Recent change in surface mass-balance trends of glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula

Glaciers cover 132 900 km2 around the Antarctic Ice Sheet, but few are subject to annual mass-balance measurements. Lookalike Glacier and Davies Dome on James Ross Island have been monitored since 2009, providing the third longest mass-balance record for the northern Antarctic Peninsula. These glaci...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zbyněk Engel, Kamil Láska, Jana Smolíková, Jan Kavan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2024-01-01
Series:Journal of Glaciology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000169/type/journal_article
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841526416658661376
author Zbyněk Engel
Kamil Láska
Jana Smolíková
Jan Kavan
author_facet Zbyněk Engel
Kamil Láska
Jana Smolíková
Jan Kavan
author_sort Zbyněk Engel
collection DOAJ
description Glaciers cover 132 900 km2 around the Antarctic Ice Sheet, but few are subject to annual mass-balance measurements. Lookalike Glacier and Davies Dome on James Ross Island have been monitored since 2009, providing the third longest mass-balance record for the northern Antarctic Peninsula. These glaciers had a balanced mass budget over the period 2009/10–2014/15 but started to lose their mass thereafter. Between 2014/15 and 2020/21, mass change rates were −0.15 ± 0.13 and −0.26 ± 0.11 m w.e. a−1 for Lookalike Glacier and Davies Dome, respectively. The mean equilibrium-line altitudes over this period at Lookalike Glacier (362 ± 18 m a.s.l.) and Davies Dome (>427 ± 22 m a.s.l.) are 51 and >34 m higher compared to the previous 6-year period. The mean accumulation area ratio values determined for the period 2014/15–2020/21 are lower than the balanced-budget ratio indicating that glaciers are out of balance with the current climate. The data confirm the transition from positive to negative mass-balance periods around 2014/15, which is attributed to the change in air temperature trends. The mean summer temperature increased by 0.9°C between the periods 2009/10–2014/15 and 2015/16–2020/21 and melt-season temperatures became predominantly positive.
format Article
id doaj-art-5075f5ae4a2e41ca956ca46593309128
institution Kabale University
issn 0022-1430
1727-5652
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher Cambridge University Press
record_format Article
series Journal of Glaciology
spelling doaj-art-5075f5ae4a2e41ca956ca465933091282025-01-16T21:49:58ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522024-01-017010.1017/jog.2024.16Recent change in surface mass-balance trends of glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic PeninsulaZbyněk Engel0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5209-7823Kamil Láska1Jana Smolíková2Jan Kavan3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4524-3009Faculty of Science, Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Charles University, Praha, Czech RepublicFaculty of Science, Department of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicFaculty of Science, Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicFaculty of Science, Department of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Centre for Polar Ecology, České Budějovice, Czech RepublicGlaciers cover 132 900 km2 around the Antarctic Ice Sheet, but few are subject to annual mass-balance measurements. Lookalike Glacier and Davies Dome on James Ross Island have been monitored since 2009, providing the third longest mass-balance record for the northern Antarctic Peninsula. These glaciers had a balanced mass budget over the period 2009/10–2014/15 but started to lose their mass thereafter. Between 2014/15 and 2020/21, mass change rates were −0.15 ± 0.13 and −0.26 ± 0.11 m w.e. a−1 for Lookalike Glacier and Davies Dome, respectively. The mean equilibrium-line altitudes over this period at Lookalike Glacier (362 ± 18 m a.s.l.) and Davies Dome (>427 ± 22 m a.s.l.) are 51 and >34 m higher compared to the previous 6-year period. The mean accumulation area ratio values determined for the period 2014/15–2020/21 are lower than the balanced-budget ratio indicating that glaciers are out of balance with the current climate. The data confirm the transition from positive to negative mass-balance periods around 2014/15, which is attributed to the change in air temperature trends. The mean summer temperature increased by 0.9°C between the periods 2009/10–2014/15 and 2015/16–2020/21 and melt-season temperatures became predominantly positive.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000169/type/journal_articleAntarctic glaciologyclimate changeglacier mass balanceglacier meteorologyglacier volume
spellingShingle Zbyněk Engel
Kamil Láska
Jana Smolíková
Jan Kavan
Recent change in surface mass-balance trends of glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula
Journal of Glaciology
Antarctic glaciology
climate change
glacier mass balance
glacier meteorology
glacier volume
title Recent change in surface mass-balance trends of glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula
title_full Recent change in surface mass-balance trends of glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula
title_fullStr Recent change in surface mass-balance trends of glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula
title_full_unstemmed Recent change in surface mass-balance trends of glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula
title_short Recent change in surface mass-balance trends of glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula
title_sort recent change in surface mass balance trends of glaciers on james ross island north eastern antarctic peninsula
topic Antarctic glaciology
climate change
glacier mass balance
glacier meteorology
glacier volume
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000169/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT zbynekengel recentchangeinsurfacemassbalancetrendsofglaciersonjamesrossislandnortheasternantarcticpeninsula
AT kamillaska recentchangeinsurfacemassbalancetrendsofglaciersonjamesrossislandnortheasternantarcticpeninsula
AT janasmolikova recentchangeinsurfacemassbalancetrendsofglaciersonjamesrossislandnortheasternantarcticpeninsula
AT jankavan recentchangeinsurfacemassbalancetrendsofglaciersonjamesrossislandnortheasternantarcticpeninsula