Using Archival Data to Track Glacial Recession in Western Greenland
Document Type
Event
Faculty Mentor
Matthew Bampton
Abstract
Rising global temperatures are melting Arctic ice sheets with increasing speed. Specifically, Greenland is witnessing ever-changing conditions of their ice sheets that is threatening local climate and culture. Satellite imagery and aerial photography props up contemporary models that assist in tracking the calving and melting of glaciers along the coastlines of Greenland. In order to better predict glacial recession, the addition of paper archival data is needed. The inclusion of this data will enrich glacial recession models by stretching the timeline back as early as 1925. This project is crafted from data collected from the Danish National Survey of Greenland from expeditions between 1922 and 1946. Expedition sketches of Disko Bay and surrounding areas in Western Greenland show under-researched glaciers mapped that are now calving similar to Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn), the fastest melting glacier in Greenland to date. One of these glaciers, Sermeq Silarleq, had little research before the 2000s. To better predict and map glacial recession, a foundation of past patterns is required. The addition of archival data into modern tools such as Geographic Information Systems allows for retrieval of said patterns. GIS opens unique analytical possibilities and using old surveys/hand-drawn maps is only the cusp of what this technology can do. The methodologies of this project are foundational for the addition of the centuries of data that have yet to be integrated into GIS.
Using Archival Data to Track Glacial Recession in Western Greenland
Rising global temperatures are melting Arctic ice sheets with increasing speed. Specifically, Greenland is witnessing ever-changing conditions of their ice sheets that is threatening local climate and culture. Satellite imagery and aerial photography props up contemporary models that assist in tracking the calving and melting of glaciers along the coastlines of Greenland. In order to better predict glacial recession, the addition of paper archival data is needed. The inclusion of this data will enrich glacial recession models by stretching the timeline back as early as 1925. This project is crafted from data collected from the Danish National Survey of Greenland from expeditions between 1922 and 1946. Expedition sketches of Disko Bay and surrounding areas in Western Greenland show under-researched glaciers mapped that are now calving similar to Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn), the fastest melting glacier in Greenland to date. One of these glaciers, Sermeq Silarleq, had little research before the 2000s. To better predict and map glacial recession, a foundation of past patterns is required. The addition of archival data into modern tools such as Geographic Information Systems allows for retrieval of said patterns. GIS opens unique analytical possibilities and using old surveys/hand-drawn maps is only the cusp of what this technology can do. The methodologies of this project are foundational for the addition of the centuries of data that have yet to be integrated into GIS.
