| Title | Mass balance of the Prince of Wales Icefield, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada |
| |
| Author | Mair, D; Burgess, D ; Sharp, M; Dowdeswell, J A; Benham, T; Marshall, S; Cawkwell, F |
| Source | Journal of Geophysical Research, Earth Surface vol. 114, no. 2, F02011, 2009., https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JF001082  Open Access |
| Year | 2009 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20181080 |
| Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Nunavut |
| Subjects | geophysics; remote sensing |
| Program | Public Safety Geoscience
|
| Program | Climate Change
Geoscience |
| Released | 2009 04 29 |
| Abstract | This paper estimates the mass balance of the Prince of Wales Icefield, Ellesmere Island, Canada, averaged over four decades, from measurements of surface mass balance (SMB) and iceberg calving. Shallow
ice core net accumulation measurements and annual mass balance stake measurements are used in conjunction with a digital elevation model and knowledge of the location of the dominant moisture source for precipitation over the ice cap to interpolate
and extrapolate spatial patterns of SMB across the Prince of Wales Icefield. The contribution of iceberg calving to the mass balance is calculated from estimates of (1) the annual volume of ice discharged at the major tidewater glacier termini and
(2) the annual volume loss or gain due to terminus fluctuations. Two different approaches to determining the SMB conclude that the SMB of the ice field is approximately in balance (average equals-0.1 ± 0.4 km 3 w.e. a-1, where w.e. means water
equivalent) largely because of its proximity to the main year-round moisture source that is the Smith Sound portion of the North Open Water polynya. Iceberg calving is a highly significant component of mass loss (-1.9 ± 0.2 km3 w.e. a-1) and is
sufficient to make the overall mass balance of the ice field averaged over the period 1963-2003 clearly negative (-2 ± 0.45 km3 w.e. a-1, equivalent to a mean-specific mass balance across the ice field of-0.1 m w.e. a-1). The Prince of Wales Icefield
contributes ?0.005 mm a-1 to global eustatic sea level rise. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 311434 |
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