Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-364
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-364
11 Jan 2022
 | 11 Jan 2022
Status: this discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal The Cryosphere (TC). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.

Inventory and classification of the post Little Ice Age glacial lakes in Svalbard

Iwo Wieczorek, Mateusz Czesław Strzelecki, Łukasz Stachnik, Jacob Clement Yde, and Jakub Małecki

Abstract. Rapid changes of glacial lakes are among the most visible indicators of global warming in glacierized areas around the world. The general trend is that the area and number of glacial lakes increase significantly in high mountain areas and polar latitudes. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the current state of glacial lakes in the High Arctic. This study aims to address this issue by providing the first glacial lake inventory from Svalbard, with focus on the genesis and evolution of glacial lakes since the end of the Little Ice Age. We use aerial photographs and topographic data from 1936 to 2012 and satellite imagery from 2013 to 2020. The inventory includes the development of 566 glacial lakes (total area of 145.91 km2) that were in direct contact with glaciers in 2008–2012. From the 1990s to the end of the 2000s, the total glacial lake area increased by nearly a factor of six. A decrease in the number of lakes between 2012 and 2020 is related to two main processes: the drainage of 197 lakes and the merger of smaller reservoirs into larger ones. The changes of glacial lakes show how climate change in the High Arctic affect proglacial geomorphology by enhanced formation of glacial lakes, leading to higher risks associated with glacier lake outburst floods in Svalbard.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Iwo Wieczorek, Mateusz Czesław Strzelecki, Łukasz Stachnik, Jacob Clement Yde, and Jakub Małecki

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on tc-2021-364', Anonymous Referee #1, 24 Jan 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Iwo Wieczorek, 19 Feb 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on tc-2021-364', Adam Emmer, 17 Feb 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Iwo Wieczorek, 19 Feb 2022

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on tc-2021-364', Anonymous Referee #1, 24 Jan 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Iwo Wieczorek, 19 Feb 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on tc-2021-364', Adam Emmer, 17 Feb 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Iwo Wieczorek, 19 Feb 2022
Iwo Wieczorek, Mateusz Czesław Strzelecki, Łukasz Stachnik, Jacob Clement Yde, and Jakub Małecki
Iwo Wieczorek, Mateusz Czesław Strzelecki, Łukasz Stachnik, Jacob Clement Yde, and Jakub Małecki

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Short summary
Glacial lakes development around the World has been observed since the end of the Little Ice Age. The whole process is especially rapid in Arctic region what shows last researches. One of the last regions which still has not been covered by data about changes of glacial lakes is the Svalbard Archipelago (Norway). We used remote sensing materials and methods to provide information's about changes of glacial lakes and to show major activity of glacial lakes outburst floods.