Changes in the glacier cover of Severnaya Zemlya in the twentieth century<sup>1</sup>

Govorukha, L. S.; Bolshiyanov, Dimitry Yu; Zarkhidze, V. S.; Pinchuk, L. Ya.; Yunak, R. I.

doi:10.1080/10889378709377340

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…It is reported that glaciers on the three main archipelagos in the Russian Arctic have been shrinking since the early 1900s, although the rate of retreat declines with distance from the primary source of precipitation in the North Atlantic. Govorukha et al (1987) claim a reduction of about 500 km 2 in ice cover on the archipelago between 1931 and 1984 (on Bol'shevik Island, the ice margin has receded up to Ó 2006 Regents of the University of Colorado R. P. BASSFORD ET AL. / 1 1523-0430/06 $7.00 2.5 km, and Kroshka Glacier on Pioneer Island and Morskoy Glacier on Komsomolets Island have completely disappeared).…”

Section: The Ice Caps and Climate Of Severnaya Zemlyamentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap

Bassford¹,

Siegert²,

Dowdeswell³

et al. 2006

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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Due to their remote location within the Russian High Arctic, little is known about the mass balance of ice caps on Severnaya Zemlya now and in the past. Such information is critical, however, to building a global picture of the cryospheric response to climate change. This paper provides a numerical analysis of the climate and mass balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap on October Revolution Island. Mass balance model results are compared with available glaciological and climatological data. A reference climate was constructed at the location of Vavilov Station, representing average conditions for the periods 1974-1981 and 1985-1988. The site of the station has a mean annual temperature of À16.58C, and an annual precipitation of 423 mm water equivalent. The mass balance model was calibrated to the measured mass balance, and tested against the time-dependent evolution of the englacial temperatures (to a depth of 15 m). The mass balance model was then converted to a distributed model for the entire Vavilov Ice Cap. Model results predict the spatial distribution of mass balance components over the ice cap. Processes involving refreezing of water are found to be critical to the ice cap's state of health. Superimposed ice makes up 40% of the total net accumulation, with the remaining 60% coming from firn that has been heavily densified by refreezing.

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Section: The Ice Caps and Climate Of Severnaya Zemlyamentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap

Bassford¹,

Siegert²,

Dowdeswell³

et al. 2006

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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“…[6] Aerial photographs of the archipelago, acquired since the 1930s, have been interpreted to record a general retreat of glacier margins, linked to the termination of the Little Ice Age, as indicated in the ice core record. A loss of $500 km 2 of icecovered area in Severnaya Zemlya is reported between 1931 -1984 [Govorukha et al, 1987], although Koryakin [1986] suggests that this may be an overestimate resulting from errors in aerial photograph interpretation.…”

Section: Glaciological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A loss of $500 km 2 of icecovered area in Severnaya Zemlya is reported between 1931 -1984 [Govorukha et al, 1987], although Koryakin [1986] suggests that this may be an overestimate resulting from errors in aerial photograph interpretation.…”

Section: Glaciological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Form and flow of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic

et al. 2002

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[ 1 ] The 5,575-km 2 Acad emy of Sciences Ice Cap is the largest in the Russia n Arctic. A 100-M Hz airbo rne radar, digital Landsat imagery, and satelli te syntheti c apertu re radar (SAR) interfero metry are used to investig ate its form and flow, incl uding the propor tion of mass lost throu gh iceberg calvi ng. The ice cap was covered by a 10-km -space d grid of radar fli ght paths , and the centr al porti on was covered by a grid at 5-km inte rvals: a total of 1,657 km of radar data. Digit al elevation model s (DEM s) of ice surfa ce elevation, ice thickness, and bed elevat ion data sets wer e produce d (cell size 500 m). The DEMs wer e used in the selec tion o f a deep ice core dril l site. To tal ice cap volum e is 2,1 84 km 3 ( $ 5.5 mm sea level equiva lent). The ice cap has a single dome reachi ng 749 m. Maxi mum ice thic kness is 819 m. About 200 km, or 42%, of the ice margin is mari ne. About 50% of the ice cap bed is below sea level. The central divide of the ice cap and severa l maj or drain age basins, in the south an d east of the ice cap and of up to 975 km 2 , are delimited from satel lite ima gery. The re is no eviden ce of past surge ac tivity on the ice cap. SAR interfero metric frin ges and phase-unwrapped velociti es for the whole ice cap indicate slow flow in the interior and much of the margin, punctu ated by four fast flowin g featu res with late ral shear zones and maxi mum veloci ty of 140 m y r À 1 . These ice streams extend back into the slower moving ice to wi thin 5 -10 km of the ice cap crest. They have lengths of 17 -37 km a nd widths of 4 -8 km. Mass flux from these ice streams is $ 0.54 km 3 yr À 1 . Tabular icebergs up to $ 1.7 km long are produce d. Total iceberg flux from the ice cap is $ 0.65 km 3 yr À 1 and probably represe nts $ 40% of the overal l mass loss , with the rema inder coming from surfa ce mel ting. Drivin g stre sses are general ly low est (<40 kP a) close to the ice cap divides and in severa l of the ice stre ams. Ice stream motion is likely to incl ude a signifi cant basal compo nent and may involve deformabl e marine sedim ents.

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“…Significant shrinkage of the 80 km2 ice cover on the de Long archipelago in the Asian High Arctic has also taken place over the last 30-40 years (Verkulich et al 1992). Summarizing these observations, Koryakin (1986) states that during the 20th century Novaya Zemlya has lost 830 km2 or about 3% of its glacierized area, Franz Josef Land about 700 km2 or 5%, but suggests, in conflict with Govorukha et al (1987), that ice on Severnaya Zemlya has undergone only minor retreat in limited areas. Together, this amounts to an estimated loss of total ice volume of between 1200 and 1600 km3 this century (Koryakin 1986).…”

Section: R E C E N T C Lim a Te Ch A N G E From H Ig H A R C Tic Ic E-co Re Reco Rd Smentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In Novaya Zemlya, measure ments between the 1930s and 1950s indicated an average retreat of 2-3% (Chizhov Sz Koryakin 1962). On Severnaya Zemlya, Pioneer Glacier was observed to shrink by 27 km2 or 11% of its area between the 1930s and 1978, and Govorukha et al (1987) report the loss of about 500 km2 of ice-covered area throughout the islands between 1931-84. Significant shrinkage of the 80 km2 ice cover on the de Long archipelago in the Asian High Arctic has also taken place over the last 30-40 years (Verkulich et al 1992).…”

Section: R E C E N T C Lim a Te Ch A N G E From H Ig H A R C Tic Ic E-co Re Reco Rd Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Glaciers in the High Arctic and recent environmental change

Dowdeswell

1995

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A

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High Arctic climate change over the last few hundred years includes the relatively cool Little Ice Age (LIA), followed by warming over the last hundred years or so. Meteorological data from the Eurasian High Arctic (Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya) and Canadian High Arctic islands are scarce before the mid-20th century, but longer records from Svalbard and Greenland show warming from about 1910-1920. Logs of Royal Navy ships in the Canadian Northwest Passage in the 1850s indicate temperatures cooler by 1-2.5 °C during the LIA. Other evidence of recent trends in High Arctic temperatures and precipitation is derived from ice cores, which show cooler temperatures (by 2-3 °C) for several hundred years before 1900, with high interdecadal variability. The proportion of melt layers in ice cores has also risen over the last 70-130 years, indicating warming. There is widespread geological evidence of glacier retreat in the High Arctic since about the turn of the century linked to the end of the LIA. An exception is the rapid advance of some surge-type ice masses. Mass balance measurements on ice caps in Arctic Canada, Svalbard and Severnaya Zemlya since 1950 show either negative or near-zero net balances, suggesting glacier response to recent climate warming. Glacier-climate links are modelled using an energy balance approach to predict glacier response to possible future climate warming, and cooler LIA temperatures. For Spitsbergen glaciers, a negative shift in mass balance of about 0.5 m a -1 is predicted for a 1 °C warming. A cooling of about 0.6 °C, or a 23% precipitation increase, would produce an approximately zero net mass balance. A ‘greenhouse-induced’ warming of 1 °C in the High Arctic is predicted to produce a global sea-level rise of 0.063 mm a -1 from ice cap melting.

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Changes in the glacier cover of Severnaya Zemlya in the twentieth century¹

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap

Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap

Form and flow of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic

Glaciers in the High Arctic and recent environmental change

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Changes in the glacier cover of Severnaya Zemlya in the twentieth century1

Cited by 8 publications

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Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap

Quantifying the Mass Balance of Ice Caps on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic. I: Climate and Mass Balance of the Vavilov Ice Cap

Form and flow of the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic

Glaciers in the High Arctic and recent environmental change

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Changes in the glacier cover of Severnaya Zemlya in the twentieth century¹