Glacier changes over the past 144 years at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Canada

Allison N Curley,Luke Copland,William H Kochtitzky,Benjamin R Edwards

doi:10.1017/jog.2021.4

Allison N Curley, Luke Copland + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.4

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Abstract

AbstractIn this study, we use aerial photographs, satellite imagery and field observations to quantify changes in the area, terminus length, snowline elevation and surface elevation of eight glaciers in the Alexandra Fiord region, eastern Ellesmere Island, between 1959 and 2019. Comparisons to written and pictorial descriptions from the British Arctic Expedition extend the record of change in terminus position and surface elevation to 1875 for Twin Glacier. Glacier area at Alexandra Fiord decreased by a total of 15.77 ± 0.65 km2(11.77 ± 0.49%) between 1959 and 2019, the mean end of summer snowline increased in elevation by 360 ± 84 m (8 ± 2 m a−1) between 1974 and 2019, and the glaciers thinned at an average rate of 0.60 ± 0.06 m a−1between 2001 and 2018. Annual rates of terminus retreat were ~3–5 times higher over the period 1974–2019 compared to 1875–1974, and rates of thinning were ~2–3 times higher over 2001–18 compared to 1875–2001. Our results are consistent with rates of change determined for other glaciers of similar size on Ellesmere Island, and with accelerated rates of ice loss coincident with regional increases in air temperature of ~1.5°C since the early 1980s.

Highlights

The Arctic is warming rapidly, with surface air temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average (Overland and others, 2018)
About 70% of ice in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) is concentrated in the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI)
Alexandra Fiord is situated at the northern edge of the Prince of Wales (POW) Icefield on Ellesmere Island, the largest island of the QEI (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

The Arctic is warming rapidly, with surface air temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average (Overland and others, 2018). In the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), which contains 28% by area of global land ice outside of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets (Sharp and others, 2014), glacier surface temperatures have risen by almost 1°C between 2000 and 2015 (Mortimer and others, 2016). Ciracì and others (2020) reported that the average rate of glacier mass loss in the CAA was 73 ± 9 Gt a−1 over the period 2002–19, the highest in the world outside of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Radić and Hock (2011) and Lenaerts and others (2013) predicted that Canadian High Arctic glaciers will be the largest contributors to global sea level rise outside the ice sheets through to the end of the 21st century, with projected total contributions of 2.7 ± 1.2 and 3.5 ± 2.4 cm, respectively, between 2000 and 2100.

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