From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Petermann Glacier
Petermann Glacier
wards the ocean, however, several lateral rifts have de-
veloped also. The distance of this rifts or cracks back
from the terminus has diminished for this time period al-
so and may serve as a pre-cursor to natural ice calving
from Petermann Glacier[3]. A large chunk estimated to
be 100 square miles (260 km2) calved off the glacier[4] in
August, 2010. The Danish Meteorological Institutes main-
tains an archive of imagery of Petermann Glacier and ad-
jacent coastal areas of Greenland [5][6] from both Euro-
pean and US satellites and sensors such as Envisat,
MODIS, and AVHRR.
Ship-Based Science Explora-
NASA satellite image.
tions 2003-2009
Petermann Glacier is a large glacier located in North- The US Coast Guard icebreaker "USCGC Healy" entered
West Greenland to the east of Nares Strait. It connects the fjord on August 11, 2003 to survey bottom topogra-
the Greenland ice sheet to the Arctic Ocean near 81 de- phy, ocean currents, and ocean chemistry as part of a
grees north latitude. The tidewater glacier consists of a larger program funded by the US National Science Foun-
70 km long and 15 km wide floating ice tongue whose dation to better understand rates and mechanism by
thickness changes from about 600 m at its grounding line which Arctic sources of fresh water may impact the cli-
to about 30–80 m at its front.[1] Rough mass balance es- mate states of the North Atlantic. The program was con-
timates using these scales suggest that about 80% of its tinued as part of the Canadian International Polar Year
mass is lost as basal meltwater, yet little oceanographic projects when the CCGS Henry Larsen entered the fjord
data are available to connect Petermann Glacier to its in 2007 and 2009.
fjord and adjacent Nares Strait. Even the sill depth and In 2009, scientists aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic
location is largely unknown as modern soundings of the Sunrise conducted multi-disciplinary measurements at
fjord are still lacking.[2] Petermann glacier to document the anticipated detach-
ment of a large area of the glacier to obtain insight into
glacier dynamics and to highlight glacier response to on-
Satellite Imagery going Arctic climate warming ahead of the Copenhagen
summit.[7].
Ice loss
In August 2010, a giant sheet of ice measuring 260 square
kilometres (100 sq mi) broke off from the Petermann
Glacier reducing its area and volume by about 25% and
10%, respectively. Researchers from the Canadian Ice
Service located the calving from NASA satellite images
taken on August 5th; Patrick Lockerby re-posted cropped
NASA images with interpretations on the internet the
same day. It was largest Arctic iceberg to calve since 1962,
however, it is unclear whether the event was related to
global warming or not [8]. The Select Committee on Ener-
Natural-colour satellite image of the ice island that calved off gy Independence and Global Warming of the US House of
the glacier on August 5, 2010. Representatives held hearings on Petermann Glacier and
the Greenland icesheet within days of the 2010 break-
A series of satellite images from 2002 through 2009 illus- up.[9]
trate that the terminus of the glacier has advanced to-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Petermann Glacier
[2] Johnson, H.L., A. Muenchow, K.K. Falkner, and H.
Melling, 2010: Ocean Circulation and properties in
Petermann Fjord, Greenland, J. Geophys. Res.,
doi:10.1029/2010JC006519.
[3] http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/
2008/10/what-links-the-retreat-of-jakobshavn-
isbrae-wilkins-ice-shelf-and-the-petermann-
glacier/
[4] http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/08/
ice-breaks-off/
[5] http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/kennedy.uk.php
[6] http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/
groenlandsk_gletsjer_knaekker_-_se_billederne
Pictures before and after
[7] "Arctic Impacts". Greenpeace. June and July 2009.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/
campaigns/climate-change/arctic-impacts.
Retrieved 2009-07-17.
[8] Huge ice sheet breaks from Greenland glacier
[9] US House of Representatives Aug.-10, 2010 Briefing
on "The Greenland ice sheet: Global Warming’s
impact in Arctic regions"
[10] The National Ice Center Press Release
Ice calving from Petermann Glacier in 2010.
[11] Canadian Ice Service information page on the
Petermann Ice Island (2008)
The National Ice Center named the new iceberg, the
Petermann Ice Island (2010)[10] to differentiate it from a
similar calving event two years earlier which produced External links
Petermann Ice Island (2008). That island was tracked by • MODIS Studies of Greenland at Byrd Polar Research
the Canadian Ice Service for over a year as it travelled out Center
into Nares Strait and south through Baffin Bay before los- • Satellite Imagery of Greenland from Danish
ing contact with the remnants in Frobisher Bay in July Meteorological Institute
2009.[11] • Satellite images of the Petermann glacier 2010 and
2009
References • Video Interview 2009 on Petermann Glacier
Coordinates: 80°30′N 59°30′W / 80.5°N 59.5°W / 80.5; -59.5
[1] Rignot, E. and K. Steffen, 2008: Channelized bottom
melting and stability of floating ice shelves,
Geophys. Res. Let., 35, L02,503.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petermann_Glacier"
Categories: Glaciers of Greenland
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