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Short-term mass changes and retreat of the Ecology and Sphinx glacier system, King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Ireneusz Sobota ,
Marek Kejna  and
Andrzej Araźny
Ireneusz Sobota*
Affiliation:
Nicolaus Copernicus Polar Station, Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Marek Kejna
Affiliation:
Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Andrzej Araźny
Affiliation:
Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

This study investigated the mass balance, melting, near-surface ice thermal structure and meteorological conditions of the Ecology and Sphinx glacier system (ESGS), located on King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The study also analysed the role of climate change in glacial retreat of the ESGS in the long (1979–2012) and short term, with a particular focus on the impact on the 2012–13 mass balance of the ESGS. In 2012–13, the glaciers had a mean annual net mass balance of +17.8 cm w.e., but over the long term the glaciers have been receding in this region. The area loss of the ESGS between 1979 and 2012 amounted to 41%. This investigation of mass balance is especially important as it offers one of only a few records available on King George Island. The mean near-surface ice temperature (February to June 2012) for the Ecology and Sphinx glaciers was -0.3°C and -1.0°C at 10 m depth, respectively. From 1948–2012, the air temperature on King George Island increased by 1.2°C (0.19°C per decade).

Keywords

air temperatureAntarcticclimate changeglacierglacier retreatice temperaturemass balance
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , October 2015 , pp. 500 - 510
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Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2015 

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