Amplified melting of small glaciers in the Arctic has largest impact on
changing global sea level. Fresh calculations based on the latest glacier
mass balance data from Svalbard show additional delivery of 13 km3
melt water to the ocean each year.
All predictions indicate further changes of climate in the Arctic. This
would cause large amplification of glacier melting and increased global sea
level. Arctic glaciers are particularly sensitive to even small change in
air temperature and they react quickly. Therefore it is extremely important
to maintain long-term glacier monitoring programme.Glaciers in Svalbard
and Alaska melt much quicker than glaciers in other Arctic regions. In fact
Svalbard glaciers melt twice as fast as the ones in Canadian Arctic do.
Due to climate warming as much as 13 km3 of meltwater from Svalbard
glaciers is delivered every year to the ocean. This amount is additional to
what would be melting if the glaciers were in balance with climate.
Meltwater from Svalbard glaciers alone rise sea level by 0.035 mm each year.
Glacier mass balance and dynamics research has been carried out on
sevaral glaciers in various locations in Svalbard. This work is part of the
large international project: GLACIODYN (GLACIODYN
Norway website).
See also:
Svalbard-breene smelter dramatisk: 41/2 millioner tonn smeltevann i timen
(article in University of Oslo research journal Apollon, in Norwegian only)
GLACIODYN at IASC Working Group on Arctic Glaciology
Contact: Jon Ove Hagen, University of Oslo (j.o.m.hagen@geo.uio.no)
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Small glaciers occupy only 0.5% of total glaciated area in the world,
yet their contribution to sea level rise is 70% (Graph:
Apollon, UiO)
Calving front of Körberbreen in Hornsund (photo: Marzena Kaczmarska)
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