Svalbard: the ice frontier

Svalbard: the ice frontier

An aerial expedition for monitoring marine mammals conducted by the Norwegian Polar Institute covered 12.000 km over Svalbard, the most extensive ever done in the archipelago. A series of aerial images captured during the process shows an underlying process affecting glaciers.

Svalbard has experienced the greatest decline in seasonal duration of sea ice cover in the Arctic. Most glaciers in the area are in a state of negative mass balance, highly contributing to the global sea-level rise. Furthermore, glacier fronts have become a refuge for ice-related species in this sea ice decline scenario, and its loss is of great concern for the survival of arctic biota.

Central Svalbard as seen from a plane during a survey work conducted by Norwegian Polar Institute in August.Svalbard archipelago lies at the boundary of the Atlantic and Arctic ocean and air masses, and it is mostly covered by glaciers and ice sheet… — Central Svalbard as seen from a plane during a survey work conducted by Norwegian Polar Institute in August.
Svalbard archipelago lies at the boundary of the Atlantic and Arctic ocean and air masses, and it is mostly covered by glaciers and ice sheets. Since the 2000s, the Atlantic influence has increased in the region, leading to changes in the climate that have led to a stark decline of sea ice and fast shrink of glaciers.

Large glaciers flow among some of the youngest mountain ranges of the archipelago in northwestern Svalbard.During the 20th century, it was believed that the dynamic cycles of glaciers responded only to internal processes and were not driven by exter… — Large glaciers flow among some of the youngest mountain ranges of the archipelago in northwestern Svalbard.
During the 20th century, it was believed that the dynamic cycles of glaciers responded only to internal processes and were not driven by external factors. Today scientists estimate that between 1991 and 2010, almost 70% of the glacier mass loss resulted from the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Mass loss of glaciers in the 21st century is largely controlled by the response of glaciers to the climate of the 20th century.

A bulge of ice builds up in a tidewater glacier front in eastern Svalbard.Glaciers undergo cycles switching between periodic phases of slow flow, when the ice mass accumulates in an upper reservoir for decades (quiescent), to active surge phases, wh… — A bulge of ice builds up in a tidewater glacier front in eastern Svalbard.
Glaciers undergo cycles switching between periodic phases of slow flow, when the ice mass accumulates in an upper reservoir for decades (quiescent), to active surge phases, when the speed increases by 10-1.000 times transferring ice rapidly down glacier, lasting for few years. Although only 1% of the world’s glaciers are considered to be of surge-type, Svalbard has one of the densest populations of such glaciers.

A moraine is fractured by crevasses, cracks in the ice body that can reach down to the bottom of the glacier.Scientists have recently identified an hydrothermodynamic feedback that turns stagnant ice previously frozen to the bottom into increasing m… — A moraine is fractured by crevasses, cracks in the ice body that can reach down to the bottom of the glacier.
Scientists have recently identified an hydrothermodynamic feedback that turns stagnant ice previously frozen to the bottom into increasing movable areas of ice. One of the key processes in the feedback is crevassing. Crevasses can induce positive feedback (self-reinforcing) by increasing the surface melt-water and the sediments input to the glacier bed.

A heavily crevassed glacier front filled in with melt-water lakes in Nortdaustlandet, northeast Svalbard.A key process in the self-reinforcing feedback that drives glaciers to instability is the increase of meltwater supply, that may accelerate the … — A heavily crevassed glacier front filled in with melt-water lakes in Nortdaustlandet, northeast Svalbard.
A key process in the self-reinforcing feedback that drives glaciers to instability is the increase of meltwater supply, that may accelerate the ice flow by basal lubrication and sediment deformation. Meltwater also releases latent heat during refreezing every season and direct heat transfer between water and ice. This can ultimately change englacial temperatures within years.

Negribreen, a surging tidewater glacier, is one of the largest in Svalbard.Negribreen had been quiescent since the 1930s. After an initial collapse in the summer of 2016, a rapid acceleration manifested in heavy crevassing. Satellite analysis demons… — Negribreen, a surging tidewater glacier, is one of the largest in Svalbard.
Negribreen had been quiescent since the 1930s. After an initial collapse in the summer of 2016, a rapid acceleration manifested in heavy crevassing. Satellite analysis demonstrated that some parts of the glacier accelerated to 25 m/day in 2017, making it the fastest glacier in Svalbard. The mass loss from Negribreen surge in few months of 2017 accounted for the 0.5-1% of the global annual sea-level rise.

Austfonna, in northeast Svalbard, is the largest ice cap in the Eurasian Arctic, with 78.000 km2.
Destabilization of the marine front led to a surge of an outlet glacier of Austfonna in autumn 2012. The mass loss accounted for 7.2 Gt/a, equivalent to the annual ice mass loss from the whole Svalbard archipelago between 2003-2008. The study that followed this event was one of the first in demonstrating that a strong surface melt leads to an ice flow acceleration and enhanced ice discharge.

The cliffs of Bråsvellbreen (Austfonna) rise along for more than 180 km straight, making it the longest glacier front in the northern hemisphere.The study of events like the recent surges in Austfonna and Negribreen has arisen concern about the role… — The cliffs of Bråsvellbreen (Austfonna) rise along for more than 180 km straight, making it the longest glacier front in the northern hemisphere.
The study of events like the recent surges in Austfonna and Negribreen has arisen concern about the role that glaciers dynamics play in the annual sea-level rise. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that the Arctic glaciers accounted for 1/3 of the sea-level change in 2018. However, these effects are not quantified in global projections of future sea-level rise.