - 15:15

Response of Norwegian plateau icefields to climate warming
since the Little Ice Age, Weber, Paul, Liss M. Andreassen, Clare
M. Boston, Harold Lovell

15:15 - 15:30

Is the frequency of glacier floods in Norway increasing?,
Jackson, Miriam, Hallgeir Elvehøy

15:30 - 15:45

Into the Ice, Haarloev, Caspar, Lars Ostenfeld

15:45 - 16:15

Coffee break

16:15 - 16:45

Poster introduction by authors(1-2 slides and max. 2 minutes per person

Convener:

Bas Altena

16:45 - 18:30

Poster session
Note: posters remain up until Wednesday

19:00

DinnerTuesday 22 January
09:00 - 10:15

Glaciology session II

Convener:

Ward van Pelt

09:00 - 09:15

Projecting Svalbard glacier mass balance for future climate,
Schuler, Thomas V., Andreas Dobler, Julia Lutz

6

09:15 - 09:30

Elevation and mass changes of glaciers and ice caps in
Svalbard, Norwegian High Arctic, Morris, Ashley R., Geir
Moholdt, Laurence Gray

09:30 - 09:45

Closing the mass budget of a tidewater glacier: the example ofKronebreen, Svalbard, Deschamps-Berger, Cesar, Christopher
Nuth, Ward van Pelt, Etienne Berthier, Jack Kohler, Bas Altena

09:45 - 10:00

Mass balance of Devon Ice Cap: comparing in-situ and geodetic
measurements, Bernard-Grand’Maison, Claire , Burgess,David, Copland, Luke

10:00 - 10:15

Structure-from-Motion DEMs of glaciers in northeast
Spitsbergen, Gjermundsen, Endre Før, Geir Moholdt, JamesLam

10:15 - 10:45

Coffee break

10:45 - 12:00

Glaciology session III

Convener:

Jakob Abermann

10:45 - 11:00

Estimate of current dynamic discharge from Northern
Hemisphere glaciers and ice caps to the ocean, Dalton,
Abigail, Luke Copland, Wesley Van Wychen

11:00 - 11:15

Dynamic discharge and mass balance of the Academy of
Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Arctic,
Sanchez-Gomez, Pablo, Francisco Navarro, Toby J. Benham,
Andrey F. Glazovsky, Robin P. Bassford, Julian A. Dowdeswell

11:15 - 11:30

Monitoring and modeling a recurrent calving event at Bowdoin
Glacier, Greenland, van Dongen, Eef, Andrea Walter,
Guillaume Jouvet, Daniel Farinotti

11:30 - 11:45

Acceleration prior to calving controlled by ice damage,Lefeuvre, Pierre-Marie, Christopher Nuth, Tom Rune Lauknes,
Line Rouyet, Michał Petlicki, Tazio Strozzi

11:45 - 12:00

Analysing calving activity using continuous direct observations,
Walter, Andrea, Martin P. Lüthi, Andreas Vieli

12:00 - 16:00

Lunch & ski break

16:00 - 16:30

Coffee break

16:30 - 17:30

Cross-cutting session III

Convener:

Katja Laufer

16:30 - 16:45

Impact of tidewater glacier retreat on the fjord system: present
and future circulation in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, Kohler, Jack,
Tomas Torsvik, Jon Albretsen, Arild Sundfjord, Pedro Duarte,
Philipp Assmy, Sebastien Deschamps, Alistair Everett, Katrin
Lindbäck, Ankit Pramanik, Anne Dagrun Sandvik , JofridSkarðhamar, Hallvar Strøm

16:45 - 17:00

Climatic mass balance and associated freshwater runoff inKongsfjord basin, northwest Svalbard, Pramanik, Ankit, Jack
Kohler, Ward Van Pelt, Thomas V. Schuler717:00 - 17:15

Depth profiling of the particle size distribution in glacial
meltwater using laser diffractometry in the Svalbard
archipelago, Sandven, Håkon, Arne Kristoffersen, Yi-Chun
Chen, Børge Hamre

17:15 - 17:30

Greenland land ice surface physical properties from Sentinel-3
optical retrievals, Box, Jason, Maxim Lamare, Kenneth Mankoff,Alex Kokhanovsky, Olaf Danne, Carsten Brockmann

17:30 - 17:40

Short break

17:40 - 18:45

IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology open forum meeting
Thorben Dunse, Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir, ...

19:00

DinnerWednesday 23 January
09:15 - 10:15

Glaciology session IV

Convener:

Abigail Dalton

09:15 - 09:30

Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier primed for runaway retreat by ocean
warming, Bevan, Suzanne, Adrian Luckman, Doug Benn, Tom
Cowton, Joe Todd

09:30 - 09:45

Observing glacier dynamics in the Southern Alaskan mountain
ranges, Altena, Bas, Ted Scambos, Andreas Kääb, Mark
Fahnestock

09:45 - 10:00

Surge controls at Donjek Glacier, Yukon, Canada from 1935 topresent, Kochtitzky, Will, Hester Jiskoot, Ellyn Enderlin, Erin
McConnell, Luke Copland, Seth Campbell, Robert McNabb, Karl
Kreutz, Christine Dow, Brittany Main

10:00 - 10:15

Bridging the trenches – ice sheet monitoring for the atmosphereand oceans in PROMICE and INTAROS, Ahlstrøm, Andreas,
Robert S. Fausto, Michele Citterio, Jason Box, Kenneth Mankoff,
Anne M. Solgaard, Liam Colgan, Roberta Pirazzini, Anders Kusk,
Jørgen Dall

10:15 - 10:45

Coffee break

10:45 - 12:00

Glaciology session V

Convener:

Liss Andreassen

10:45 - 11:00

Spatio-Temporal Variations of Firn Properties on the Western
Greenland Ice Sheet, Hock, Regine

11:00 - 11:15

Utilization of satellite-derived surface snow physical properties
to improve the performance of the SMAP physical snowpack
model, Niwano, Masashi, Jason E. Box

11:15 - 11:30

The need for water vapor fluxes in long-term modeling of theGreenland ice sheet , Zolles, Tobias, Andreas Born8

11:30 - 11:45

Hypersaline subglacial lakes beneath the Devon Ice Cap,
Sharp, Martin, Anja Ruitishauser

11:45 - 12:00

Closing remarks T. Dunse, ...

12:00 - 13:00

Lunch / Skiing / Side events / Early departure

19:00

Dinner9

Posters• Recent changes in the continental ice margin in Northwest Greenland,
Abermann, Jakob, Jakob Steiner, Rainer Prinz• Winter rain induced soft-bed warming - A potential acceleration mechanism,
Alexander, Andreas• Development of phosphorus forms in soil chronosequence of theNordenskioldbreen glacier (Svalbard), Allaberdina, Adel
• Application of digital elevation models produced from satellite and aerial
images to estimation of geodetic mass balance over southern Spitsbergen,
Błaszczyk, Małgorzata , Dariusz Ignatiuk, Leszek Kolondra, Mariusz Grabiec,
Michał Laska, Bartłomiej Luks, Leo Decaux, Mateusz Czapla, Etienne Berthier,Barbara Barzycka, Jacek Jania• Observations of vertical mixing and nitrate fluxes at four marine terminating
glaciers in NE Greenland, Carlson, Daniel, Lorenz Meire, Mikael Sejr
• Wintertime sea-ice chemistry and effect of glacial freshwater runoff during twocontrasting years in a Spitsbergen fjord, Chierici, Melissa, Agneta Fransson,
Daiki Nomura, Mats Granskog, Svein Kristiansen, Tonu Martma, Gernot Nehrke• Glacier meltwater runoff as a potential driver of phytoplankton dynamics
around Svalbard, Dunse, Thorben, Kaixing Dong, Kjetil Schanke Aas, Leif
Christian Stige• Influence of glacial water on carbonate chemistry and biogeochemical
processes in Svalbard fjords with different characteristics, Fransson, Agneta,
Melissa Chierici, Ylva Ericson, Eva Falck, Svein Kristiansen• Experimental design of in-situ mass-balance measurement networks,
Flowers, Gwenn, Alexandra Pulwicki, Derek Bingham, Sonja Surjanović
• Impacts of Greenland Ice Sheet melt on heterotrophic processes in adjacent
fjords, Holding, Johnna, Mikael Sejr, Mathias Middelboe• The role of winter rains in glacial system on Svalbard, Ignatiuk, Dariusz, Ewa
B. Łupikasza, Mariusz Grabiec, Katarzyna Cielecka, Michał Laska, Jacek Jania,
Małgorzata Błaszczyk, Bartek Luks, Aleksander Uszczyk, Tomasz Budzik• Geodetic mass balance evolution of surge-type glaciers in Svalbard and Yukon,
Main, Brittany, Luke Copland, Jack Kohler, Christine Dow, Robert McNabb,
Adrian Luckman, William Kochtitzky, Christopher Borstad, Philip Porter• Climate, and Surface energy and mass balance of Ulvebreen, Svalbard,
Reijmer, Carleen, P. Kuipers Munneke, S. Ligtenberg, W.J. van de Berg, M.R.
van den Broeke• 2020 Expedition to for Interactions between Ocean Forcing with the Marine
Ecological Response at Arctic Glacier Termini, Treholm, Nicole, Josh Willis• A multidecadal simulation of climatic mass balance, snow conditions andrunoff across Svalbard, Van Pelt, Ward, Jack Kohler, Veijo Pohjola, Rickard
Pettersson, Sergey Marchenko, Bartek Luks, Jon Ove Hagen, Carleen Reijmer• Water discharge changes of the rivers with glacier feeding due to climaticfluctuations in Arctic region, Volkova, Daria, Volkova Daria, Rasputina
Valeria, Kovalenko Alla, Saleeva Daria
10

Participants
1. Abermann, Jakob (jakob.abermann [at] uni-graz.at)University of Graz, Graz, Austria
2. Aðalgeirsdóttir, Guðfinna (gua [at] hi.is)
Faculty of Earth Sciences, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland
3. Ahlstrøm, Andreas (apa [at] geus.dk)
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhaguen, Denmark
4. Alexander, Andreas (andreas.alexander [at] geo.uio.no)
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway andDepartment of Arctic Geology, The University Center in Svalbard, Norway
5. Allaberdina, Adel* (adelallaberdina92 [at] gmail.com)
Czech University of Life Sciences , Prague, Czech Republic
6. Altena, Bas (bas.altena [at] geo.uio.no)
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
7. Andreassen, Liss Marie (lma [at] nve.no)
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway
8. Bernard-Grand’Maison, Claire (cbern085 [at] uottawa.ca)
University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON, Canada
9. Bevan, Suzanne (s.l.bevan [at] swansea.ac.uk)
Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
10. Błaszczyk, Małgorzata (malgorzata.blaszczyk [at] us.edu.pl)
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
11. Box, Jason (jeb [at] geus.dk)
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhaguen, Denmark
12. Cape, Mattias (mcape [at] uw.edu)
University of Washington, Seattle WA, United States
13. Carlson, Daniel* (danfcarlson [at] bios.au.dk)
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
14. Chierici, Melissa** (melissa.chierici [at] hi.no)
Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway and University Center of
Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway, Norway
15. Dalton, Abigail* (adalt043 [at] uottawa.ca)
University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON, Canada
16. Dunse, Thorben (thorben.dunse [at] hvl.no)
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sognedal, Norway
17. Elvehøy, Hallgeir (hae [at] nve.no)
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway
18. Flowers, Gwenn (gflowers [at] sfu.ca)
Simon Fraser University, Vancouver BC, Canada
19. Fransson, Agneta** (agneta.fransson [at] npolar.no)
Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
20. Gjermundsen, Endre Før (eng [at] usn.no)
University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), Norway
21. Grabiec, Mariusz (mariusz.grabiec [at] us.edu.pl)
11Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
22. Haarloev, Caspar (ch [at] casparhaarloev.dk)
Lars Ostenfeld Film
23. Hagen, Jon Ove (joh [at] geo.uio.no)
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
24. Hock, Regine (rehock [at] alaska.edu)
University of Alaska, Fairbanks AK, United States
25. Holding, Johnna** (johnna [at] bios.au.dk)
Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
26. Hopwood, Mark* (mhopwood [at] geomar.de)
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
27. Ignatiuk, Dariusz (dariusz.ignatiuk [at] us.edu.pl)
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
28. Jackson, Miriam (mja [at] nve.no)
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway
29. Jania, Jacek ( jam.jania [at] gmail.com)
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
30. Kanna, Naoya (kanna [at] arc.hokudai.ac.jp)
Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
31. Kjøllmoen, Bjarne (bkj [at] nve.no)
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway
32. Kochtitzky, Will (william.kochtitzky [at] maine.edu)
University of Maine, Orono ME, United States
33. Kohler, Jack (jack [at] npolar.no)
Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
34. Krisch, Stephan* (skrisch [at] geomar.de)
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
35. Laufer, Katja* (katja.laufer [at] bios.au.dk)
Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
36. Lefeuvre, Pierre-Marie (p.m.lefeuvre [at] geo.uio.no)
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
37. Main, Brittany (bmain018 [at] uottawa.ca)
University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON, Canada
38. Mankoff, Kenneth** (kdm [at] geus.dk)
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhaguen, Denmark
39. Meire, Lorenz (lorenz.meire [at] nioz.nl)
Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland and NIOZ, The
Netherlands
40. Morris, Ashley R. (richard.ashley.morris [at] npolar.no)
Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
41. Navarro, Francisco (francisco.navarro [at] upm.es)
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
42. Niwano, Masashi (mniwano [at] mri-jma.go.jp)
Meteorological Research Institute, Japan Meteorological Agency, Japan
43. Nuth, Christopher (christopher.nuth [at] geo.uio.no)
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
44. Ostenfeld, Lars
Lars Ostenfeld Film
45. Pramanik, Ankit* (ankit.pramanik [at] outlook.com)
12

National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa, India
46. Reijmer, Carleen (c.h.tijm-reijmer [at] uu.nl)
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht,
The Netherlands
47. Ribeiro, Sofia (sri [at] geus.dk)
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhaguen, Denmark
48. Sandven, Håkon* (hsa060 [at] uib.no)
Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen,
Norway49. Schuler, Thomas V. (t.v.schuler [at] geo.uio.no)
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
50. Sharp, Martin (msharp [at] ualberta.ca)
University of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Canada
51. Sugiyama, Shin (sugishin [at] lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp)
Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
52. Treholm, Nicole* (nicolet3 [at] umbc.edu)
Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of
Maryland, Baltimore MD, United States
53. van Dongen, Eef (vandongen [at] vaw.baug.ethz.ch)
VAW-ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
54. Van Pelt, Ward (ward.van.pelt [at] geo.uu.se)
Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
55. Volkova, Daria* (dvolkova1996 [at] mail.ru)
Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
56. Walter, Andrea* (andrea.walter [at] geo.uzh.ch)
VAW-ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland and Department of Geography,
University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
57. Weber, Paul (paul.weber [at] port.ac.uk)
University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
58. Zolles, Tobias (tobias.zolles [at] uib.no)
Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway andBjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
Young scientists receiving IASC travel support are marked *;Researchers contributing to a poster, but not physically present are marked **).

13

Minutes of the cross-cutting break-out
session: How do glaciers affect marine primary production in the ocean?
Moderator: Shin Sugiyama and Mark Hopwood
Minutes: Carleen Reijmer, Mark Hopwood and Katja Laufer
Shin introduces the topic by presenting the IASC call for cross-cutting initiatives
and a summary of our activity: The importance of Arctic glaciers for the Arctic
marine ecosystem, endorsed by the IASC Cryosphere and Marine working groups.
Last year’s discussion on cross cutting issues was centered around threequestions:•••

What glaciological information/data are useful for the marine biology/ecology
community and vice versa?
What data/information can glaciologists provide to the marine
biology/ecology community and vice versa?
Collaborations between glacier and marine ecology communities in field
work, etc.?

The proposal of the activity contained further research questions, three of whichwere reformulated by Mark Hopwood and used as the backbone of a synthesis
paper, “How do glaciers affect marine primary production in the ocean?” forwhich he, together with Andy Hodson, has taken the initiative to write. The
reformulated questions are:•••

Where and when does glacial freshwater promote marine primary production
and where and when does it retard marine primary production?
How do variations in glacial discharge timing and location affect marineorganisms?
How far reaching are glacial effects of glaciers on marine biogeochemistry?

A draft version of the paper has been made available and the group is asked for
input, either to provide contents, or comments on the current draft. Lorenz
Meire already offered to write parts of it.
Mark Hopwood
Welcomes comments on a circulating synthesis text either in form of generalcomments, in-depth reviews or requests for new/missing topics to be covered.
Co-authors very welcome to propose new material. Current focus is heavily
biogeochemical following input from Mark Hopwood and Andy Hodson since lastyear’s meeting.
Agneta Fransson (NPI) and Melissa Chierici (IMR) will contribute to the paperwith data from Kongsfjorden, Svalbard (nutrients and carbonate chemistry).
Daniel Carlson
Glacial discharge and iceberg discharge is presently treated as lagrangian
process whereas it would be more appropriate to be treated as eulerian. This14

should now be within our modelling capabilities. Advection/diffusion can bemonitored using natural or synthetic tracers to link chemistry/physics to biology.
Andreas Ahlstrøm
How can glaciologists help? In the conclusion of the manuscript there are 2
statements:a) What is the fractional composition of glacier discharge (in terms of surface
runoff, subsurface discharge and solid ice) and how does this veryseasonally, interannually and between glaciated catchments?
b) How do these different discharge components (surface runoff, subsurface
discharge and solid ice) affect stratification and mixing in the marine
environment? How does this affect water column structure and resource
availability to marine ecosystems locally (around glaciers, fjords andicebergs) and on broader (e.g. pan-Arctic) scales?
Ad a) This should now be possible, but is not easy. Ad b) Not really a question for
glaciologists, but more for fjord oceanographers. A general conclusion of thisyear and last years meeting seems to be the need for physical oceanographers
to work closely with glaciologists to resolve the fate of discharge in when it firstenters the water column, fortunately this collaboration is now happening. But
unfortunately, there are not many / none of those present at the meeting.
Daniel Carlson
Mixing due to icebergs has now been monitored using microstructure profiles,
definitely an area of interest and topical research, but no work yet published in
the field.
Thorben Dunse
The synthesis paper describes model simulations of nutrient cycling in front ofmarine-terminating glaciers. The scenarios for glacier discharge volumes arehighly simplified, e.g. a constant discharge rate over a 2-month period.
Glaciologists can help establish more realistic scenarios for glacial discharge
volumes, which vary on diurnal to seasonal and interannual timescales. Mattias
Cape pointed out in his keynote talk that nutrient entertainment in subglacial
discharge plumes strongly depends on the volume of the discharge. If nutrient
entertainment does not scale linearly with discharge volume, than it is important
to use timeseries-data of discharge, rather than a constant mean value.
Lorenz Meire
Indeed timing does matter, there are complexities associated with tidal mixing,
fjord circulation, light availability and extreme events to consider alongside
discharge rates. Lorenz comments that extreme events may be short lived, buthave large effects on fjord water column structure. These events can only bedetected from field observations and are missed by models. Data from moorings,
such as those in Godthabsfjord, may be useful for determining the extent towhich such events occur and their significance. Such problems exemplify why it
is better to focus on few glacier-fjord systems, rather than many, as only
intensive field campaigns can reveal the significance of these processes.
Thorben Dunse
Comments that pro-glacial stream discharge can now be modelled relatively well(Andreas comments, maybe not as well as he would like!). However, partioning
into supraglacial and subglacial discharge is more challenging to model andverify.
15

Thomas Schuler
Asks for clarity in what resolution of data is useful for biological andbiogeochemical purposes. Does the biological/biogeochemical community wantbroader scale information, or a focus on fewer fjords?
Mattias CapeStresses the importance of integrated observing system: atmosphere, ocean,(sea)ice, biochemistry. In the call for a Greenland Observational system white
paper, Straneo proposes a focus on few systems where comprehensive work fromdifferent disciplines should be conducted (atmospheric, glacial, marine). This
enables longterm measurements more easily than scattered field campaigns.
Andreas Ahlstrøm
The recent AGU workshop on Ice/Ocean interaction was heavily attended byphysical oceanographers, but lacked any biogeochemical/biological focus.
Andreas comments the opposite seems to be the case for IASC meetings!
Shin Sugiyama
Suggests we need to be more welcoming to physical oceanography colleagues at
any further ice-ocean themed interactions within IASC.
Sofia Ribeiro
What about sea-ice? How do discharge and sea-ice interact to affect marine
primary production?
Lorenz Meire/Mark Hopwood
Suggest an intention focus on summertime effects of discharge to narrow thescope of the synthesis paper, but welcome some comments exploring thesignificance of sea-ice/runoff interaction.
Nicole Treholm
Suggests contacting colleagues at JPL to gain insight into how fjord-scale
circulation operates and links to glacial processes and fjord-scale marine
biogeochemistry.
Mattias Cape
Highlights ongoing American work at Sermilik Fjord where 10 years of data now
available. In addition to the benefits of focusing on a few large sites for
coordinating cross-disciplinary longterm data, suggests smaller systems areinevitably harder to work with as their “signal” is quickly lost on a broader scaleand cannot be traced to the shelf or ocean.
Mark Hopwood
Thanks audience for constructive comments and proposes to circulate an
updated text following comments by March.
After discussion of the synthesis paper, Lorenz Meire presented a slide on ‘What
we need from glaciologists’. It contained the following points, which were notdiscussed much further in detail but they could be a basis for future discussions.
•
•
•
•
•

Total freshwater flux to individual fjords (both ice and liquid runoff)
Daily runoff estimates for individual catchments
Field runoff estimates
Volume of subglacial discharge
Data on large events/lakes

16Minutes of the IASC-NAG open forum
meeting
Chair: Thorben Dunse
Minutes: Eef van Dongen, Thorben Dunse
Invited to attend: all participants of the workshop.
Agenda
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Introduction to IASC, IASC-CWG and NAG
Funding
Activities (ongoing and future)
Upcoming meetings
Book of extended abstracts
Anything else?

Ad. 1
Thorben Dunse presents an overview of the International Arctic Science
Committee (IASC) and its 5 working groups. IASC is a non-governmentalorganization promoting all aspects of Arctic research. IASC provides no researchfunding, but supports workshops that stimulate research activity and knowledge
exchange. During the past years, interdisciplinary work is particularly
encouraged by support of cross-cutting activities. These are endorsed by at least
2 WGs, and ideally bridge between social/human and natural sciences. Networks
operate within the framework of the working groups and have a specific research
focus. The Network on Arctic Glaciology is a program of the Cryosphere WG andformed out of the Working Group on Arctic Glaciology (1994-2011). The
organizational structure consists of a chair (Thorben Dunse, since 2016) andvice-chair (Martin Sharp, since 2008) and 18 national contacts.
Thorben Dunse notes that India does not have a national representative yet, andsuggests Ankit Pramanik, present at the meeting. This point is followed up at theend of the meeting. Ankit Pramanik cannot commit at this point, as he doesn’t
have a permanent job in India. He will consider the offer and let IASC-NAG know,
in case he can commit at a later stage.
On Wednesday, following the last scientific session, some changes in the
networks organization are discussed. Martin Sharp has been serving as
vice-chair for the network since 2008 and agreed to step back. Thorben Dunse
thanks Martin for 11 years of service and suggests Ward van Pelt as new
vice-chair. There are no objections, but broad acceptance of the proposition.
Ward van Pelt accepts the offer.
Ad. 2
Funding for this 2019 IASC-NAG meeting is provided by the Cryosphere andMarine WGs, supporting the cross-cutting activity “The importance of Arctic
Glaciers for the Arctic Marine ecosystem” with 3500 Euros, each. The majority of
the funding, 6800 Euros, is used for early-career scientists (ECS) travel support,
and the remaining 200 Euros for workshop logistics. This year, 11 ECS received
17

partial travel support. Travel funds were handled by Gerlis Fugmann on behalf of
the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS).
Concerning future funding opportunities, Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir notes that
we should continue with cross cutting activities, and have proposals ready asap.
Thorben Dunse remarks that funding is available for both cross-cutting
activities and core themes of CWG, with the advantage of the cross-cutting
activities to receive funding from several involved WGs.
Francisco Navarro mentions the most important is to show results of activities
e.g. progress on papers. Good examples are current progress on the paper on
pan-Arctic ice discharge, lead by Luke Copland and followed up by Abigail Dalton
during this meeting. Thorben Dunse highlights the synthesis paper pushedforward by Mark Hopwood et al.: “How do glaciers affect marine primary
production in the ocean?” (see minutes from open discussion with regards to thecross-cutting activity). This paper follows directly up on questions raised during
the first cross-cutting activity. Participants of the workshop are invited asco-authors. Another product of the workshop is the "Book of abstracts", which
will be published on the IASC-NAG website.
Thorben Dunse suggests that since NAG is an integral part of the WG weshould apply for money from the CWG. Francisco Navarro mentions any
proposal, even if directed to CWG, only, should stress a significant cross-cutting
component, since WG’s have to spend a certain amount of their budget on XC
activities. Jacek Jania agrees with Francisco but suggest not to wait for a callbut to report the activity and ask for direct funding of future activities from IASC.
Francisco Navarro remarks that funding for networks has officiallydisappeared, but may be available for special activities.
Ad. 3
Ongoing activities include “Understanding atmosphere-glacier-ocean interactions
and their implications for the pan-Arctic glacier mass budget”, a core activity of
CWG. Abigail Dalton reported in her presentation on the status of efforts toprovide a consistent estimate of pan-Arctic frontal ablation/ice discharge. The
cross-cutting activity “The importance of Arctic glaciers for the marine
ecosystem”, endorsed by CWG and MWG is run for second time now. Thorben
Dunse considers the cross-cutting activity a great success. This year’s activity
attracted more participants than last year and a synthesis paper is being pushedforward by Mark Hopwood and colleagues. The cross-cutting activity has been
run as an integral part of the annual meeting workshop on the mass balance anddynamics of Arctic glaciers. Do we want to follow up on the cross-cutting activity
and in what form? A follow up as official cross-cutting activity also depends onthe continued interest of MWG and endorsement by its members. This year, norepresentative of MWG is attending the meeting. Nicole Treholm mentions she
did just join the marine working group, although not active yet. She is willing toreport on results of this meeting.
Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir suggest to include the Athmosphere WG in the
cross-cutting activity. Many scientist within CWG-NAG are working on
atmospheric topics, and that ice-ocean interactions are also forced by theatmosphere and regional climate models are already used. Jon Ove Hagensupports Guðfinna’s suggestion to seek collaboration with AWG and continue
addressing glacier-atmosphere as well as ice-ocean interactions. Thorben
18

Dunse reminds that we had earlier considered to extent the cross-cutting
activity, to also address terrestrial ecosystems. Thus inclusion of the Terrestial
WG may be an option. Another option would be to include the Social and Human
WG. Andreas Ahlstrøm remarks that it is important to keep focus of thecross-cutting activity. There is need for a stronger involvement of physicaloceanographers. Physical oceanography is also relevant for ice-ocean in general,such as ocean-induced frontal ablation, and therefore of broad interest to theglaciological community. Daniel Carlson notes that it is very hard to look at
physical oceanography without any atmosphere. There is a high interest toaddress social impacts on fishing operations Greenland, to see how changes instratification influence fishing.
Thorben Dunse acknowledges a general interest to continue the cross-cutting
activities. He lists 3 options on how the the cross-cutting activities could be
followed up on: (1) as part of NAG annual meeting, (2) hosted as an integral partof a workshop organized by the MWG, or (3) as a separate meeting? Since thelatter option is likely to attract mainly those already involved in the theme, theinterdisciplinary effect may be small. With regards to the options 1 or 2, it isimportant to get a confirmation from MWG with regards to their interest on afollow-up of the activity.
Regine Hock suggest to also look at other topics, because IASC-NAG members
have different interests. There are other important topics and other WGs may beinterested to work with us. Nicole Treholm suggest to consider a series ofcross-cutting activities, keep the CWG-NAG primary, but rotate the other WGs
every year. Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir suggests that some continuation ofactivities is important, e.g. a period of 2 to 3 years.
Ad. 4
The next annual meeting will be held in Obergurgl, Austria, 28-30 January.
24 double rooms have already been reserved by Austrian contact Michael Kuhn
(27-31 January 2019). A local organizing team is formed. Jakob Abermann
volunteers to support Michael Kuhn.
Shin Sugiyama offers to host the 2022 meeting in Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan.
Concerns are the long travel distance and high costs. Regine Hock mentions
that IACS jointly with IAMAS and IAPSO has a meeting in Busan, South Korea,
summer 2021, which may be to close to the IASC workshop in Japan. Othersuggestions are Nuuk, in Greenland, by Lorenz Meier.
Thorben Dunse reminds that there is an agreement to have the meeting every
4th year in North America (NA), which would be 2021 (after Maine, 2017).
Francisco Navarro stresses that it is important to have the NA community
involved. Martin Sharp will discuss possibilities of hosting a meeting in NA with
Luke Copland. Regine Hock, notes that a NAG meeting in NA may collide with
the PARCA meeting, which many NA glaciologists do attend. Obergurgl in Austria,
Benasque in Spain, and Poland are considered as alternative venues in upcoming
years. It seems that an equal amount of people in the room would be willing totravel to either NA or Japan.
Thorben Dunse mentions that a 2022 IGS meeting in Juneau Alaska may
include a session on glacier impacts on marine ecosystems. Andreas Ahlstrøm
considers this a good opportunity to show present the outcome of 2-3 years of
IASC cross-cutting activity on the subject.
19

After the open forum meeting, Polish colleagues Jacek Jania and Mariusz
Grabiec suggest to host the meeting in Poland, for example in Zakopane, either
in 2021, or one of the following years.
Ad. 5
A book of abstracts, including program, participant list and minutes from boththe open forum meeting and XC discussion will be published on the IASC-NAG
website. Participants are encouraged to submit updates, corrections and/or an
extended abstract. Extended abstracts or corrections should be send to
Pierre-Marie Lefeuvre until 31.01.2019. Participants may fill out a latex-template
when submitting extended abstracts.
Ad. 6
Jacek Jania informs about the next Svalbard Science Conference in Oslo,
November 2019. He suggests to arrange a side meeting in glaciology. The
conference will also feature cross-cutting presentations which may be of
relevance to Svalbard colleagues in this room.
Francisco Navarro, new president of the International Glaciological Society,asks workshop participants to fill in an open survey about the organization of the
IGS. The survey is open also to non-members, and feedback very muchappreciated. He encourages early-career scientists to join the IGS. There are
efforts to form a committee with the aim to promote early-career scientists. It
has not been easy to recruit young researchers to join such a committee. Anyone
interested should contact Regine Hock or himself.

20

Abstracts
Recent changes in the continental ice margin in Northwest Greenland
Abermann, Jakob1 , Jakob Steiner2 , Rainer Prinz1
1 University of Graz, Graz, Austria
2 Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Keywords: Glacier changes, Greenland, High Arctic
We investigate changes in the land-based ice margin in Northwest Greenland where
the Nunatarssuaq Ice Cap (NIC) connects with the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS). The margin of NIC terminates in steep cliffs of about 25 m height. Since 1985 the NIC margin
locally advanced by several dozens of meters despite a marked thinning. Thinning has
accelerated in recent years as high-resolution DEMs reveal. Adjacent ice areas of NIC and
GIS show recent differences in thinning rates which we explain with spatial albedo anddynamic variability. We review historical data of ice temperature and cliff position and put
it into context with data acquired during a reconnaissance expedition in 2017. We findshort-term changes of the cliff’s mass balance that are rather independent of weather
conditions while the horizontal part’s mass and energy balance appears more variable.
We hypothesize radiative fluxes to be the largest difference and drivers for these variations. Finally, the results are set into larger spatial context in North Greenland, wheresteep land-based ice margins are an abundant feature.

Bridging the trenches – ice sheet monitoring for the atmosphere and oceans in PROMICE and INTAROS
Ahlstrøm, Andreas1 , Robert S. Fausto1 , Michele Citterio1 , Jason Box1 , Kenneth Mankoff1 ,Anne M. Solgaard1 , Liam Colgan1 , Roberta Pirazzini2 , Anders Kusk3 , Jørgen Dall3
1 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
3 Technical University of Denmark, DTU Space, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

While it is often professed that scientific breakthroughs are more likely to occur between traditional fields of research rather than within them, the reality is often that existing structures prevail. The INTAROS Project is dedicated to unleash the potential of
integrating Arctic monitoring efforts across traditional disciplines by taking a different
view. While the PROMICE programme for monitoring of the Greenland ice sheet was bornout of a need to quantify a major contribution to sea level change, a leap across the trench
reveals that important variables of the atmosphere and oceans are addressed and may
be utilized for entirely different purposes than originally intended. Here we present our
PROMICE monitoring effort, enhanced through INTAROS, and why we think it might turnout to be useful for you. Moreover, we hope to learn from discussions with you, how our20+ Arctic ice sheet weather stations and remote sensing programme could service yourparticular science or monitoring needs.

21Winter rain induced soft-bed warming - A potential acceleration mechanism
Alexander, Andreas1,2
1 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
2 Department of Arctic Geology, University Center of Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway

Keywords: Winter rain, surge, thermal switch, subglacial hydrology
Thermal switches from cold-based to temperate bed conditions are an often used theory to explain glacier surges. The exact reasons for such thermal switches remain however under discussion and in the recent years the theory of cryo-hydrological warming has
become more important, connecting heat-input from meltwater to glacier surges. This
work presents bedrock temperature measurements of a small cold-based valley glacieron Svalbard and shows the influence of winter rain events on the thermal regime of theglacier bed. Building on these direct observations, the work develops a conceptual model
for a soft-bed acceleration mechanism, which is initiated by winter rain events.

Development of phosphorus forms in soil chronosequenceof the Nordenskioldbreen glacier (Svalbard)
Allaberdina, Adel1
1 Czech University of Life Sciences , Prague, Czech Republic

Nordenskioldbreen is located between Dickson Land and Bunsow Land. The glacierflows roughly southwestwards and is 25 km (16 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. It has
its terminus in Adolfsbukta, a branch of Billefjorden.
After the expedition to the glacier in 2015, soil samples were brought to the Czech
University of Life Sciences Prague. We have 42 samples from the south and north of theglacier. With each of them we worked in the laboratory during several months, made afiltration and with the help of robotics got the complete chemical composition of eachsamples.
At our work we determined the amount of P-form and other soil properties in soils after
the Nordenskioldbreen glacier (Svalbard).
The soil properties after the retreat of the Nordenskioldbreen glacier vary with the ageof the soil. The amount of accessible P decreases with the age of the soil and the amountof crystalline Fe forms increases. All results of the study are presented in spreadsheet
format.

Observing glacier dynamics in the Southern Alaskan
mountain ranges
Altena, Bas1 , Ted Scambos2 , Andreas Kääb1 , Mark Fahnestock3
1 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
2 University of Colorado, Boulder CO, United States
3 University of Alaska, Fairbanks AK, United States

22Keywords: Glacier velocity, optical remote sensing, time-series, short-term kinematics
During the last few decades our understanding of Arctic glaciers has advanced considerably. At the same time, spaceborne sensors and data services have greatly advanced
and matured, exemplified by the Landsat and the Sentinel constellations and processing
services that provide products in near-real-time online. These systems make it possible
to extract surface topography, glacier facies or ice velocity. However, to a large extent
the generated products are scattered and have only partial spatial or temporal overlap,
due to operational or sensor constrains. In order to make them more useful for glaciermonitoring, we have developed a workflow that merges glacier velocity data of different
time spans. This merged dataset covers several Alaskan mountain ranges (and could be
extended to global coverage) and has a regular time step of 32 days. This consistenttime-series make it possible to observe short duration glacier dynamics changes more
readily. As the dataset spans several years, the dynamics of tidewater glaciers or (partial)
surges can be observed and analyzed. This study therefor shows the great potential of
current satellite systems and the derived monitoring data sets. Furthermore, the consistency of the merged and interpolated dataset makes integration into glacier modelling
efforts easier.

Glaciological and geodetic mass balance of Norway’s
glaciers – an overview
Andreassen, Liss Marie1 , Hallgeir Elvehøy1 , Bjarne Kjøllmoen1
1 Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway

Keywords: Glacier, mass balance, geodetic, maps
The Norwegian glaciological mass balance record is extensive. More than 40 glaciers
have been observed for shorter and longer period. Here we report on glaciological andgeodetic mass balance of mainland Norway. Glaciological mass balance for 10 glaciers
over 1989-2017 show a mean deficit of -0.37 m w.e. To access mass balance for a larger
sample of glaciers we have used laser-scanning covering 1/3 of the glacier area and compared with topographic surveys and recent satellite imagery. The geodetic measurements
reveal an overall mass loss from the 1950/1960s to 2010s: preliminary values indicate amean change of -0.25±0.5 m w.e./a. for the surveyed area. Since 2000, both geodetic
and glaciological measurements show a remarked mass loss with glaciers shrinking in
area, length and thickness.

Mass balance of Devon Ice Cap: comparing in-situ andgeodetic measurements
Bernard-Grand’Maison, Claire 1 , David Burgess2 , Luke Copland1
1 University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON, Canada
2 Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Keywords: Devon Ice Cap, geodetic mass balance, ice dynamics, in-situ record

23With a notable increase since 2005, strongly negative mass balances have been observed for glaciers and ice caps in the Canadian Arctic over the past three decades. A
major uncertainty in assessing glacier contribution to sea level rise is how their dynamics
are changing under a warming climate, and whether glaciers are speeding up or slowing
down, yielding different dynamic responses. Traditionally, mass balance estimates havebeen based on in-situ glaciological measurements, which do not account for dynamic processes. Geodetic mass balance measurements obtained from remotely sensed surface
elevation datasets better account for the effects of changing glacier motion by capturing
thickness change over entire glacier systems but have not previously been available formany regions.
This study forms part of a recent effort initiated by the World Glacier Monitoring Service(WGMS) to validate long-term glaciological mass balance series with geodetic measurements. Our focus is the Devon Island Ice Cap (DIC), one of the largest ice masses in the
Canadian Arctic, where glaciological mass balance has been measured on the northwest
basin since 1960. We present a revised in-situ mass balance series with updated basin
area and hypsometry. To calculate most recent elevation changes, we use the TanDEMX digital elevation model (DEM). We investigate the elevation bias of this DEM due toradar penetration in snow and firn by comparing it with differential GPS elevation fieldmeasurements from 2011 and 2018. Our aim is to calculate geodetic mass balance from1960 to 2010 for the entire ice cap, to compare it to the glaciological time series and toaddress significant deviations following the WGMS reanalysis methodology. Results fromthis study will improve understanding of the inter-relationships between ice dynamics andsurface mass balance on DIC, and their control on its contributions to non-steric sea level
rise since the 1960s.

Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier primed for runaway retreat
by ocean warming
Bevan, Suzanne1 , Adrian Luckman1 , Douglas Benn2 , Tom Cowton2 , Joe Todd2
1 Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK
2 University of St Andrews, College Gate, St Andrews KY16 9AJ, UK

Keywords: Greenland, tidewater glacier, ocean, dynamics
Kangerdluqssuaq Glacier in south-east Greenland has now retreated further inland
than at any time in the 33-year satellite record and is fast approaching a region of retrograde bedslope meaning that continued rapid retreat is likely. We show that the current
retreat was driven by anomalously warm shelf water in 2016 which likely entered thefjord and weakened the mélange which normally inhibits calving in winter. Two years ofcontinuous calving with no significant winter advance has led to an overall retreat of 8 km
and an acceleration of 35%. A thinning trend is superimposed on the seasonal dynamic
thinning pattern, with the tongue having thinned by over 35 m during the recent retreat
phase (Fig. 1).
For more detail see Bevan, et al. (2019). ‘Warming of SE Greenland shelf waters in2016 primes large glacier for runaway retreat’. The Cryosphere Discussions pp. 1-16.

24

Figure 1. Time series of a) front position and surface velocity, b) Kangerdlugssuaq trough ocean
potential temperature anomaly at 5 m, and c) cross-glacier mean surface elevation difference
based on TanDEM-X DEMs, the error bars represent the relative accuracy of ±2.3 m.

Application of digital elevation models produced fromsatellite and aerial images to estimation of geodetic
mass balance over southern Spitsbergen
Błaszczyk, Małgorzata 1 , Dariusz Ignatiuk1 , Leszek Kolondra1 , Mariusz Grabiec1 , Michał
Laska1 , Bartłomiej Luks2 , Leo Decaux1 , Mateusz Czapla1 , Etienne Berthier3 , Barbara
Barzycka1 , Jacek Jania1
1 Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
2 Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland
3 Laboratoire d’Études en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales, Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique (LEGOS-CNRS, UMR5566), Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France

Keywords: DEM from Very High Resolution Satellite, DEM from aerial photos, geodetic
and glaciological mass balance
In the study we present the results of accuracy assessment of DEMs produced fromfour Very High Resolution Satellite (VHRS) stereo images over the period 2012-2017 andDEM generated from aerial photographs acquired in 2011 by Norwegian Polar Institute.
The research were conducted over three glaciers in southern Spitsbergen: Hansbreen,
Werenskioldbreen and Hornbreen. The overall goal is to assess the relevance of such
type elevation models for estimation of geodetic mass balance and compare the resultwith the glaciological mass balance.
The satellite based DEMs from WorldView-2 and Pléaides were processed using the
Rational Function Model (RFM) developed in OrthoEngine module of PCI Geomatica 2016.
Both types of stereopairs (WorldView-2 and Plé aides) contain the rational polynomial
coefficient (RPC) files. It allows to generate DEM without any ground control point (GCP).

25

Additionally DEMs based on GCP-enhanced RPC (using one GCP) were created and output
improvement has been evaluated. The elevation accuracy of DEMs over glaciated areas
were validated with static and kinematic dGPS survey.
DEMs are then coregistered and subtracted to estimate the geodetic mass balance
for the studied area. Results show that glaciers surface in southern Spitsbergen has
been lowering in recent years at an average rate of 2 m/yr. The largest reduction of ice
thickness (up to 10 m/yr) was observed at the front of two tidewater glaciers: Hansbreen
and Hornbreen. Comparison of results with the classical superficial mass balance data
were done and differences have been interpreted taking into account estimated frontal
ablation as well.

Greenland land ice surface physical properties from Sentinel3 optical retrievalsBox, Jason1 , Maxim Lamare2 , Kenneth Mankoff1 , Alex Kokhanovsky3 , Olaf Danne3 , Carsten
Brockmann3
1 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Institute des Géoscience de l’Environnement (IGE), Grenoble, France
3 Brockmann Consult GmbH, Geesthacht, Germany

Keywords: Sentinel-3, Petermann, Albedo, SSA
For much of the pre-melt and melt season, sunlight absorption can be the dominant
melt energy source for snow and ice on glaciers, land, sea, and lakes. The Copernicus ESA
Sentinel-3 A and B platforms host two sensors with optical bands: the Ocean Land Color
Instrument (OLCI) and the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR). This
work examines along-glacier and into wide (6+ km) fjord (sea ice/snow) profiles of opticalproperties pre-melt and melt season for sufficiently clear sky cases. Snow and ice opticalproducts in development by the European Space Agency (ESA) Scientific Exploitation of
Operational Missions (SEOM) Sentinel-3 for Science, Land Study 1: Snow include:• snow extent• fractional snow cover• spectral planar albedo• broadband albedo• specific surface surface area or effective grain diameter• snow impurity content (biological, mineral, elemental)
The examination spans the 2017 and 2018 melt seasons: May to September for a selectglacier.

Challenges to understanding ice-ocean interactions andtheir impact on marine biogeochemistryCape, Mattias1 , Fiamma Straneo2 , Maria Vernet2
1 University of Washington, Seattle WA, United States
2 Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego CA, United States

26

Keywords: Ice-ocean, nutrients, glacier, observation
Rapid changes in the dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets at both poles have in past
decades led to a renewed interest in the interplay between the ocean and cryosphere.
While the physical consequences of ice-ocean interactions have been the subject of intense study, their impact on marine ecosystems have only recently come into greater
focus. As a source of nutrients (i.e., iron, silica), a driver of coastal circulation (e.g.,
upwelling), and forcing on ocean stratification, glacial meltwater export plays a criticalrole in regulating biogeochemical cycling at high latitudes. The scope and timing of thebiological response to freshwater export is in part mediated by physical and chemical
processes governing the distribution and availability of nutrients discharged in meltwateror upwelled at the glacial margin. However, significant uncertainty remains as to how,and over what scales, these processes interact to modulate nutrient distributions. Leveraging studies in Antarctic and Greenland fjords, including Sermilik Fjord, a system thathas been well-sampled from a physical oceanographic perspective, we explore physicalprocesses at play in these systems and their impact on nutrient availability. We highlightthat differences in the magnitude of subglacial discharge, as well as the structure of thewater column, play important roles in modulating vertical nutrient distributions in glacial
fjords, and thereby their availability to primary producers both locally and in downstream
ecosystems. While the magnitude of estimated nutrient exports from systems like Sermilik suggest that glacially modified waters may act as significant sources of nutrients tothe continental shelf, their pathway and timing of release from fjords to the large-scaleocean remain poorly constrained. We argue that sustained biogeochemical observations(i.e., moored observations) from Antarctic and Greenland fjord systems, coupled to highresolution physical measurements, are ultimately necessary to better constrain variability in these system, and gain a better understanding of the coupling between local (fjord)and large scale processes.

Observations of vertical mixing and nitrate fluxes atfour marine terminating glaciers in NE Greenland
Carlson, Daniel1 , Lorenz Meire2 , Mikael Sejr3
1 Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
2 Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland
3 Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

Keywords: Vertical mixing, nutrients, productivity, marine terminating glaciers
Melting of marine terminating glaciers and injection of subglacial freshwater discharge
at depth can drive upwelling of nutrient-rich water to the photic zone. As a result, marine
terminating glaciers are ’hotspots’ of biological activity and support critical commercial
and artisanal fisheries in Greenland. Recent accelerated mass loss from the Greenland Ice
Sheet suggests that marine ecosystems may undergo drastic changes in the near future
as marine terminating glaciers retreat onto land. Efforts to understand turbulent vertical mixing processes at marine terminating glaciers in Greenland have relied largely on
theory, numerical simulations, and laboratory models. Here we present observations obtained from a tethered, free-falling vertical micro-scale turbulence profiler (Rockland Scientific VMP-250) that were obtained near the termini of four marine terminating glaciers innortheast Greenland in August 2018. Concurrent and co-located nitrate profiles are used
to estimate nitrate fluxes. These observations reveal enhanced mixing near glacier termini, as expected, as well as small-scale spatiotemporal variability due that we attributeto changes in subglacial discharge plume behavior. These observations provide critical27

observational benchmarks for models of fjord circulation and marine ecosystems. Thiscross-cutting study combines rare observations of vertical mixing and nutrients in highlatitude fjords and, as such, is a contribution to the activity on "The Importance of Arctic
Glaciers for the Arctic Marine Ecosystem."

Wintertime sea-ice chemistry and effect of glacial freshwater runoff during two contrasting years in a Spitsbergen fjord
Chierici, Melissa1,2 , Agneta Fransson3 , Daiki Nomura4 , Mats Granskog3 , Svein Kristiansen5 ,Tonu Martma6 , Gernot Nehrke7
1 Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
2 University Center of Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway
3 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
4 JPN
5 University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway
6 EST
7 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

Keywords: Sea ice chemistry and nutrients, freshwater component in sea ice, glacial
Several fjords on Svalbard are affected by glacier meltwater. We investigated thesea-ice carbonate (or CO2 ) chemistry in Tempelfjorden, a west-Spitsbergen fjord, and theinfluence of different processes such as ice-brine rejection, calcium carbonate precipitation and glacial meltwater during two winters in 2012 and 2013. The two contrastingyears clearly showed that the influence of freshwater affected the chemical and physical characteristics of the sea ice. We found large variability of sea-ice total alkalinity(AT ), total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT ), pCO2 , dissolved inorganic nutrients, oxygenisotopic ratio (δ1 8 O) and freshwater fractions, from the glacier front to the outer part of
the fjord. Processes within the sea ice such as calcium carbonate formation (ikaite) andbrine rejection also affected the sea-ice carbonate chemistry. The variability in the sea ice
showed the lowest AT in 2012 near the glacier front coinciding with the highest freshwater
fractions (glacial water). Relatively high AT in relation to salinity was observed mainly in
2012, which could either be a result of ikaite precipitation in the sea ice (dissolved during
analysis) or calcite and dolomite minerals originating from the bedrock/glacial freshwater. We found crystals of ikaite, calcite and aragonite (forms of calcium carbonate) in thesnow/frost flowers in 2013 as a result of to sea-ice processes.

Estimate of current dynamic discharge from Northern
Hemisphere glaciers and ice caps to the ocean
Dalton, Abigail1 , Luke Copland1 , Wesley Van Wychen2
1 University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON, Canada
2 University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON, Canada

Over the last several decades, glaciers and ice caps in the Arctic have lost mass at
accelerating rates. However, there is currently a poor understanding of the relative importance of surface mass balance vs. changes in ice discharge to the ocean in accounting

28

for these losses, partly due to lack of knowledge of discharge estimates outside of theGreenland Ice Sheet. In this presentation, we describe the progress of an ongoing projectthat brings together international experts to provide the first estimate of total Northern
Hemisphere dynamic discharge (outside of the Greenland Ice Sheet) from the compilationof discharge data from all tidewater glaciers and ice caps in this region over the period∼2000-2015. Data compilation is almost complete for Alaska, Canadian Arctic Archipelago
and the periphery of Greenland, but is ongoing for Svalbard and, in particular, for the Russian Arctic. This comprehensive data collection will also help to standardize terminology
and methods in relation to glacial mass loss at the termini of tidewater glaciers.

Glacier meltwater runoff as a potential driver of phytoplankton dynamics around Svalbard
Dunse, Thorben1,2 , Kaixing Dong3 , Kjetil Schanke Aas2 , Leif Christian Stige3
1 Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sognedal, Norway
2 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
3 Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Keywords: Glacier runoff, phytoplankton
Glacial freshwater discharge into the ocean affects the physical and chemical properties of the fjord systems and adjacent shelves and enhances estuarine circulation andnutrient input, with effects on biological productivity. Ocean primary production, i.e. theproduction rate of organic carbon or phytoplankton, is an important measure of biologicalproductivity. Pilot studies in Greenland revealed a second primary-production bloom, coincident with the peak meltwater runoff from the Greenland ice sheet. The spatial extent
at which glacial runoff may fertilize the marine ecosystem is poorly constrained.
Here, we focus on Svalbard in the Eurasian Arctic, where glaciers cover 34000 km2
or 57% of the total land area. Tidewater glaciers drain 68% of the glacierized area, witha total calving-front length of ∼740 km. We divide Svalbard into 14 hydrological regions
for each of which we investigate the relationship between surface chlorophyll-a concentrations (an indicator of phytoplankton biomass) and glacier meltwater runoff. We also
consider other known drivers of phytoplankton dynamics, such as sea-ice fraction, seasurface temperature and mixed-layer depth. Freshwater runoff for the period 2003 to2013 is extracted from a 10-year simulation of the climatic mass balance of all glacierson Svalbard using a coupled atmosphere-glacier model. Surface chlorophyll-a concentrations derived from ocean colour, as well as physical ocean and sea-ice variables for theperiod 1998-2014 are provided by the Copernicus Marine Environmental Monitoring Service. We use a statistical model to identify significant relationships between chlorophyll-aconcentrations and the various environmental factors during summer months. Significant positive correlation between chlorophyll-a and glacier runoff exists for 6 out of 14
regions and within 10km distance from the coast. These 6 regions can be characterized
as sheltered fjord systems, with a wide range of glacier coverage and fraction of tidewater
glaciers.

29Experimental design of in-situ mass-balance measurement networks
Flowers, Gwenn E1 , Alexandra Pulwicki1 , Derek Bingham2 , Sonja Surjanović2
1 Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
2 Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
Keywords: Experimental design, glacier mass balance, accumulation, ablation, Yukon

In-situ mass-balance measurement networks are often designed on an ad-hoc basiswith the general notion of sampling a broad range of elevations. We borrow principles
and methods from optimal design in statistics to approach this problem in a more objective way. Using field data collected on glaciers in the St. Elias Mountains of Yukon, Canada,from 2007–2016, we are able to test various “experimental designs” (the number and spatial configuration of measurements). For both summer and winter balance, we make useof simple models to generate numerous synthetic spatial distributions of mass balance inorder to evaluate designs across a range of realizations of these fields. In the case of summer balance, we use an enhanced temperature-index model to generate synthetic data,
which are approximated using a Gaussian Process emulator. A particle-swarm algorithm isthen used to seed the domain with a prescribed number of measurement points, and the
optimal configuration of these points determined by minimizing the integrated root means
squared error. In the case of winter balance, we use a linear regression on topographic
parameters to generate synthetic data and evaluate actual sampling configurations usedin the field. In both cases we are able to quantify the number of measurements neededto achieve a prescribed accuracy or precision of bw or Bw and evaluate the usefulness ofdifferent sampling patterns.

Influence of glacial water on carbonate chemistry andbiogeochemical processes in Svalbard fjords with different characteristics
Fransson, Agneta1 , Melissa Chierici2 , Ylva Ericson3 , Eva Falck3 , Svein Kristiansen4
1 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
2 Institute for Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
3 University Center of Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway
4 University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway

Keywords: Carbonate chemistry, calcium carbonate, Arctic Ocean, glacial meltwater
Svalbard fjords on the west-Spitsbergen are influenced by Atlantic water in the outerparts and by glacial water and sea-ice processes in the inner parts. The fjords also havedifferent characteristics depending on the sill depth, seasonal sea-ice coverage, and thepresence of tidal glaciers and rivers. Here, we present the distribution and variability of
the carbonate chemistry and ocean acidification state in several Spitsbergen fjords basedon data collected at several seasons between 2012 and 2016. For the study, we used
total alkalinity (AT), total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved inorganic nutrients,
salinity, temperature and calculated calcium carbonate (CaCO3) saturation state (Ω), pH
and calculated freshwater fractions to investigate the seasonal and interannual variability
and the biogeochemical processes driving the carbonate chemistry, air-sea CO2 flux andocean acidification state in the different fjords. Changes in the inflow of different water
masses and freshwater directly influenced ocean acidification state, but also indirectly by30

affecting the biological drivers of carbonate chemistry in the fjords. The seasonal variability showed the lowest and pH values in winters coinciding with the highest freshwater
fractions. The highest and pH were found in fall, mostly due to CO2 uptake during primary production. In the climatically sensitive Kongsfjorden, glacial water decreased Ω bythe same amount as the biological effect increased Ω. The seasonal increase in temperature only played a minor role on the increase of Ω. Overall, we found that increased
freshwater supply decreased , pH and AT. On the other hand, we observed higher AT
relative to salinity in the freshwater end-member in mild and rainy winters in Tempelfjorden. Observations of calcite and dolomite crystals in the glacial ice suggested supply ofcarbonate-rich glacial drainage water to the fjord. This implies that winters with a large
amount of glacial drainage water partly provide a lessening of further ocean acidification,
which will also affect the air-sea CO2 exchange.

Structure-from-Motion DEMs of glaciers in northeast Spitsbergen
Gjermundsen, Endre Før1 , Geir Moholdt2 , James Lam3 , Liam Garrison3 , Jostein Sageie4
1 University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), Norway
2 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
3 Oxon4 Sageie Consulting

Keywords: Alpine Arctic glaciers, UAS, Structure-from-Motion
In 1923 a sledge party from an University of Oxford expedition landed on the East
Spitsbergen ice cap with a view to making the first east-west crossing of this section of
the island. Over the course of thirty days they overcame terrible conditions to achieveboth their goal and a detailed topographical survey of the unexplored interior. Ninetythree years later to the day, another Oxford expedition arrived on the eastern shores of
Svalbard’s "cold coast" to repeat the 1923 journey. With more advance tools, the 2016
expedition did among others acquire image data from small unmanned aircraft systems(sUAS) to produce 3D models of glacier surface with Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. Several sections across Chydeniusbreen (named the Bear Bay glacier by
the 1923-expedition) were flown at different altitudes along the glacier length, primarily inthe same regions as transects of ICESat laser altimetry. The DEM results were comparedto DEMs from the Norwegian Polar Institute and will be compared to the ICESat data as
well as to the more recent DEMs from the ArcticDEM project. A retreat and thinning of theterminus between 2011 and 2016 was detected, whereas the other transects were harder
to interpret due to a large offset between the datasets.
Historical photos taken by the 1923 expedition of glacier state along the route werealso retaken in 2016, showing minor differences in glacier size along the coast, but theappearance of new snowfields in the interior in 2016. During the spring of 2018 newsUAS data along the same sledge route were compiled, this time from steep icefalls in the
Atomfjella area, providing SfM DEMs of steep glacier terrain that has not been previously
studied. An annual or biennially revisiting of these small and steep glacier icefalls isplanned.

31

Structure-from-Motion (SfM) 3D model of Pruvostbreen icefall in northeastern Spitsbergen,
spring 2018

The terminus of Bear Bay Glacier (Chydeniusbreen), viewed from Raudberget taken by
the University of Oxford expeditions to Spitsbergen in 1923 and 2016 (at the same dates).
Whereas the terminus has retreated and thinned in the period, more high-elevated snowfields are present in 2016.

Into the Ice
Haarloev, Caspar1 , Lars Ostenfeld1
1 Lars Ostenfeld Film

Keywords: Documentary, Greenland, Ice, Climate change
We’re working on a documentary on Ice and the scientists who explore it. We’ll be

32following Jason E. Box on the Greenland inland ice, climb down ice crevasses with Alun
Hubbard and explore icebergs underwater with a robot.

Spatio-Temporal Variations of Firn Properties on the Western Greenland Ice Sheet
Covi, Federico1 , Giovanni Corti1 , Hock, Regine1 , Asa Rennermalm2 , Jonathan Kingslake3 ,Sasha Leidman2 , Clement Miege2 ,Marco Tedesco3,4 , Takao Kameda5
1 Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, USA
2 Rutgers University New Brunswick, USA
3 Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, USA
4 NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies, USA
5 Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan

A large portion of surface meltwater on the Greenland ice sheet refreezes as it percolates into firn. Increased melting in recent years has caused the formation of thick (>5 m)
ice layers in the lower part of the percolation zone. These layers can effectively seal off
the underlying porous firn, allowing meltwater to runoff instead of refreezing in the firn,
and thus affecting the ice sheet mass balance.
To investigate the spatio-temporal variability of refreezing in firn, we conducted two
field seasons in the spring of 2017 and 2018 in the percolation zone of the southwesternpart of the Greenland Ice Sheet at elevations between 1963 and 2355 m a.s.l.. Field
observations included 20 m deep firn cores, ground-penetrating radar surveys, and fullenergy balance automatic weather stations equipped with thermistors strings to measure
the evolution of the vertical temperature profile of the firn over time.
During summer 2017 air temperature at all three sites exceeded 0◦ C for only very
short periods between May and August and observations indicate considerably less melt
compared to previous years. Firn temperatures at the deepest thermistor located 17
meters below the snow surface remain constant year round at -19.2◦ C for site EKT (2355
m a.s.l.) and -13.5◦ C for Site J (2060 m a.s.l.). Firn temperatures at 1 m below the surface
varied between -17.1◦ C and -11.9◦ C at EKT and -12.6◦ C and -4.1◦ C at Site J between May
and November 2017.
We used the Distributed Energy Balance Model DEBAM model which includes a multilayer snow model to investigate the energy fluxes at all three sites. The model computes
subsurface temperature, water content and refreezing, and results are compared to thethermistors string measurements. Preliminary results show that melting, percolation, andrefreezing is largely restricted to the lower elevation sites. These results agree well withthe firn-core stratigraphies and ground-penetrating radar profiles, which show increasing
frequency and thickness of ice lenses toward lower ice-sheet elevations.

Impacts of Greenland Ice Sheet melt on heterotrophic
processes in adjacent fjords
Holding, Johnna M1,2 , Markager, Stiig3 , Juul-Pedersen, Thomas4 , Paulsen, Maria5 , Møller,
Eva Friis3 , Meire Lorenz4,6 , and Sejr, Mikael 1
1 Arctic Research Centre, Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
2 Department of Global Change Research, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (CSICUniv. Islas Balears), Spain

33

3 Arctic Research Centre, Bioscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
4 Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland
5 Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
6 Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Researchand Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands

Keywords: Carbon cycling, Ecosystem metabolism, Greenland Ice Sheet melt
The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is melting at unprecedented rates contributing to the
freshening of fjords and the coastal ocean around Greenland, though the effects of freshening on primary production along the Greenland coast are still unclear. Here we present
patterns of primary productivity in a Northeast Greenland fjord (Yound Sound), which receives run-off from the Greenland Ice Sheet via land-terminating glaciers. This fjord system has previously been deemed low productive due to light limitation from late break-up
of sea ice. Through increased spatial and temporal resolution of observations over the
ice-free season we have found that it is rather the interplay among low light availably by late ice break-up, turbid river inputs in the summer and short day length in the fall
- and strong vertical stratification coinciding with a deep nitracline that restrain primary
production to a minimum in Young Sound. Apart from a brief under-ice bloom during summer, primary production remains low (between 50-200 mg C m−2 day−1 ) however steadythroughout the growing season even into the fall. Plankton communities in Young Soundare adapted to low light conditions as evidenced by the low values of saturating irradiance(5.8-67 μmol photons m−2 s−1 ) for primary production measured in this study. Nitrate isdepleted in the euphotic zone down to ∼30m throughout the year. In the summer months
in the inner fjord, turbidity moves production and biomass of phytoplankton nearer to thesurface as is typical for turbid estuaries, while in the outer fjord a typical deep chlorophyllmaximum is established. The chlorophyll maximum moves higher in the water column towards the end of the growing season, to approximately 15 m, most likely due to low lightavailability as day length shortens and sun angle decreases. With its but low but consistent production across the growing season, Young Sound offers an alternative picture
to the established construct of seasonal succession of Arctic phytoplankton communities
present in other fjords around the Arctic (e.g. spring and late summer blooms and limited
fall production). The light and nutrient limitation and strong vertical stratification controlling productivity are not only due to the influence from the local land-terminating glaciers
but are also consequences of the coastal boundary currents and the shallow entrance
sill. Features which should also be considered when making generalizations about how
primary production will be affected by glacier retreat in the future.

Contrasting the effects of glaciers and icebergs on marine primary production
Hopwood, Mark1 , Stephan Krisch1 , Dustin Carroll2
1 GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
2 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, USA

Keywords: Ocean nutrients icebergs productivity
How will increasing meltwater from Ice Sheets affect the biogeochemistry of the ocean?
Release of freshwater into the ocean has multiple chemical and physical effects upon thewater column. With respect to nutrient availability, meltwater from glaciated catchments
supplies the bio-essential nutrients iron and silicic acid to the ocean yet is deficient innitrate and phosphate. However, despite the low concentrations of nitrate and phosphate
in meltwater, pronounced summertime phytoplankton blooms are observed in many, but
not all, large glaciated Arctic fjord systems where nitrate is likely a limiting nutrient for34

phytoplankton growth. A critical variable determining the effect of meltwater on the marine environment is the depth at which it is released into the water column.
When meltwater is released below sea level beneath large marine-terminating glaciers,
the resulting buoyant discharge plumes entrain large quantities of deep seawater. Thisvertical transport, or ’pumping’, of deep macro-nutrient rich seawater to the surface
provides the nitrate that sustains unusually strong summertime productivity in some
Arctic fjords. Conversely, when meltwater is released at the ocean surface from landterminating glaciers, the effect on primary production is generally reduced or even negative because the meltwater itself lacks the nitrate and phosphate required to fuel phytoplankton blooms. This critical difference between land- and marine- terminating glaciers
is now well established by both field studies and conceptual models, but what about icebergs? Icebergs have long been speculated to behave as an important source of nutrientsto the marine environment, but the magnitude of this flux is challenging to determine due
to a paucity of data. Here we will present a new dataset with global coverage and demonstrate that, as is the case with glaciers, the depth of meltwater release from icebergs is a
critical factor affecting the potential fertilization of the ocean.

The role of winter rains in glacial system on Svalbard
Ignatiuk, Dariusz1 , Ewa B. Łupikasza2 , Mariusz Grabiec2 , Katarzyna Cielecka2 , Michał
Laska2 , Jacek Jania2 , Małgorzata Błaszczyk2 , Bartek Luks3 , Aleksander Uszczyk2 , Tomasz
Budzik2
1 Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
2 Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
3 Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences

Keywords: Precipitation, winter rains, mass balance, Hansbreen, glacier dynamic, Arctic,
rain-on snow
Rapid Arctic warming results in increased frequency of winter rains that may impact
glacial systems. This paper examines the influence of winter rainfalls (Oct-May) on both
mass balance and dynamics of Hansbreen (Svalbard) and discusses the climatology andtrends in precipitation forms as a background. We used the data from regularly operating
Hornsund station (010003 WMO) and original meteorological and glaciological data from
3 measurement points on Hansbreen. Precipitation phase at Hornsund station was identified based on notation of weather phenomenon and then used, together with informationon lapse rate, to estimate the occurrence and altitudinal extend of winter rainfall over theglacier. We found an increase in the frequency of winter rains in Hornsund and their influence on both glacier mass balance with average contribution of 9% and glacier dynamics.
However, the latest differs depending on development of snow cover and drainage system. In early winter with initial and thin snow cover and inefficient drainage system
rainfalls increase glacier motion. Full season winter rainfalls falling on well-developedsnow cover effectively stored in glacier and contribute to its mass balance.

Is the frequency of glacier floods in Norway increasing?
Jackson, Miriam1 , Hallgeir Elvehøy1
1 Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway

Keywords: jøkulhlaups GLOFs

35

Jøkulhlaups or GLOFs (Glacier Lake Outburst Floods) are a common occurrence in Norway with over 130 separate events registered from 26 different glaciers. The oldest known
events date back to the 18th century.
The number of jøkulhlaups has increased in recent years, which is partly explained byglacier retreat. Conversely, some glaciers where glacier floods occurred previously have
now thinned to such an extent that the water can now flow freely underneath the glacier,or have retreated so that there is no longer a dammed lake at the side of the glacier.
However, the ability to detect jøkulhlaups has also increased, such that events thatearlier would have gone unnoticed are now documented. Several events have been detected only from repeat satellite images or aerial photographs showing drained lakes.
Increased air travel and ski touring have also encouraged reporting of events. There
are reports from previous centuries from communities downstream of glaciers that flood
events were almost annual, but unless there was material damage, an individual event
was often not recorded. Thus, easier and more efficient means of reporting such events
has led to an apparent increase in activity.
Global studies on this topic are also ambiguous. There is no clear trend and the different mechanisms for glacier floods elsewhere, such as the prevalence of floods frommoraine-dammed lakes in certain areas and the connection between volcanism and floods
on Iceland, further complicate the matter.

Biogeochemical surveys near the fronts of marine-terminating
glaciers in Inglefield Gulf, Northwestern Greenland
Kanna, Naoya1 , Shin Sugiyama2 , Takuto Ando3 , Izumi Asaji2 , Yoshiki Fujishi2
1 Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
2 Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University
3 Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University

Subglacial meltwater upwelling at the front of marine-terminating glaciers plays a critical role in the entrainment of nutrient-rich deep water as well as submarine ice front melting. Because the fresh meltwater is buoyant, it rises along the glacier front as a plume thatcarries relatively warm and nutrient-rich waters from deeper layers. Despite increased interest in the processes occurring near the glacier fronts, it remains challenging to measurehydrological properties of near a glacier terminus. In the summer 2018, we performed
biogeochemical surveys in Inglefield Gulf, a 100 km long fjord system in northwestern
Greenland. Inglefield Gulf is fed by ∼10 marine-terminating glaciers, which terminate at
depths from several ten to over 600 m. We conducted boat-based ocean measurements
using a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler equipped with fluorescence, turbidity anddissolved oxygen sensors near the terminus of three marine-terminating glaciers (Melvill,
Sharp, and Hart glaciers). Seawater was sampled to analyze biogeochemical components (macro- and micro-nutrients (e.g., iron), chlorophyll a, phytoplankton assemblages,
particulate organic matter). Zooplankton samples for microscopic analysis were also collected with a single-NORPAC net (mouth diameter 45 cm, mesh size 335 μm) through awater column of 100 m. Early results from the survey showed distribution of highly turbid
waters near the glacier termini at depths of 10 m and 50–100 m. High abundance of phytoplankton (as chlorophyll a) was observed in the highly turbid water layer at the depth of
10 m. In this contribution, we present an overview of the field activities in Inglefield Gulf,
and show details of results obtained by the campaign.

36Surge controls at Donjek Glacier, Yukon, Canada from1935 to present
Kochtitzky, Will1 , Hester Jiskoot2 , Ellyn Enderlin1 , Erin McConnell1 , Luke Copland3 , SethCampbell1 , Robert McNabb4 , Karl Kreutz1 , Christine Dow5 , Brittany Main3
1 University of Maine, Orono ME, United States
2 University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge AB, Canada
3 University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON, Canada
4 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
5 University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON, Canada

Keywords: Surging, remote sensing, GPR, ice core
Donjek Glacier has an unusually short and regular surge cycle, with eight surges identified since 1935 from aerial photographs and satellite imagery with a ∼12 year repeat
interval and ∼2 year active phase. The surge frequency, number of cloud free satellite
observations, elevation data and ice core records make Donjek Glacier an excellent location to examine underlying controls on surging. Recent surges occurred during a period of
long-term negative mass balance and cumulative terminus retreat of 2.5 km since 1874.
We find that a constriction where the valley narrows and bedrock lithology changes, 21 km
upstream of the terminus, represents the upper limit of surging, with negligible changes
in surface speed or elevation up-glacier from this location. This positions the entire surgetype portion of the glacier in the ablation zone. During the 2012–2014 surge, the average
lowering rate in the lowest 21 km of the glacier was 9.6 m a−1 , while during quiescence it
was 1.0 m a−1 . Although limited to one glacier, these observations suggest that surging
can profoundly alter the geodetic mass balance over the surge-type portion of the glacierbetween surge and quiescent phases.
To understand climate controls on surging, we analyzed three ice cores taken fromDonjek’s accumulation zone on Eclipse Icefield as well as ice-penetrating radar data. Using ice cores to reconstruct past accumulation since 1935, we find that Donjek Glacier
has a consistent cumulative accumulation of 15.5 m w.e. (standard deviation = 2.26 m)
before a surge event occurs. While this consistent cumulative accumulation could control
the remarkably consistent repeat surge interval, it could also be indicative of consistentannual average precipitation or another, unknown, process. Ice penetrating radar results
indicate a bedrock overdeepening near the glacier terminus and at the dynamic balanceline, which could impound subglacial water and influence surge dynamics.

Impact of tidewater glacier retreat on the fjord system:
present and future circulation in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard.
Kohler, Jack1 , Tomas Torsvik1 , Jon Albretsen2 , Arild Sundfjord1 , Pedro Duarte1 , Philipp
Assmy1 , Sebastien Deschamps1 , Alistair Everett1 , Katrin Lindbäck1 , Ankit Pramanik1,3 ,Anne Dagrun Sandvik2 , Jofrid Skarðhamar2 , Hallvar Strøm1
1 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
2 Institute for Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
3 National Centre for Polar and Oceanographic Research, Goa India

Tidewater glaciers in Svalbard are retreating, and will eventually terminate on land atsome time in the future. Plumes, the upwelling of subglacial freshwater runoff emerging at37

the bases of tidewater glacier fronts, contribute to large-scale circulation within the inner
fjord. Once a fjord only has land-terminating glaciers, fjord circulation will be affected,
with implications for the biogeochemistry and ecosystem. Here we assess the impact
on fjord circulation of the tidewater glaciers in Kongsfjorden in northwestern Spitsbergen. The future fjord bathymetry of the five tidewater glaciers in Kongsfjorden is basedon airborne and ground-based ice-penetrating radar profiles. Bed data for the tidewater glaciers Blomstrandbreen, Conwaybreen, Kongsbreen, Kronebreen, and Kongsvegenand are merged with bathymetric and land DEMs for non-glaciated areas. Three of theglaciers, Kongsbreen, Kronebreen, and Kongsvegen, have the potential to retreat by ∼10
km before becoming land-terminating.
We compare present and future circulation using the ocean model system ROMS, andidentify and quantify changes resulting from the altered forcing. Removal of subglacial
discharge due to retreating tidewater glaciers causes substantial reduction of subsurface
volume fluxes in the inner fjord, and results in enhanced stratification during summer. The
increase in fjord extent due to glacier retreat results in a slight increase in tidal velocities,
but this effect is not strong enough to compensate for the reduction in current velocities
due to the loss of the plumes. Freshwater content in the fjord during the melting season
is predicted to increase in the future, primarily due to enhanced retention of freshwater in
the inner parts of the fjord. However, freshwater in the future will mostly be confined toa relatively thin surface layer, whereas at present freshwater is found in a thicker layer,
particularly near the tidewater glacier fronts.

Fjord-shelf dynamics control Fe fluxes from the 79N
glacier
Krisch, Stephan1 , Mark Hopwood1 , Janin Schaffer2 , Pablo Lodeiro1 , Shao-Min Chen1 ,Torsten Kanzow2 , Eric P. Achterberg1
1 GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
2 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

Keywords: NE-Greenland, Trace Metals, Shelf-fjord dynamics
The North East Greenland Shelf (NEGS) is influenced by two marine-terminating glaciers:
Zacharias IsstrØm and Nioghalvfjerdsbrae (’79◦ N glacier’, 79NG). With an annual regional
freshwater discharge of ca. 200km3 , the entire shelf area is strongly influenced by GrIS
discharge, which drives seasonal changes in surface and sub-surface currents and nutrient inventories. Among the glacial catchments, the 79◦ N glacier is exceptional in its
extent. Its 60 km long floating ice-tongue covers most of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden and gives
rise to a ∼900m deep cavity under which warm waters of Atlantic origin circulates for 6-12
months before being released to the shelf as glacial modified water. It is now clear thatthe discharge rates are rising from 79NG due to increased warm Atlantic Water entering
the shelf’s trench system from the east, being directly guided underneath the floating
ice-tongue.
In August 2016, cruise PS100 proceeded to within 1 km of the ice-tongue and was able
to deploy instruments to investigate the physical and chemical properties of modified water immediately adjacent to the glacier - a zone which is usually impenetrable due toheavy ice cover. This new dataset therefore presents a unique opportunity to investigate
the role of meltwater in marine biogeochemistry. We investigated trace metal nutrient
inventories and show their export behaviour from the 79NG to the ocean by means of different size fractions: Soluble (< 0.02 μM), dissolved (< 0.2 μM) and total dissolvable TM(unfiltered/particulate). The non-conservative removal upon freshwater-seawater mixing

38

limits the vast majority of Fe advection to close proximities near the glacial terminus. Evidence suggests that solubilized far-field Fe export is limited by ligand availability. Whilst it
is widely hypothesized that colloidal Fe from glaciers is a large source of Fe to the ocean,here we demonstrate that most of this Fe is removed close to the glacial terminus, suggesting that glacier-to-ocean Fe budgets may have to be revised down dramatically. We
propose that Fe export is primarily a function of current patterns rather than a function of
freshwater properties.

Impact of glacially-derived Fe(III) on carbon mineralization pathways in Arctic fjord sediments
Laufer, Katja1 , Alexander B Michaud1 , Hans Røy1 , Bo Barker Jørgensen1
1 Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

Keywords: Svalbard, iron, sulfur, marine biogeochemistry
Runoff from glacial catchments is a significant source of Fe minerals to high-latitude
marine environments and an important source of iron, a limiting nutrient, to phytoplankton. Supply of Fe to fjord sediments depends on bedrock lithology and glacial comminution. Much of the Fe from glacial sources will end up in fjord sediments in close proximity
to the glaciers. Iron and sulfate reduction are the most significant carbon mineralization pathways in Arctic fjord sediments, but the balance between these two processes
is regulated by Fe(III) mineral reactivity. We hypothesize that glacial runoff supplies
microbially-reactive Fe(III) minerals to fjord sediments and allows iron-reducers to outcompete sulfate-reducers. We measured the reactivity of Fe(III) minerals from sediments
and glacial sources (meltwater plume, meltwater streams, icebergs) of three different
fjords at the west coast of Svalbard. Using sequential and time-course extractions wefound that Fe(III)-oxide reactivity increased with distance from the head of the fjords anddecreased with depth in the sediment within a station. Suspended Fe(III)-oxides fromglacial sources were less reactive compared to surficial sediments distal to the fjord head.
The gradient of Fe(III)-oxide reactivity mirrored the change of microbial activity from predominantly sulfate reduction near the head of the fjord to iron reduction at the mouth of
the fjord. We conclude that glacial catchments supply large quantities of Fe minerals tofjord sediments, but benthic recycling of Fe by microorganisms appears to be required totransform the glacially-derived Fe(III)-oxides to a reactive form in which the iron reducers can compete with sulfate reducers for common organic carbon substrates. Recyclingof reactive Fe(III)-oxides by iron reducing microorganisms may play role in liberating Fe
to the water column, predominantly at the mouth of the fjord, and might represent an
unquantified source of Fe to marine phytoplankton.

Acceleration prior to calving controlled by ice damage
Lefeuvre, Pierre-Marie1 , Christopher Nuth1 , Tom Rune Lauknes2 , Line Rouyet2 , Michał
Petlicki3 , Tazio Strozzi4
1 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
2 Norse, Tromsø, Norway
3 CECS-Centro de Estudios Cientificos, Valdivia, Chile
4 Gamma Remote Sensing, Switzerland

39

Keywords: Calving, damage, Svalbard
Ice loss by calving is a major contributor to recent sea level rise and a risk for local tourism. Mechanisms of individual calving events are poorly understood due to its
difficulty to measure and monitor, and therefore models are not well developed. High
resolution velocity measurements of the entire ice calving face (every 15 minutes) was
obtained from terrestrial radar interferometry during a two-week campaign in 2016 at Kronebreen, a polythermal glacier in North-West Svalbard. We show that horizontal velocity
at the calving front accelerates hours to days before ice-break off. The accelerations andcalving events are captured with high temporal time lapse imagery provides details about
the geometry and fall mechanism of the blocks. By monitoring the entire ice face, we captured spatial and temporal trends in calving over the two week period with over hundredsof events showing acceleration. It is likely that block rotation and fracture propagation
dictate this acceleration hours to days before calving occurs. Our findings support thedevelopment of high-resolution models to understand fracture propagation and physicalcalving laws for tidewater glaciers.

Geodetic mass balance evolution of surge-type glaciersin Svalbard and Yukon
Main, Brittany1 , Luke Copland1 , Jack Kohler2 , Christine Dow3 , Robert McNabb3 , Adrian
Luckman4 , William Kochtitzky5 , Christopher Borstad6 , Philip Porter7
1 University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON, Canada
2 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
3 University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON, Canada
4 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
5 Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
6 University of Maine, Orono ME, United States
7 Montana State University, Bozeman MT, United States
8 University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Keywords: Surge glaciers, remote sensing, glacier dynamics, mass balance
While limited to ∼1% of glaciers globally, surge-type glaciers dominate regions suchas Svalbard, the St. Elias Mountains, and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. While the exact mechanisms behind surging phenomena are not yet fully understood, it appears thatcumulative mass balance may have a role in surge event frequency and/or timing. To
infer cumulative mass balance during a surge cycle for Kongsvegen, we have derived repeat digital elevation models (DEMs) of the glacier surface from stereo satellite imagery,
Structure from Motion processing of air photos, and ground surveys. Differencing of these
DEMs illustrates how the geodetic mass balance of a glacier evolves during the quiescentphase, and provides insight into the build-up that occurs pre-surge. The geodetic massbalance patterns are combined with velocities determined from feature-tracking of opticalimagery to analyze how the glacier surface elevation and ice dynamics evolves throughout the quiescent surge phase. Results will be compared with a similar study of Donjek
Glacier, Yukon, which has surged approximately every 12 years since at least 1935, andwhich appears to show surge initiation at a point with a topographic constriction ∼21 km
upglacier from the terminus.

40

Daily freshwater and weekly ice fluxes into Greenland
fjordsMankoff, Kenneth D.1 , Andreas Ahlstrøm1 , Anne Solgaard1 , William Colgan1 , Sofia
Ribeiro1 , Xavier Fettweis2
1 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Laboratory of Climatology, Department of Geography, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium

Keywords: Fjord, Freshwater, Flux
Greenlandic fjords are where the ice/ocean boundary is often located, are productive
ecosystems, and help sustain local communities. Quantifying the ongoing changes inGreenlandic fjord water properties is important for cryospheric, oceanographic, ecosystem, and socio-economic domains. We introduce three data sets relating to freshwater fluxes into Greenlandic fjords: 1) land-based daily liquid runoff from precipitation,
ice, and snow melt model outputs covering 1980 through 2017, 2) ice-based daily liquid runoff from the same time period, and 3) solid-ice discharge from 1990 to to 2018,with weekly outputs in 2016 and 2017. Land catchments are defined using the new GIMP
DEM, and subglacial catchments using GIMP plus BedMachine v3 subglacial topography.
Liquid runoff comes from the MAR model. Solid ice discharge comes from MEaSUREs andSentinel-1 6-day velocity products and ice thickness from BedMachine and GIMP.

The impact of melting glaciers on coastal productivity
Meire, Lorenz1,2
1 Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland
2 NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Keywords: Arctic Ecosystems, melting glaciers
The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting at an unprecedented rate, and as a result, fjords
and continental shelves around Greenland are exposed to an increasing freshwater runoff.
Yet the impact of high meltwater input on the biogeochemistry remains largely unquantified. To resolve the effect on Greenland’s fjord, sampling was conducted in several fjords
impacted by melting glaciers in Greenland and physical, chemical and biological gradients were studied from close to the glaciers towards the open sea. Hydrographic andbiogeochemical data from several fjord systems adjacent to the Greenland ice sheet, suggest that marine ecosystem productivity is very differently regulated in fjords influenced
by either land-terminating or marine-terminating glaciers. Rising subsurface meltwaterplumes originating from marine-terminating glaciers entrain large volumes of ambient
deep water to the surface. The resulting upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water sustains ahigh phytoplankton productivity throughout summer in the fjord with marine-terminating
glaciers. In contrast, fjords with only land-terminating glaciers lack this upwelling mechanism, and are characterized by lower productivity. These results suggest that a switchfrom marine-terminating to land-terminating glaciers can substantially alter the productivity in the coastal zone around Greenland with potentially large ecological and socioeconomic implications.

41

Elevation and mass changes of glaciers and ice caps in
Svalbard, Norwegian High Arctic
Morris, Ashley R.1 , Geir Moholdt1 , Laurence Gray2
1 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
2 University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON, Canada

Keywords: Svalbard CryoSat-2 Altimetry
The Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard lies at the confluence of cold, dry air
masses from the sea ice covered Arctic Ocean to the north, and warm, humid air masses
from the Atlantic. The fjords of the west coast are kept relatively ice-free by the influenceof the northern extremity of the warm North Atlantic Current. This climatic setting resultsin strong gradients in precipitation and temperature, and results in an ice cover that varies
from cirques, valley glaciers and icefields on the mountainous island of Spitsbergen, tolarge ice caps on the eastern islands. The mass balance of Svalbard glaciers is highly
sensitive to heat transport from the south and sea ice conditions to the north and east. We
use swath processing of CryoSat-2 radar altimetry to map glacier elevation change acrossSvalbard. We briefly detail results of calibration/validation activities conducted on theAustfonna ice cap, comment on our modifications to conventional processing strategies,
and discuss the extrapolation to unsurveyed areas. We calculate a mass loss of around
16 Gt/yr for the period 2011 to 2017. This represents a considerable increase compared
to a previous assessment using ICESat-1 laser altimetry. We show that whilst the total
mass imbalance has increased, the general pattern of elevation change has persisted.
The greatest rates of thinning are found in the south and west of Spitsbergen. To thenortheast, the interior of the Austfonna ice cap, and Lomonosovfonna and Åsgardfonna
icefields are thickening slightly, whilst the margins are thinning. The surface mass balancedriven changes are superimposed on elevation changes driven by glacier dynamics, thisincludes known surges and thinning related to the retreat of marine-terminating margins.

Dynamic discharge and mass balance of the Academyof Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Arctic
Sanchez-Gomez, Pablo 1 , Francisco Navarro1 , Toby J. Benham2 , Andrey F. Glazovsky3 ,Robin P. Bassford4 , Julian A. Dowdeswell2
1 Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
2 Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
3 Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
4 Hardenhuish Schoo, Chippenham, United Kingdom

Keywords: Calving, mass balance, glacier velocity, temporal variability
We analyse, using feature tracking, 54 pairs of Sentinel-1 synthetic-aperture radar(SAR) images of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Arctic,
from the period November 2016-November 2017. Seasonal velocity variations up to 20%(peak-to-peak) of the yearly-averaged velocity are observed. Shorter-term intra-annual
velocity variations have average deviations up to 32% and maximum up to 64% (peak-topeak). This illustrates the magnitude of the errors that could be incurred when extrapolating to the whole year discharge values determined from a single pair of SAR images. Average ice discharge for 2016-2017 was 1.93±0.12 Gt/yr. We attribute the difference froman estimate of 1.4 Gt/yr for 2003-2009 to the initiation of ice stream flow in a southern42basin. The total geodetic mass balance for the ice cap over 2012-2016 was -1.72±0.67
Gt/yr (-0.31±0.12 m w.e./yr). The climatic mass balance is not significantly different fromzero, at 0.21±0.68 Gt/yr (0.04±0.12 m w.e./yr), and has remained at this level for thelast four decades Therefore, the total mass balance is governed by the variations in ice
discharge, whose long-term changes do not appear to respond to environmental changes
but to intrinsic characteristics of the ice cap.

Utilization of satellite-derived surface snow physical properties to improve the performance of the SMAP physical snowpack model
Niwano, Masashi1 , Jason E. Box2
1 Meteorological Research Institute, Japan Meteorological Agency, Japan
2 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark

Keywords: Greenland, surface mass balance, regional climate model, MODIS albedo
The Greenland ice sheet has had a significant loss of ice mass since the early 1990s.
The accelerating mass loss can be partly attributed to the recent rapid reduction in thesurface mass balance (SMB) of the ice sheet. To understand governing physical processesof the changes in the ice sheet SMB, Niwano et al (2018) developed a spatially and temporally high-resolution non-hydrostatic atmospheric model (NHM) coupled with a detailed
physical snowpack model called SMAP. According to verification work conducted on theice sheet during 2011-2014, NHM-SMAP overestimated SMB especially in the lower ablation area. Niwano et al (2018) pointed out that one possible cause of the bias was model
overestimation of bare ice albedo. The albedo overestimation is the result of the snow/ice
part of NHM-SMAP, which does not consider the effects of background light-absorbing impurities such as black carbon, dust, and microbes at all. In the present study, we utilize
MODIS snow/ice albedo data after Box et al (2017), and try to constrain the SMAP model
calculations, and investigate whether the model can reproduce a more realistic SMB. Thisapproach will allow us to consider the effects of such light-absorbing impurities implicitly.
As a first step of this study, we use the PROMICE automated weather station data in the
Q-Transect area of the southern ice sheet (Hermann et al., 2018).
References:
Box, J. E., et al (2017), Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin, 38, 53-56.
Hermann, M., et al (2018), Journal of Geophysical Research:Earth Surface, 123, 1235–
1256. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JF004408.
Niwano, M., et al (2018), The Cryosphere, 12, 635-655, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-6352018.

Closing the mass budget of a tidewater glacier: the example of Kronebreen, Svalbard
Cesar Deschamps-Berger1 , Nuth, Christopher2 , Ward van Pelt3 , Etienne Berthier4 , Jack
Kohler5 , Bas Altena2
1 LEGOS and CESBIO, University of Toulouse, France
2 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
3 Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

43

4 LEGOS, University of Toulouse, France
5 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway

Keywords: Mass Balance, Tidewater glacier, geodetic mass balance, dynamic ice flux
In this study we combine remote sensing, in-situ and model-derived datasets from1966 to 2014 to calculate the mass balance components of Kronebreen, a fast-flowing
tidewater glacier in Svalbard. For the well-surveyed period 2009-14, we are able to close
the glacier mass budget within the prescribed errors. During these five years, the glaciergeodetic mass balance was -0.169 ±0.12 m w.e. a−1 , while the mass budget method led
to a total mass balance of -0.192 ±0.16 m w.e. a−1 , as a consequence of a strong frontal
ablation (-0.178 ±0.11 m w.e. a−1 ), and a slightly negative climatic mass balance (-0.114±0.11 m w.e. a−1 ). The trend toward more negative climatic mass balance between 19661990 (+0.20 ±0.05 m w.e. a−1 ) and 2009-14 is not reflected in the geodetic mass balance
trend. Therefore, we suspect a reduction in ice-discharge in the most recent period.
Yet, these multidecadal changes in ice-discharge cannot be measured from the available
observations and thus are only estimated with relatively large errors as a residual of themass continuity equation. Our study presents the multidecadal evolution of the dynamics
and mass balance of a tidewater glacier and illustrates the errors introduced by inferring
one unmeasured mass balance component from the others.

Climatic mass balance and associated freshwater runoff
in Kongsfjord basin, northwest Svalbard
Pramanik, Ankit1 , Jack Kohler2 , Ward Van Pelt3 , Thomas V. Schuler4
1 National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa, India
2 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
3 Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
4 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Keywords: Energy balance, Seasonal snow, Runoff, Glacier modeling
In recent warming climate glaciers and ice caps are the major contributors to sea levelrise. They are very susceptible to changing climate, therefore, investigating long-term
evolution of mass balance and runoff of glaciers is essential. On a regional scale, runoff
from tidewater glaciers modulates ocean circulation and affects biological activities. Arctic region is experiencing greater warming than rest of the world. In northwest Svalbard,
Kongsfjord basin is a hotspot for interdisciplinary studies, many of which addressing thesignificance of freshwater from glaciers and seasonal snow.
We use a coupled energy balance-subsurface snow/firn model to simulate long-term(1980-2016) evolution of mass balance and runoff from entire glacierized area of Kongsfjord basin. A subsurface soil model is used to simulate seasonal snow development at
the non-glacierized area. Meteorological data from the nearby station at Ny-Ålesund isused for climate forcing in the model domain, with mass balance data at four glaciers in
the Kongsfjord watershed used to calibrate model parameters. Precipitation forcing in themodel comes from downscaled ERA-Interim precipitation data. We find an area-averaged
climatic mass balance of +0.23 m w.e. a−1 for the entire glacierized area over the simulation period, with a substantial spatial variability in mass balance between south, eastand north regions of the fjord. We find a non-significant, yet negative trend for massbalance of entire glacierized area as well as for three subregions (south, east and north)for the period 1980-2016. Refreezing equals 0.24 m w.e. a−1 , which is equivalent to 17%of the total mass gain from precipitation and moisture deposition. Total runoff comprises
contributions from seasonal snow in the non-glacierized area (16%) and glacier discharge

44(84%). Runoff time series of the entire basin shows a significant and increasing trend(6.83x106 m3 a−1 ) over the simulation period.

Climate, and Surface energy and mass balance of Ulvebreen, Svalbard
Reijmer, Carleen1 , P. Kuipers Munneke1 , S. Ligtenberg1 , W.J. van de Berg1 , M.R. van den
Broeke 1
1 Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Keywords: Weather station, Svalbard, climate
In August 2015 an automatic weather station (AWS) was placed on Ulvebreen, Svalbard as part of the Netherlands Scientific Expedition Edgeøya Spitsbergen (SEES.nl). Ulvebreen is a glacier on the Central East coast of Spitsbergen. The station measures air
temperature, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, air pressure, and short and longwave incoming and outgoing radiation. In addition, the station is equipped with a sonicheight ranger in combination with a draw wire to measure snow accumulation and ice
melt, respectively, and a GPS to monitor glacier velocity.
The AWS is located at ∼135 m a.s.l., about 2 km from the glacier front. At the AWS
site the average annual temperature is ∼-3.8◦ C, which is ∼2.5◦ C lower than measured
at Svalbard airport, Longyearbyen, and can be explained by the elevation difference in
combination with the location of the AWS on the eastern side of Spitsbergen where theinfluence of the North Atlantic drift is smaller and the amount of sea ice in winter larger.
Annual mean wind speed is ∼4.8 ms-1 and is predominantly from the North or South West.
The South west flow coincides with the downslope direction of Buckfallet, a tributary ofUlvenbreen. The Northern flow is likely more influenced by the large scale circulation
since a katabatic flow from Ulvebreen is expected to be more from the North west. The
site is in the ablation area and experiences about 1.5 to 2 m snow fall in winter and 1.6
to 1.8 m ice melt in summer.
The AWS observations can be used to calculate the individual surface energy fluxes
using a surface energy balance model. First results show that from all energy fluxes, net
radiation contributes most to melt, which is not unexpected given the low surface albedo
of the ice (∼0.3).

Marine ecosystem responses to climate change in Greenland - a view from below
Ribeiro, Sofia1
1 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark

Keywords: Sediment proxies, Greenland fjords, primary productivity
Greenland fjords, modulated by ice-ocean interactions, are among the most productive ecosystems in the Arctic, and have sustained the livelihood of local communities inGreenland for millennia. Marine primary producers in the Arctic are both light and nutrient limited, and although recent climate change has generally triggered productivity
due to a positive effect on light availability, the long-term response of primary producers

45

Photo of the Automatic weather station on Ulvebreen in August 2015. (Photo: H. van Leur)in fjord systems influenced by glacier discharge is not straightforward, as it results fromthe interplay of e.g. turbidity, water column stability, and nutrient availability. In order tointerpret recent changes, it is crucial to assess fjord productivity over multi-annual to centennial time scales encompassing natural variability. Marine sediment records, including
sediment trap records, are valuable archives of environmental change. Key parameterssuch as sea-surface temperature, salinity, sea ice extent, and productivity can be reconstructed using a network of geochemical, sedimentological and micropaleontologicalproxies. Moreover, the main phytoplankton groups (diatoms and dinoflagellates) have arich sediment record, from which changes in diversity and community structure can beinferred.
I will give an overview of our previous and ongoing work with the overarching goal of"unlocking" archives of long-term ecosystem responses (focusing on primary producers,from the population to the community level) based on sediment archives. I will introduce
our approach to reconstruct and project long-term changes in primary productivity fortwo contrasting fjord systems impacted by Greenland Ice Sheet melt bridging satellite,
historical and paleo-records, and results from a detailed study on diatom inter-annual
variability based on sediment traps.

Depth profiling of the particle size distribution in glacial
meltwater using laser diffractometry in the Svalbard
archipelago
Sandven, Håkon1 , Arne Kristoffersen1 , Yi-Chun Chen1 , Børge Hamre1
1 Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Keywords: Laser diffraction, sediment transport, ocean optics
We present results from optical measurements done in fjords with significant glacial
meltwater in the Svalbard archipelago, measured during the INTAROS 2018 cruise. Laser46diffractometry is a technique for in-situ measurements of the particle size distribution(PSD), which is an important quantity for observation of sediment transport. The angular
distribution of light scattered in the forward direction is strongly dependent on the size ofthe scattering particles. This is utilized in laser diffractometry, where an inversion method
is used to calculate the PSD from forward scattering measurements. Vertical profilingusing the submersible instrument LISST-200X (Sequoia Scientific Inc.) gives a high spatial
resolution and is non-invasive such that fragile flocs of particles may be investigated. The
instrument obtains the PSD for equivalent spherical diameter 1-500 micrometers in 36
size bins. Data collection was done by lowering the instruments down to a depth of 50
meters.
One section with three measurement stations using the LISST-200X and a CastAway
CTD (Xylem Inc.) was done in Rijpfjorden, at different distances to the terminus of the
tidewater glacier Rijpbreen. The results show significant spatial variations. A distinct
surface layer with high particle concentration and low salinity can be seen. The particle
concentration decreases rapidly for all sizes with distance from the terminus. In addition,
distinct peaks in the PSD can be seen deeper in the water column, in particular in the outerfjord. This may be an indication of phytoplankton presence. There are still uncertainties
connected to laser diffractometry, especially connected to particle shape and refractive
index, which will be subject of further research connected to both phytoplankton andinorganic particulate matter.

Projecting Svalbard glacier mass balance for future climate
Schuler, Thomas V.1 , Andreas Dobler2 , Julia Lutz2
1 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
2 Norwegian Meteorological Office, Oslo, Norway

Keywords: Glacier mass balance, Svalbard, projection
In this presentation, we review available meteorologically-driven simulations of climatic glacier mass balance for entire Svalbard, compare the results and discuss theirpotential use for a wider community. The complete spatial coverage of the climatic massbalance fields allows regional differentiation showing a pronounced gradient of mass balances across the archipelago, from slightly positive values in the Northeast towards morenegative values in the Southwest.
We outline requirements for further improving glacier mass balance assessments, especially the need for tailored field measurements to evaluate simulated features that are
not captured by conventional monitoring programs. Furthermore, to quantify the total
glacier mass loss and hence, the contribution to sea-level rise, the climatic mass balancemust be completed with frequently updated assessments of ice discharge.
Based on dynamic downscaling of projected climate evolution (MPI-ESM-LR, RCP 8.5)
for two time slices (1970-2000 and 2070-2100) using the regional climate model COSMOCLM, we simulate changes of the mass balance. A preliminary analysis comparing the twotime slices reveals that for the assumed climate projection, the equilibrium line altitude
rises in average by 550m, accompanied by a 6-fold intensified mass loss. These dramatic
findings are derived from a so-called reference mass balance, assuming no changes inglacierized area and surface elevation. This assumption may compromise the resultsin either direction and the dilemma cannot be resolved with specific consideration of
glacier geometry changes. Nevertheless, we stress that the simulated mass balance
represents only the climatic mass balance and neglects the ice discharge component,
currently accounting for about 50% of the mass loss from Svalbard.

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Hypersaline subglacial lakes beneath the Devon Ice Cap
Sharp, Martin1 , Anja Ruitishauser1
1 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB, Canada

Recent (2014 and 2018) airborne radar surveys of the Devon Ice Cap reveal the presence of 3 water bodies beneath the central region of the ice cap (west of the main N/Sice divide and either side of the main east-west divide. These lakes were identified on
the basis unusually high bed reflectivity values which indicate areas of high dielectric
contrast at the glacier bed, typical of an ice-water interface, and they appear to occupy
troughs in the underlying bedrock that are areas of locally low hydraulic head. Overlying
ice thicknesses are on the order of 250-400m. Thermal modeling suggests temperaturesin the range -14 to -18 deg C at the glacier bed in the surrounding area, consistent with insitu measurements made in 1978 which reveal a basal temperature of -18.5 deg C. Water
could only exist at some temperatures if it were highly saline. Geological projection fromareas around the ice cap suggests that the Ordovician Bay Fiord Fm may outcrop at theice cap bed in the area around the lakes. This formation is known to contain a bedded
salt sequence that could be the source of the salinity. Given the modeled basal temperatures, a salinity of 140-160 psu would be required for liquid water to be present. These
values are not too dissimilar from those of saline groundwater beneath Taylor Glacier in
Antarctica, and in permanently ice-covered Lake Vida in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Since
there is no evidence for surface water inputs to the lake, it seems probable that basal
melting, resulting from contact between the bedrock-derived salt and the ice is the most
likely source of the water in the lake. This might suggest the existence of a hypersaline"swamp" in the area around the lakes, through which water would drain to the lakes. Hydrologic reconstructions based upon the mapped subglacial hydraulic potential field help
to define likely drainage catchments and outflow pathways for each lake. An extraterrestrial analogue for the Devon subglacial lakes may exist beneath the South Polar Ice Cap
on Mars.

Glacier change, ice-ocean interaction, and their impacts
on human society in Qaanaaq, northwestern Greenland
Sugiyama, Shin1
1 Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Keywords: Greenland, ice-ocean interaction, human society
Under the framework of Japanese interdisciplinary Arctic research projects GRENE(Green Network of Excellence) and ArCS (Arctic Challenge for Sustainability), we havebeen studying changes in glaciers, the ocean and climate in the Qaanaaq region, northwestern Greenland. Our study shows rapid changes in glaciers and ice caps, which aretightly connected to the ocean and coastal environments. One example is an influence ofglacier meltwater on ocean environments. Subglacial discharge from tidewater glaciers
drives nutrient transport in glacial fjords, and thus changes in the discharge should give
an impact on marine ecosystem in the fjord. Further, glacier changes pose a possible impact on human society in the region. For example, a road connecting Qaanaaq Village andAirport was destroyed in July 2015 and August 2016, which were due to floods of meltwater streams from Qaanaaq Ice Cap. Possibly, flood occurs more frequently in recent years
because of increasing amount of ice cap meltwater as well as growing number of heavy
rain events. In this contribution, we present the overview of our recent research activities
in the Qaanaaq region, northwestern Greenland. We show the results of observations at

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glaciers and the ocean to discuss the importance of ice-ocean interactions and impactsof glacier changes on coastal environments. We also introduce our activity to investigate
the connection of cryospheric environmental changes and human society in Qaanaaq.

2020 Expedition to for Interactions between Ocean Forcing with the Marine Ecological Response at Arctic Glacier
Termini
Trenholm, Nicole1 , Josh Willis2 , Whitman Miller3
1 Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore MD,
United States
2 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, USA
3 Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Keywords: Glacier-ocean interaction, biogeochemical processes, hydrography
Recent studies have vastly improved characterizing the hydrographic environment
around the Greenland Ice Sheet. Greater resolution of coastal bathymetry reveal theocean troughs connecting Greenland’s fastest melting glacial fjords with Baffin Bay. Currents of Atlantic origin bring warm water north, then up through the troughs and underdozens of ocean-terminating glaciers (OTG). The often record-breaking Arctic mid-summer
atmosphere temperature maximum propels glacial mass ice loss, thus increasing the opportunity for favorable plankton bloom conditions at OTG. Within fjords opposing forces
meet. Inbound ocean currents contact OTG discharge which forms an upwell plume.
Meanwhile, regional subsistence fishermen take advantage of the nutrient-rich glacial
fjords during a longer navigable water season. With Arctic warming projections expectedto accelerate, now is an opportune time to relate the natural physical drivers with thecurrent ecological response at the glacier and ocean interface.
In my research, I use recent interannual hydrographic data of OTG fjords of Canada
and Greenland to depict the physical ocean backdrop during observed plankton bloom
events. This backdrop aides in my design of the data acquisition strategy for a midsummer survey at select repeat sites for physical and optical ocean measurements andoptical aerial drove survey from the schooner, R/V Marie Tharp in 2020. Post-cruise assessment of in situ data with satellite remote sensed ocean color and glacial mÃl’lange
plume characteristics will identify uncertainty in satellite-derived algorithms. My presentation will display reconnaissance data considerations towards a strategy for examining
the polar marine ecosystem at the dynamic glacier and ocean junction.

Monitoring and modeling a recurrent calving event at
Bowdoin Glacier, Greenland
van Dongen, Eef1 , Andrea Walter1,2 , Guillaume Jouvet1 , Daniel Farinotti1,3
1 VAW - ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
2 Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
3 WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

Keywords: Calving, Greenland, observations, modeling49

Calving mechanisms are still poorly understood. The size and the frequency of calving
events may vary by several orders of magnitude, making the development of an universal
calving model challenging. At Bowdoin Glacier, Northwest Greenland, most of the yearlymass loss by calving is due to a few large events. Here, we analyse two major calving
events in detail, which occurred nearly at the same location and followed a strikingly
similar fracturing pattern. Our analysis relies on data obtained by interferometric radarand UAV photogrammetry during two summer fieldwork campaigns in July 2015 and July
2017. The crevasses likely deepened by hydro-fracturing, since a supraglacial river supplied them with water. Besides that, our high temporal and spatial resolution data reveals
the influence of tides on the opening of the crack.
Here, we used the ice flow model Elmer/Ice to analyse the observations further. Modeling crevasse opening required the development of a dedicated remeshing routine forthe crevasse. We use Elmer/Ice as a diagnostic, inverse model to identify key drivers of
the crevasse opening and to determine possible combinations of water level inside thecrevasse and crevasse depth that prevailed prior to the calving event. As a result, we findthat the water level acts as a first-order control on crevasse opening rates.

A multidecadal simulation of climatic mass balance, snow
conditions and runoff across Svalbard
Van Pelt, Ward1 , Jack Kohler2 , Veijo Pohjola1 , Rickard Pettersson1 , Sergey Marchenko1 ,Bartek Luks3 , Jon Ove Hagen4 , Carleen Reijmer5
1 Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
2 Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
3 Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
4 Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
5 Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Keywords: Glaciers, mass balance, runoff
The climate in Svalbard is undergoing amplified change compared to the global mean.
This has major implications for discharge from glaciers and seasonal snow. We use acoupled energy balance – snow/firn model (EBFM) to simultaneously model the climatic
mass balance of glaciers, as well as the seasonal snow pack development across theentire Svalbard archipelago.
The simulation with a 1-km spatial and 3-hourly temporal resolution covers the period
1957-2018, with meteorological input provided by downscaled HIRLAM regional climate
model fields. Observational data including stake measurements, automatic weather station data and subsurface data across Svalbard are used for model calibration and validation. Based on the output, we discuss the long-term development and spatial patterns ofclimatic mass balance and seasonal snow characteristics across Svalbard. Additionally,
we quantify runoff from both glacier- and land-covered areas, and discuss spatial patterns
and trends in relative contributions. Altogether, the output of the simulation provides adataset that may be of use in a wide range of applications ranging from runoff modeling,
to ground ice studies to ecosystem studies.

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Water discharge changes of the rivers with glacier feeding due to climatic fluctuations in Arctic region
Volkova, Daria1 , Rasputina Valeria1 , Kovalenko Alla1 , Saleeva Daria1
1 Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Keywords: Glaciers, climate changes, water discharge, melting
In many mountainous territories, glaciation area is reducing. There is a high probability
that this reduction has connection with climate changes. Therefore, glaciers in different
parts of the world are studied; data on the current state and dynamics of glaciers arebeing collected and analyzed. The changes in the water discharge of rivers with glacial
headwater directly related to the fluctuations in the size of the glaciation.
The aim of the research is to identify the relationship between climatic fluctuations,changes of the glaciers area and the water discharge of rivers with glacial headwater. The
following tasks were performed for achieving this aim:
• Search and analysis of meteorological information;• Analysis of changes in the area of glaciers using satellite images;• Analysis of the water discharge of rivers with glacial headwater.
Athabasca glaciers (Canada) and Jostedalsbreen (Norway) were chosen for the research, because they are well known tourists attractions. As a result of the study, it was
revealed that climate change affects the studied glaciers, the area of glaciers is reduced.
This affects the formation of the water discharge of rivers with glacial headwater.For the
air temperature of the studied areas, no significant trends were identified, only an upward
tendency.
Due to processing satellite images, glacier areas were calculated for 1984 and 20162017 during ablation periods (July - September). The results showed that the area of
all glaciers (Athabasca, Justodalsbreen) decreased by 61% and 15%, respectively, whichcaused the increase in runoff during periods of maximum ablation (July), as well as anincrease in average annual runoff during the entire period after 1980.

Analysing calving activity using continuous direct observations
Walter, Andrea1,2 , Martin P. Lüthi1 , Andreas Vieli1
1 Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
2 VAW-ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Keywords: Calving events, direct observations
Recently, many marine-terminating glaciers of the Greenland ice sheet revealed rapid
retreat, thinning and flow acceleration. These glaciers lose about half of their mass bycalving, a process which can change on short timescales. Despite their importance for
global sea level rise, major limitations in understanding the dynamics of these glaciersremain. To overcome such limitations, especially detailed observational data is needed.
We observed an outlet glacier in West-Greenland during an eight-day field campaign
in 2018 by using a terrestrial radar interferometer, pressure sensors and a time-lapse

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camera. A combination of these technologies provides us with displacement and topographical data with a spatial resolution of 5 meters in one minute intervals, water heightdata with a temporal resolution of 2 seconds and images of the glacier front every 10
seconds. This continuous very detailed dataset enables us to get new insights of thecalving process. We use these data to establish detailed calving event statistics which
are compared to environmental forcing like tides or weather conditions. By identifying
source areas and ice volumes of individual calving events we quantitatively investigate
the relationship between calving front geometry, calving rate and potential drivers. Additionally, the comparison between the individual datasets allows us to link the shape oftsunami wave oscillations to different calving types and event volumes. Therefore, we
can extend the individual calving event statistics from short timescale to long timescale
over 5 years.

Response of Norwegian plateau icefields to climate warming since the Little Ice AgeWeber, Paul1 , Liss M. Andreassen2 , Clare M. Boston1 , Harold Lovell1
1 University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
2 Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway

Keywords: Glacier change, Norway, Little Ice Age, Plateau icefields
A significant portion of Norwegian glaciers are plateau icefields. These are highly
sensitive to changes in climate because of their top-heavy hypsometry. A small rise in
the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) may cause the ablation area to expand significantly,
leading to rapid icefield recession. This behaviour deserves particular research attention
in light of the current warming of the Earth’s climate system. In this study, we assess
the response of the icefields Hardangerjøkulen in southern Norway, Svartisen just above
the Arctic Circle, and Langfjordjøkelen in northernmost Arctic Norway to climate warming
since the Little Ice Age (LIA). These ice masses have been in retreat since they reachedtheir maximum LIA positions between ∼AD 1750-1925. We use the glacial landform recordof these icefields to reconstruct their maximum LIA extent. In addition, we use historicalmaps to reconstruct their ∼AD 1900 extent. These data sets are compared with datafrom the latest Norwegian glacier inventory (∼AD 2000), revealing substantial changes in
icefield size. The greatest area loss occurred at Langfjordjøkelen in Arctic Norway, withan area reduction of ∼50 %. Hardangerjøkulen in southern Norway had lost ∼34 % of its
original LIA area by ∼AD 2000, and Svartisen in northern Norway had lost between ∼20
and ∼30 % of its LIA area. Our study demonstrates how the LIA glacier extent can be
employed as a valuable baseline to assess long-term glacier change.

The need for water vapor fluxes in long-term modelingof the Greenland ice sheet
Zolles, Tobias1,2 , Andreas Born2
1 Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
2 Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway

Keywords: Energy balance, Greenland Ice Sheet, modeling, sensitivity

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The surface mass balance is one of the main drivers for the recent mass loss of theGreenland ice sheet (GrIS). Present day short-term mass and energy balance models arehelpful tools in the understanding of the GrIS. For longer timescales into the past andfuture of the Greenland ice sheet it is desirable to also use mass and energy balance
models rather than positive degree day approaches, but computational costs are often
limiting. We present the Bergen Snow SImulator (BESSI), an efficient mass and energybalance firn model designed for such long-term simulations of the Greenland ice sheet. It
allows for a simulation of the daily energy and mass fluxes based on four climatologicalinput components.
The parametrizations present in such models are often calibrated using present-day
observations. However, the general invariance of the parameterized process cannot beassumed, which is why we present a sensitivity study of our model for different time
periods.
The study simulates the mass and energy balance for 500 years of present day (PD)climate as well as for the last glacial maximum (LGM). While the sensitivity qualitatively
stays the same, distinct differences arise mainly from the change in climate. The massbalance in the present day climate is by far the most sensitive to the parametrization of
the incoming long-wave radiation, while in the LGM the latent heat fluxes are of equal
importance due to the cold and dry temperature and the scarcity of precipitation. We
conclude that under different climatological settings, the individual components of theenergy balance undergo a drastic variation. For the intended long-term studies of theGreenland ice sheet it is a necessity to include water vapor fluxes for an appropriate
simulation of the surface mass balance. The simple parametrization of the long-wave
radiation lead to large uncertainty.

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