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A Major Collapse of Kangerlussuaq Glacier's Ice Tongue Between 1932 and 1933 in East Greenland
Author(s) -
Vermassen Flor,
Bjørk Anders A.,
Sicre MarieAlexandrine,
Jaeger John M.,
Wangner David J.,
Kjeldsen Kristian K.,
SiggaardAndersen MarieLouise,
Klein Vincent,
Mouginot Jeremie,
Kjær Kurt H.,
Andresen Camilla S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2019gl085954
Subject(s) - geology , glacier , ice tongue , fjord , moraine , arctic , surge , physical geography , oceanography , rock glacier , glacier morphology , bathymetry , glacier mass balance , tidewater glacier cycle , greenland ice sheet , climatology , geomorphology , arctic ice pack , antarctic sea ice , geography , ice calving , pregnancy , lactation , biology , genetics
In recent years, several large outlet glaciers in Greenland lost their floating ice tongue, yet little is known regarding their stability over a longer timescale. Here we compile historical documents to demonstrate a major ice tongue collapse of Kangerlussuaq Glacier between 1932 and 1933. This event resulted in a 9‐km retreat, exceeding any of the glacier's recent major retreat events. Sediment cores from the fjord are used to reconstruct sea surface temperatures and to investigate a potential sedimentological trace of the collapse. During the 1920s, local and regional sea surface temperatures and air temperatures increased rapidly, suggesting a climatic trigger for the collapse. Fjord bathymetry played an important role too, as the (partially) pinned ice tongue retreated off a submarine moraine during the event. This historical analogue of a glacier tongue collapse emphasizes the fragility of remaining ice tongues in North Greenland within a warming climate.