A Major Collapse of Kangerlussuaq Glacier's Ice Tongue Between 1932 and 1933 in East Greenland
Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › Research › peer-review
Documents
- 2019GL085954
Final published version, 18.7 MB, PDF document
In recent years, several large outlet glaciers in Greenland lost their floating ice tongue, yet little is known regarding their stability over a longer timescale. Here we compile historical documents to demonstrate a major ice tongue collapse of Kangerlussuaq Glacier between 1932 and 1933. This event resulted in a 9-km retreat, exceeding any of the glacier's recent major retreat events. Sediment cores from the fjord are used to reconstruct sea surface temperatures and to investigate a potential sedimentological trace of the collapse. During the 1920s, local and regional sea surface temperatures and air temperatures increased rapidly, suggesting a climatic trigger for the collapse. Fjord bathymetry played an important role too, as the (partially) pinned ice tongue retreated off a submarine moraine during the event. This historical analogue of a glacier tongue collapse emphasizes the fragility of remaining ice tongues in North Greenland within a warming climate.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e2019GL085954 |
Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 4 |
Number of pages | 9 |
ISSN | 0094-8276 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |
- alkenones, Glacier retreat, historical documents, IRD, Kangerlussuaq Glacier
Research areas
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