MODIS Studies of Greenland

Store Gletscher, 5.5 km wide at its front, is ranked 2nd or 3rd in iceberg discharge for west Greenland at 13.2 – 17.5 km3 y-1 [1,2]. Store Gl. is one of a number of remarkably stable Greenland ice sheet outlets. Having not significantly changed its front position in available imagery going back to 1964 [2]. Why? We suspect this glacier is heavily grounded, dragging securely along its steep bed, that is, without significant buoyancy. Ice that reaches the grounding line either simply falls off into the 900 m deep fjord or the buoyancy force also wrenches the ice free.

Store Glacier, seen from the air, looking south, 13 June 2007. Photo: J. Box

Comparing multiple years of end of summer MODIS imagery, we find that Store Gl. advanced 5 sq km in 2008 (Figure 1).

[1] Bauer, A., Baussart, M., Carbonnell, M., Kasser, P. Perroud, P. & Renaud, A. 1968a: Missions aériennes de reconnaissance au Groenland 1957–1958. Observations aériennes et terrestres, exploitation des photographies aériennes, détermination des vitesses des glaciers vêlant dans Disko Bugt et Umanak Fjord. Meddelelser om Grønland 173(3), 116 pp.

[2] Carbonnell, M. & Bauer, A. 1968: Exploitation des couvertures photographiques aériennes répétées du front des glaciers vélant dans Disko Bugt et Umanak Fjord, juin–juillet 1964. Meddelelser om Grønland 173(5), 78 pp.