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Glacier fluctuations of Jostedalsbreen, western Norway, during the past 20 years: the sensitive response of maritime mountain glaciers

Department of Geography, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany, stefan.winkler{at}uni-wuerzburg.de, stefan_w_winkler{at}yahoo.no

Hallgeir Elvehøy

Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Section for Glaciers, Snow and Ice, Middelthunsgate 29, PB. 5091 Majorstua, N-0301 Oslo, Norway

Atle Nesje

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bergen, Allégt. 41, N-5007 Bergen, Norway, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Allégt. 55, N-5007 Bergen, Norway

The steep outlet glaciers of Jostedalsbreen, western Norway, are good examples of sensitively reacting maritime mountain glaciers. Their changes in length, frontal position and lower tongue's morphology during the past 20 years have been well documented. At first they experienced a strong frontal advance. After AD 2000 glacier behaviour was dominated by a strong frontal retreat, in some cases causing a separation of the lowermost glacier tongue. In this paper, the glacier length changes are presented both visually and numerically, supplemented by mass balance and meteorological data. The glacier behaviour is interpreted and its causes are discussed. Whereas the factors controlling the advance during the 1990s seem clear, the interpretation of the most recent retreat still leaves some uncertainties. The actual glacier front behaviour cannot fully be related to the mass balance data. Terminus response times and relations between individual mass balance and meteorological parameters have changed. Some hypotheses are given, including disturbance of the `normal' mass transfer and dynamical response of the glacier front because of excessive ablation on the lowermost glacier tongues and summer back melting. These findings underline the sensitivity of maritime glaciers to climate changes. The empirical findings need to be taken into account in the interpretation of recent glacier length changes and their future modelling.

Key Words: Glacier variations • climate change • western Norway • glacier length change • mass balance • terminus response time • Jostedalsbreen • outlet glaciers • mountain glaciers.

The Holocene, Vol. 19, No. 3, 395-414 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0959683608101390


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