Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland: the 2002–2003 collapse and nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage List

Jakobshavn Isbrae (also known as Sermeq Kujalleq or Ilulissat Isbrae) is situated at about 69°10′N and 50°00′W in West Greenland. This major outlet from the Inland Ice has an extremely high rate of movement (nearly 1 m/hour) and thus a high production of icebergs, which via the icefjord float westwards through Disko Bugt to Davis Strait (Fig. 1). Estimates of the iceberg production are in the range of 35 ± 10 km 3 ice per year, more than 10% of the entire calf-ice production of the Inland Ice (e.g. Bauer l968; Bindschadler 1984). The icefjord into which Sermeq Kujalleq calves is Kangia, best known in glaciological literature as Jakobshavn Isfjord. Spectacular changes of the glacier were observed during 2002 and 2003 at the same time as it was nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List under the name ‘Ilulissat Icefjord’. Nomination of ‘Ilulissat Icefjord’ and Sermeq Kujalleq The Eskimo ruins and archaeological sites in the region around the modern Greenland township of Ilulissat include representatives of all the cultural phases since the first Eskimo settlement of Greenland. The association with Greenland’s most productive glacier makes the ‘Ilulissat Icefjord’ area a strong candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In December 2000 the Government of Greenland decided to nominate ‘Ilulissat Icefjord’, and the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) was given the task of preparing the nomination document (Fig. 1; Mikkelsen & Ingerslev 2003). A decision as to whether ‘Ilulissat Icefjord’ will be awarded World Heritage List Status