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The Rapid Retreat of Jakobshavns Isbræ, West Greenland: Field Observations of 2005 and Structural Analysis of its Evolution

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Abstract

Jakobshavns Isbræ in West Greenland (terminus at ≈69° 10′ N/50° W), a major outlet glacier of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a continuously fast-moving ice stream, has long been the fastest moving and one of the most productive glaciers on Earth. It had been moving continuously at speeds of over 20 m/day with a stable front position throughout most of the latter half of the twentieth century, except for relatively small seasonal changes. In 2002, the ice stream apparently suddenly entered a phase of rapid retreat. The ice front started to break up, the floating tongue disintegrated, and the production of icebergs increased. In July 2005, we conducted an extensive aerial survey of Jakobshavns Isbræ to measure and document the present state of retreat compared to our previous field observations since 1996. We use an approach that combines structural analysis of deformation features with continuum mechanics to assess the kinematics and dynamics of glaciers, based on aerial imagery, satellite data and GPS measurements. Results from interpretation of ERS-SAR and ASTER data from 1995 to 2005 in combination with aerial imagery from 1996 to 2005 shed light on the question of changes versus stability and their causes in the Jakobshavns Isbræ dynamical system. The recently observed retreat of Jakobshavns Isbræ is attributed to climatic warming, rather than to an inherent change in the glaciodynamic system. Close to the retreating front, deformation structures are characteristic of extension and disintegration. Deformation provinces that do not border the retreating front have had the same deformation characteristics throughout the past decade (1996–2005).

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our pilots Dr. med. Thomas Rose (private), Jan Wilken and Egon Dietz (Grønlandsfly) and Bo Isaaksen (Air Alpha) for excellent survey flights, Monika Stauber, Oliver Zahner and Marion Stellmes, Geomathematik Universität Trier, and Steven Sucht, CIRES, University of Colorado, for assistance with acquisition and processing of the 1995–1999 ERS SAR data, Koni Steffen, CIRES, University of Colorado, for acquisition of the raw ASTER data from 2003, and to Ralf Greve for helpful suggestions on the manuscript. Support provided by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grants He 1547/4, He1547/8 and Ma2486/1) and through a CIRES Visitor Fellowship (UCH) is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. UNAVCO, Boulder, CO, USA

    Helmut Mayer

  2. CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Ute C. Herzfeld

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  1. Helmut Mayer
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  2. Ute C. Herzfeld
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Correspondence to Ute C. Herzfeld.

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Mayer, H., Herzfeld, U.C. The Rapid Retreat of Jakobshavns Isbræ, West Greenland: Field Observations of 2005 and Structural Analysis of its Evolution. Nat Resour Res 17, 167–179 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-008-9076-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-008-9076-7

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