文章基本信息

标题：The retreat of a tidewater glacier: observations and model calculations on Hansbreen, Spitsbergen
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作者：Andreas Vieli ; Jacek Jania ; Lezek Kolondra 等
期刊名称：Journal of Glaciology
印刷版ISSN：0022-1430
电子版ISSN：1727-5652
出版年度：2002
卷号：48
期号：163
页码：592-600
DOI：10.3189/172756502781831089
出版社：Cambridge University Press
摘要：Based on observations and model calculations, the retreat over the last two decades of Hansbreen, a tidewater glacier in southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard, is investigated. The observations of the calving-front position between 1982 and 1998 show an abrupt retreat in 1990, which is suggested to be related to a depression in the glacier bed. The observed seasonal variations of the front position are mainly due to variations of the calving rate. The observations of Hansbreen further indicate that during periods of slow front-position changes, melting at the water-line may play an important role in triggering the process of calving. The evolution of Hansbreen between 1982 and 1998 is simulated with a numerical model for the dynamics of tidewater glaciers. Using a flotation criterion for calving in which for each time-step the part of the glacier terminus which is below a critical height above buoyancy is removed, we are able to reproduce the observed rapid retreat of Hansbreen through the depression in the glacier bed. From the observations and model calculations, we conclude that the rapid retreat is mainly an effect of basal topography in the terminus region and not a direct response to a change in mass balance.