Formation of new periglacial lakes in the Grønfjord basin (Svalbard) in 1938–2010

Abstract

Based on remote sensing and field methods, the state of the glacial lakes located in the Grønfjord Bay basin, Svalbard, was assessed for 2008–2010. New lakes were formed due to the retreat of the mountain-valley glaciers of the Nordenskiöld Land and the formation of moraine-ridge topography. According to the 2008–2010 aerial survey data, 111 glacial lakes were identified in the basin area. Most of the new lakes were formed on the moraines of the large mountain-valley glaciers Vestre and Austre Grønfjordbreen, Brydebreen, Skavlefjellbreen, and Tungebreen. The total area of the glacial lakes is 2.047±0.001 km², 84% of their total area belongs to the two largest lakes Bretjørna and Stemmevatnet. The rest of the lakes in the territory are small, from 20 to 330 m in length, and shallow. The estimation of the volume of water in the lakes was based on field measurements of the depths of 26 lakes and the correlation found. The total volume of water is 24.1 million m³, which is comparable with the value of annual glacial runoff in the basin.

Keywords

• приледниковые озёра
• отступание ледников
• площадь озера
• средняя глубина
• суммарный объём
• западный шпицберген