Kongsvegen glacier
Encyclopedia
The Kongsvegen is a glacier
, located in west Spitsbergen
, Svalbard
, 1250 kilometres (776.7 mi) north of the Norwegian
mainland.
terminus. It occupies 105 square kilometres (40.5 sq mi) of Spitsbergen, which is covered in glaciers for 80% of its land mass. The glacier is one of the most extensively studied in Spitsbegegen and has been monitored for annual volume changes since 1987. Konsvegen is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) long and currently retreating in length, following a surge around 1948, although it has been growing in ice mass
since 1987.
at the base, which lubricates the glacier in basal sliding
. The glacier is of a surge type
, meaning that its length and characteristics can vary rapidly over time, making the ice field very unpredictable. It also means the glacier can undergo rapid periods of advancing and retreating movement. From 1948 to 1977 the glacier retreated very quickly at rates of up to 800 metres per year after a large surge in its movement downstream. Kongsvegen has also experienced periods, as now, of relative stasis. At the moment Kongsvegen is retreating at 3 metres (10 feet) per year and has been doing so since 1990. This has allowed the glacier to build up its ice mass further upstream, while shrinking in length downstream, where the ice is thin from rapid movement.
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
, located in west Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
, Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
, 1250 kilometres (776.7 mi) north of the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
mainland.
Description
The glacier is of an outlet type with a sea calvingIce calving
Ice calving, also known as glacier calving or iceberg calving, is a form of ice ablation or ice disruption. It is the sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier, iceberg, ice front, ice shelf, or crevasse...
terminus. It occupies 105 square kilometres (40.5 sq mi) of Spitsbergen, which is covered in glaciers for 80% of its land mass. The glacier is one of the most extensively studied in Spitsbegegen and has been monitored for annual volume changes since 1987. Konsvegen is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) long and currently retreating in length, following a surge around 1948, although it has been growing in ice mass
Ice sheet
An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² , thus also known as continental glacier...
since 1987.
Movement
The Kongsvegen is classified as a polythermal glacier, with large variations in the temperature of the ice below. The ice near the surface (between 50 and 160 metres down (160-520 feet)) is very cold, and overlies a much warmer base of ice. This leads to increased mass flow and velocity over the summer months, usually because of the build-up of meltwaterMeltwater
Meltwater is the water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice and ice shelfs over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing...
at the base, which lubricates the glacier in basal sliding
Basal sliding
Basal sliding is the act of a glacier sliding over the bed before it due to meltwater under the ice acting as a lubricant. This movement very much depends on the temperature of the area, the slope of the glacier, the bed's sediment size, the amount of meltwater from the glacier, and the glacier's...
. The glacier is of a surge type
Surge (glacier)
Glacial surges are short-lived events where a glacier can advance substantially, moving at velocities up to 100 times faster than normal. Surging glaciers are clustered around a few areas. High concentrations of surging glaciers can be found in Svalbard, Canadian Arctic islands, Alaska and Iceland...
, meaning that its length and characteristics can vary rapidly over time, making the ice field very unpredictable. It also means the glacier can undergo rapid periods of advancing and retreating movement. From 1948 to 1977 the glacier retreated very quickly at rates of up to 800 metres per year after a large surge in its movement downstream. Kongsvegen has also experienced periods, as now, of relative stasis. At the moment Kongsvegen is retreating at 3 metres (10 feet) per year and has been doing so since 1990. This has allowed the glacier to build up its ice mass further upstream, while shrinking in length downstream, where the ice is thin from rapid movement.