This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Caseldine, C. Articles by Stötter, J. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

'Little Ice Age' glaciation of Tröllaskagi peninsula, northern Iceland: climatic implications for reconstructed equilibrium line altitudes (ELAS)

Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK

Johann Stötter

Institut für Geographie, Universität München, Luisenstr. 37, 8000 München 2, Germany

Comparison of the equilibrium line altitudes (ELAS) for the present (1980s) and the maximum 'Little Ice Age' depression determined for glaciers in the Skíõadalur/Svarfaõardalur area of the Tröllaskagi peninsula, northern Iceland, shows a rise of c. 50 m over the last 100-150 years. Meteoro logical data suggest that over the same period the mean summer temperature at the equilibrium line changed by at least 2.0°C. Application of a model of the relationship between mean summer temperature and winter accumulation at the ELA for glaciers in southern Norway suggests that such a temperature change should have led to a movement of up to 300 m in the ELA. The discrepancy between the observed and expected results is accounted for by an almost two-fold increase in winter accumulation. The application of this model highlights the potential importance of interpreting changes in ELA in terms of both temperature and precipitation, and the results from northern Iceland demonstrate that in some areas accumulation changes can almost balance considerable changes in temperature. There is also potential through this method for hypothesizing atmospheric changes as explanations of the climatic changes interpreted.

Key Words: equilibrium line altitude • ELA • lichenometry • 'Little Ice Age' • glacial variations • climatic change • Iceland.

The Holocene, Vol. 3, No. 4, 357-366 (1993)
DOI: 10.1177/095968369300300408


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Zeeberg and S. L. Forman Changes in glacier extent on north Novaya Zemlya in the twentieth century The Holocene, February 1, 2001; 11(2): 161 - 175. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Geirsdottir, J. Hardardottir, and J. T. Andrews Late-Holocene terrestrial glacial history of Miki and I.C. Jacobsen Fjords, East Greenland The Holocene, January 1, 2000; 10(1): 123 - 134. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Kruger and J. Kruger Origin, chronology and climatological significance of annual-moraine ridges at Myrdalsjokull, Iceland The Holocene, January 1, 1995; 5(4): 420 - 427. [Abstract] [PDF]