Did a global heatwave have a lasting impact on the snowpack and the annual glacier mass balance? The example of a small glacial basin observatory in the High Arctic (Brøgger Peninsula, Spitsbergen)
Résumé
Simultaneous heat waves occurred on March 2022 in both Antarctic and Arctic regions. The impact of this extreme weather event is investigated from the perspective of a north-facing polar glacier in the Brøgger Peninsula of Svalbard, Arctic Norway. Original measurement systems including timelapse cameras and an automated ablation stake acquiring the ice melt with hourly resolution were deployed for a couple of years during and after the event. The results of these measurements demonstrate that the liquid precipitation accompanying the warm event led to a significant impact on the snowpack structure. It resulted in an earlier snowpack disappearance. Consequently, the glacier surface was exposed earlier, resulting in ice melting earlier than it did in 2023, which is considered as a reference state. This in turn contributed to a more negative mass balance. This study highlights the strong negative influence of winter liquid precipitation on glacier mass balance.
| Origine | Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte |
|---|---|
| Licence |