Changes in Glacial Area Extent in Auyuittuq National Park, Pangnirtung

Abstract

With global temperatures rising four times faster in the Canadian Arctic compared to global averages, glaciers in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) are starting to shrink at an alarming rate (Paul et al., 2020). To quantify rates of change, frequent updates of glacial outlines to provide an accurate database for monitoring are needed (Schaffer et al., 2017). Rundle, Nerutusoq, and Fort Beard Glaciers are all located on the Penny Ice Cap within Auyuittuk National Park, Baffin Island, Canada. Using a combination of aerial photography and ArcGIS Pro, I examined the historical and recent changes in glacial area extents. High resolution historical aerial photographs from the National Air Photo Library dating to September 1959 were manually georeferenced onto ArcGIS Pro. Photogrammetry techniques were then used to combine the aerial photographs into one combined orthographic image. The historic glaciers were then outlined using a manual technique based on the pixel size (8 μm) of the images using ArcGIS Pro. This allows me to compare glacial outlines from 2010 using the Randolph glacier inventory and 2022 using manual outline techniques described, respectively. Because using a manual technique can create accuracy limitation, specifically during the georeferencing process, I compared results for both time periods using an automatic method. Results from my work will provide estimates of changes in glacier area over time, the relative precision of different methods, and weather rates of shrinkage have increased over time. ReferencesPaul, F., Rastner, P., Azzoni, R. S., Diolaiuti, G., Fugazza, D., Le Bris, R., Nemec, J., Rabatel, A., Ramusovic, M., Schwaizer, G., & Smiraglia, C. (2020). Glacier shrinkage in the Alps continues unabated as revealed by a New Glacier Inventory from sentinel-2. Earth System Science Data, 12(3), 1805–1821. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1805-2020 Schaffer, N., Copland, L., & Zdanowicz , C. (2017). Ice velocity changes on Penny Ice Cap, Baffin Island, since the 1950s. Journal of Glaciology, 63(240), 716–730. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.40