Ocean warming drives immediate mass loss from calving glaciers in the high Arctic

Abstract

Abstract Glaciers in the Arctic have lost considerable mass during the last two decades. About a third of the glaciers by area drains into the ocean, yet the mechanisms and drivers governing mass loss at glacier calving fronts are poorly constrained in part due to few long-term glacier-ocean observations. Here, we combine a detailed satellite-based record of calving front ablation for Austfonna, the largest ice cap on Svalbard, with in-situ ocean records from an offshore mooring and modelled freshwater runoff for the period 2018-2022. We show that submarine melting and calving occur almost exclusively in autumn for all types of outlet glaciers, even for the surging and fast-flowing glacier Storisstraumen. Ocean temperature controls the observed frontal ablation, whereas subglacial runoff of surface meltwater appears to have little direct impact on the total ablation. The seasonal warming of the offshore waters varies both in magnitude, depth and timing, suggesting a complex interplay between inflowing Atlantic-influenced water at depth and seasonally warmed surface water in the Barents Sea. The immediate response of frontal ablation to seasonal ocean warming suggests that marine-terminating glaciers in high Arctic regions exposed to Atlantification are prone to rapid changes that should be accounted for in future glacier projections.