Overview of glacier changes

by Jacob Yde, April 15, 2020

New publication: Overview of glacier changes at Jostedalsbreen and other Norwegian glaciers.

In a new paper published in Journal of Glaciology, JOSTICE team members Liss M. Andreassen, Hallgeir Elvehøy and Bjarne Kjøllmoen together with a colleague from University of Iceland present an overview of observed glacier changes in mainland Norway since the early 1960s. The analyses include five outlet glaciers from Jostedalsbreen Ice Cap with mass-balance records: Nigardsbreen, Tunsbergdalsbreen, Store Supphellebreen, Vesledalsbreen and Austdalsbreen.

Although most of the observed Norwegian glaciers experienced frontal advances in the 1990s, the overall trend for the c. 50-year period was frontal recession, loss of mass, lower surface elevation and reduction in glacierised area. This negative trend has accelerated since 2000, although years with positive mass-balance still occur due to large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns.