Fluctuation of Glacial Retreat Rates in the Eastern Part of Warszawa Icefield, King George Island, Antarctica, 1979–2018

Abstract

Antarctica is a region of the world where climate change is visible in the rapid melting of glaciers. This is particularly evident in marginal zones, where the pace of glacial retreat has systematically accelerated. The effective mapping of these changes is possible with the use of remote sensing methods. This study assesses changes in glacier margin positions between 1979 and 2018 in the Antarctic Specially Protected Area 128 (ASPA-128) on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. In 1979, 19.8 km2 of the study area was glaciated. Over the following 39 years, an area of 6.1 km2 became ice-free, impacting local ecosystems both on land and in Admiralty Bay. The reduction in glacier extent was different in time and depended on the glacier type. Land-terminating glaciers had the fastest retreat rates below 200 m a.s.l. and were influenced mostly by surface melting. The reduction of tidewater glaciers occurred primarily in areas below 100 m a.s.l., with the most pronounced ice extent decreases occurring below 50 m a.s.l. The observed rates of front retreat suggest that glacier retreat rates were fastest between 1989–2001 and 2007–2011, with reduced retreat rates between 2001 and 2007. During the last 7 years, the lowest rate of regression was recorded in the entire analysed period (1979–2018). Changes in the areal extent of glaciers were compared with the climate record available for King George Island. The observed fluctuations in glacier retreat rates could be correlated to oscillations in annual Positive Degree-Days. The spatial analyses were based on aerial photographs (1956, 1979), theodolite measurements (1989), GPS survey (2001, 2007), and satellite images (2011, 2018).

Keywords

• glacier recession
• surface melting
• climate change
• temperature change
• Positive Degree-Day