Glacier Geometry Changes in the Western Shore of Admiralty Bay, King George Island over the Last Decades.

Sławomir Łapiński,Sebastian Różycki,Wojciech Ostrowski,Mariusz Pasik,Ireneusz Sobota,Marcin Rajner,Anna Fijałkowska,Maria Elżbieta Kowalska,Marek Kejna,Katarzyna Osińska-Skotak,Krzysztof Bakuła

doi:10.3390/s21041532

Sławomir Łapiński, Sebastian Różycki + Show 9 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/s21041532

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Abstract

This paper presents changes in the range and thickness of glaciers in Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No. 128 on King George Island in the period 1956–2015. The research indicates an intensification of the glacial retreat process over the last two decades, with the rate depending on the type of glacier front. In the period 2001–2015, the average recession rate of the ice cliffs of the Ecology Glacier and the northern part of the Baranowski Glacier was estimated to be approximately 15–25 m a−1 and 10–20 m a−1, respectively. Fronts of Sphinx Glacier and the southern part of the Baranowski Glacier, characterized by a gentle descent onto land, show a significantly lower rate of retreat (up to 5–10 m a−1 1). From 2001 to 2013, the glacier thickness in these areas decreased at an average rate of 1.7–2.5 m a−1 for the Ecology Glacier and the northern part of the Baranowski Glacier and 0.8–2.5 m a−1 for the southern part of the Baranowski Glacier and Sphinx Glacier. The presented deglaciation processes are related to changes of mass balance caused by the rapid temperature increase (1.0 °C since 1948). The work also contains considerations related to the important role of the longitudinal slope of the glacier surface in the connection of the glacier thickness changes and the front recession.

Highlights

Introduction published maps and institutional affilKing George Island belongs to the South Shetland Islands Archipelago situated near the northern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula
Digital Surface Models (DSMs) is the proper name for the elevation model used here, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is the term used later in this work, because this is the most common term used in glaciological literature for bare ground and glacier surface descriptions
Glaciers ranges based on Falkland Island Dependency Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) aerial photographs from 1956 and ranges from 2007 measured utilizing Global Positioning System (GPS) and tacheometric techniques were marked on the map

Summary

Introduction

King George Island belongs to the South Shetland Islands Archipelago situated near the northern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. In 2002, the name changed to Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No 128 and, in 2006, the area was incorporated into a newly created Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA) No 1. Six glaciers fed by the Warszawa Icefield (Ecology, Sphinx, Baranowski, Tower, Thawing— known as Dead and Windy) can be found within the ASPA No 128 boundaries. This study aims to analyze the range and thickness changes for the first three of the listed glaciers over a period of several decades. The selected glaciers represent all types of glaciers occurring in ASPA No 128

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