Recesja lądolodów i lodowców oraz degradacja wieloletniej zmarzliny

• Authors: Zbigniew Zwoliński , Wojciech Dobiński

Title variants

EN

Recession of ice sheets and glaciers and the degradation of permafrost

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

Polar regions are an object of study of several disciplines, including cryology. The cryosphere embraces snow cover, sea ice, ice sheets, shelf ice, glaciers and ice caps, permafrost, as well as river and lake ice. The aim of the present paper is to address problems of the distribution and disappearance of glaciers and permafrost as an effect of the observed climate change leading primarily to a warming of the polar zones. Glacier ice found on the surface of the Earth is one of the most sensitive geoindicators of the climate change taking place in the geosphere. There is some inertia in the observable and measurable response of glacier systems relative to the change. It is estimated that for the Marine Antarctic region the delay may be some 25 years. Another feature characteristic of the recession of ice sheets and glaciers is the different rate of retreat of their fronts depending on location: ice sheets and glaciers ending on land usually display a much slower recession rate than those reaching the sea. This is combined with local, regional and global weather anomalies in temperature and precipitation which, together with the features of the bedrock, can sometimes seriously affect the recession pattern of individual glaciers. In the article examples are given of glacier recession in Greenland, Spitsbergen, Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula. The areas emerging from under the ice are among the fastest, most dynamically evolving ones in the world, undergoing processes of geosuccession. Apart from an increase in the thickness of the active layer, a rise in the temperature of permafrost itself can be observed. What favours the penetration of heat into the ground is the increasingly frequent absence of snow cover, or a clear reduction in its thickness. Those changes make continuous permafrost pass into discontinuous and then sporadic permafrost. In the Arctic regions permafrost degradation has the greatest impact on construction and network infrastructure, like roads, railway lines, and telecommunication facilities. Higher air temperatures, the recession of glaciers, a lower depth of freezing, and changes in the amount and quality of precipitation lead primarily to a shift of the climatic-vegetation zones northwards and the climatic- vegetation altitude zones upwards. This situation has brought about an extension of the growing season by 30-40%. The result has been geoecological transformations among the glacial, proglacial, periglacial and paraglacial systems at a variety of spatiotemporal scales that form the present-day landscape structure of the polar zones in the northern and southern hemispheres, and in high-altitude area.

• Journal: Kosmos
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 3-4
• Pages: 209-224

Dates

published

2008

Contributors

author

Zbigniew Zwoliński

• Instytut Paleogeografii i Geoekologii, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza, Dzięgielowa 27, 61-680 Poznań, Polska

author

Wojciech Dobiński

• Katedra Geomorfologii, Uniwersytet Śląski, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Polska

References

• ACIA, 2004. Impacts of a Warming Arctic. W: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Cambridge Univ. Press: ss. 45.
• Åkerman, H. J., 2005. Relations between slow slope processes and active-layer thickness 1972-2002, Kapp Linn, Svalbard. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift 59, 116-128. DOI: 10.1080/00291950510038386.
• Bas (British Antarctic Survey), 2008. Antarctic Ice Shelf 'Hangs by a Thread'. Press Release, March 25. [online: http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/press/press_releases/press_release.php?id=376]
• Battke Z., Marsz, A. A., Pudełko, R., 2001. Procesy deglacjacji na obszarze SSSI No. 8 i ich uwarunkowania klimatyczne oraz hydrologiczne (Zatoka Admiralicji, Wyspa Króla Jerzego, Szetlandy Południowe). Probl. Klimatol. Polar. 11, 121-135.
• Braun M., 2001. Ablation on the ice cap of King George Island (Antarctica) - an approach from field measurements, modelling and remote sensing. Ph.D. Thesis. MS., Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg, 191.
• Brown J., 1970. Permafrost in Canada. Univ. Toronto Press, Toronto.
• Brown J., Hinkel K. M., Nelson F. E., 2000. The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program: Research designs and initial results. Polar Geography 24, 165-258.
• Burgess M. M., Riseborough D. W., Smith S. L., (red.), 2001. Permafrost and Glaciers/Icecaps Monitoring Networks Workshop - January 28-29, 2000. Report on the Permafrost Sessions; Geological Survey of Canada Open File D4017, 1 CD-ROM.
• Chapman W., 2008. The Cryosphere today. [online: http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/].
• Christiansen H. H., Åkerman J. H., Repelewska-pękalowa J., 2003. Active layer dynamics in Greenland, Svalbard and Sweden. [W:] Extended Abstracts on Current Research and Newly Available Information, 8th International Conference on Permafrost, Glaciology and Geomorphodynamics Group. Haeberli W., Brandova D. (red.). Geography Department, University of Zurich, Switzerland, 19-20.
• Cook A. J., Fox A. J., Vaughan D. G., Ferrigno J. G., 2005. Retreating glacier fronts on the Antarctic Peninsula over the past half-century. Science 308, 541-544, doi:10.1126/science.1104235.
• Dobiński W., 1998. Problem występowania zmarzliny w Tatrach Wysokich w świetle badań geofizycznych wykonanych w Dolinie Pięcu Stawów Polskich i Świstówce Roztockiej. [W:] Z badań fizycznogeograficznych w Tatrach - III. Kotarba A. (red.). Dok. Geogr. 12, 35-58.
• Dobiński W., 2005. Wieloletnia zmarzlina w Tatrach: geneza, cechy, ewolucja. Przegląd Geograficzny 76, 327-343.
• dobrowolski A. B., 1923. Historia naturalna lodu.
• Etzelmüller B., Hagen J. O., 2005. Glacier-permafrost interaction in Arctic and alpine mountain environments with examples from southern Norway and Svalbrad. [W:] Cryospheric Systems: Glaciers and Permafrost. Harris C., Murton J. B. (red.). Geological Society, London, Spec. Publ. 242, 11-27.
• French H. M., 2007. The Periglacial Environment. Wiley.
• Głowacki P., 2007. Rola procesów fizyczno-chemicznych w kształtowaniu struktury wewnętrznej i obiegu masy lodowców Spitsbergenu. Publ. Inst. Geophysics, PAS, Monographic M-30, 1-146.
• Grześ M., Król M., Sobota M., 2007. Subaqual recordings of the changes in the range of glaciers in the Forlandsundet region (NW Spitsbergen). Landform Anal. 5, 148-150.
• Haeberli W., Cheng G., Gorbunov A. P., Harris S. A., 1993. Mountain permafrost and climatic change. Permafrost Periglacial Process. 4, 165-174.
• Hanna, E., Box, J., Huybrechts P., 2007. Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Balance. [W:] Arctic Report Card 2007. Richter-menge J., Overland J., Hanna E., Loonen M. J. J. E., Proshutinsky A., Romanovsky V., Russell D., Van Bogaert R., Armstrong R., Bengtsson L., Box J., Callaghan T. V., De Dapper M., Ebbinge B., Grau O., Hallinger M., Hinzman L. D., Huybrechts P., Jia G. J., Jonasson C., Morison J., Nghiem S., Oberman N., Perovich D., Przybylak R., Rigor I., Shiklomanov A., Walker D., Walsh J., Zöckler C. [online: http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard.23-31].
• Hanna E., Huybrechts P., Steffen K., Cappelen J., Huff R., Shuman Ch., Irvine-fynn T., Wise S., Griffiths M., 2008. Increased runoff from melt from the Greenland Ice Sheet: a response to global warming. J. Climate 21, 331-341.
• Harris C., Murton J. B., 2005. Interactions between glaciers and permafrost: an introduction. [W:] Cryospheric Systems: Glaciers and Permafrost. Harris C., Murton J. B. (red.). Geological Society, London, Spec. Publ. 242, 1-9.
• Harris S. A., 1986. The Permafrost Environment. Croom Helm.
• Halsey, L. a., Vitt, D. h., Zoltai, S. c., 1995. Disequilibrium respone of permafrost in boreal continental western Canada to climate change. Climate Change 30, 57-73.
• Hewitt K, 2002. Introduction: Landscapes In Transition. Landform Assemblages and Transformations In Cold Regions. [W:] Landscapes In Transition. Landform Assemblages and Transformations In Cold Regions. Hewitt K., Byrne M.-l., English M., Young G. (red.). Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1-8.
• IPA (International Permafrost Association), 1998. Multi-language Glossary of Permafrost and Related Ground-ice Terms. IPA, The University of Calgary, Calgary.
• IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change), 2007. Climate change. UNEP. [online: http://www.ipcc.ch/]
• Jahn A., 1975. Zagadnienia strefy peryglacjalnej. PWN, Warszawa.
• Jahn A., Walter, H. J., 1983. The active layer and climate. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie. Supplementband 47, 97-108.
• Jania J., 1988. Zrozumieć lodowce. PWN, Warszawa.
• Jania J., 1993. Glacjologia. PWN, Warszawa.
• Jania J., 1996. Zrozumieć lodowce. PWN, Warszawa.
• Jania J., 1997. Glacjologia. PWN, Warszawa.
• Jania J., 1999. Klimat - lodowce - atmosfera. Wykład inauguracyjny. Gazeta Uniwersytecka UŚ, 2(69). [online: http://gu.us.edu.pl/index.php?op=artykul&rok=1999&miesiac=11&id=592&type=no].
• Kääb A., Reichmuth T., 2005. Advance mechanisms of rock glaciers. Permafrost Periglacial Process. 16, 187-193.
• Kejna, M., Láska, K., Caputa, Z., 1998. Reccesion of the Ecology Glacier (King George Island) in the period 1961-1996. Pol. Polar Stud., 25th IPS, Warszawa, 121-128.
• Kędzia S., Kotarba A., Mościcki J., 2006. Lodowiec gruzowy na Wielkim Hińczowym Stawem w Tatrach Słowackich. Wyniki wstępnych badań terenowych. [W:] Zmiany klimatyczne w Arktyce i Antarktyce w ostatnim pięćdziesięcioleciu XX wieku i ich implikacje środowiskowe. Marsz A. A., Styszyńska A. (red.). Akademia Morska, Gdynia.
• Kędzia S., Mościcki J., Wróbel A., 1998. Studies on the occurrence of permafrost in Kozia Valley (The High Tatra Mts.). [W:] Relief, Quaternery Paleogeography and Changes of the Polar Environment. Repelewska-pękalowa J. (red.). Polar Session, UMCS Lublin, 51-57.
• Klimaszewski M., 1960. Geomorphological studies of the western part of Spitsbergen between Kongsfjord and Eidembukta. Zesz. Nauk. U.J. 32, Przegl. Geogr. 1, 91-179.
• Kostrzewski A., Zwoliński Z. (red.), 2003. Funkcjonowanie dawnych i współczesnych geoekosystemów Spitsbergenu. Stowarzyszenie Geomorfologów Polskich. Poznań-Longyearbyen, 190.
• Kostrzewski A., Pulina M., Zwoliński Z. (red.), 2004. Glacjologia, geomorfologia i sedymentologia środowiska polarnego Spitsbergenu. Stowarzyszenie Geomorfologów Polskich, Sosnowiec-Poznań-Longyearbyen.
• Kostrzewski A., Rachlewicz G., Zwoliński Z., 2007. Zmiany funkcjonowania geoekosystemów lądowych Arktyki. W: Zmiany klimatyczne w Arktyce i Antarktyce w ostatnim pięćdziesięcioleciu XX wieku i ich implikacje środowiskowe. Styszyńska A., Marsz A. A. (red.). Akademia Morska w Gdyni, Wydział Nawigacyjny, Katedra Meteorologii i Oceanografii Nautycznej, Komitet Badań Polarnych Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Komisja Meteorologii i Klimatologii, Gdynia, 289-309.
• Kotarba A., 1991-1992. Reliktowe lodowce gruzowe jako element deglacjacji Tatr Wysokich. St. Geomorph. Carp.-Balc. 25-26, 133-150.
• Laberge, M. J., Payette, S., 1995. Long-term monitoringof permafrost change in a palsa peatland in northern Quebec, Canada: 1983-1993. Arctic and Alpine Res. 27, 167-171.
• Lankauf K. R., 2004. Recesja lodowców rejonu Kaffiøry w XX wieku. [W:] Glacjologia, geomorfologia i sedymentologia środowiska polarnego Spitsbergenu. Kostrzewski A., Pulina M., Zwoliński Z. (red.). Stowarzyszenie Geomorfologów Polskich, Sosnowiec-Poznań-Lonyearbyen, VI-196-VI-209.
• Lewkowicz A., 1988. Slope processes. [W:] Advances in periglacial geomorphology. Clark M. J. (red.). Wiley, Chichester, 325-368.
• Lewkowicz A., 2006. Mass movements in lowland permafrost terrain, northern Canada: implications for climate change. EGU GA, Geophys. Res. Abstr. 8, 3151.
• Lucchitta B. K., Rosanova C. E., 1998. Retreat of northern margins of George VI and Wilkins Ice Shelves, Antarctic Peninsula. Ann. Glac. 27, 41-46.
• Łoziński W., 1909. O mechanicznym wietrzeniu piaskowców w umiarkowanym klimacie. Rozprawy AU, Kraków, Wydz. Mat.-Przyr., Ser. III(9).
• Łoziński W., 1912. Die periglaziale Fazies der mechanischen Verwitterung. Compt. Rend., XI Cong. Int. Geol., Stockholm 1910, 1039-1053.
• Marsz A. A., 2000. Charakterystyka fizyczno-geograficzna obszarów lądowych w otoczeniu Zatoki Admiralicji (Antarktyka Zachodnia, Szetlandy Południowe, Wyspa Króla Jerzego). Wyd. WSM, Gdynia, 125.
• Migała K., Głowacki P., Klementowski J., 2004. Dynamika rozmarzania warstwy aktywnej zmarzliny w rejonie Hornsundu (SW Spitsbergen) i jej przyczyny. Polish Polar Studies, XXX Sympozjum Polarne, Gdynia, 251-262.
• Monaghan A. J., Bromwich D. H., Schneider D. P., 2008. Twentieth century Antarctic air temperature and snowfall simulations by IPCC climate models. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L07502, doi:10.1029/2007GL032630.
• Naranjo L., 2007. After the Larsen B. [W:]: Sensing Our Planet. NASA Earth Science Research Features 2007. NASA [online: http://nasadaacs.eos.nasa.gov/articles/2007/2007_larsen.html].
• Nelson F. E., Shiklomanov N. I., Hinkel K. M., Christiansen H. H., 2004. Introduction: The circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) workshop and the CALM II Program. Polar Geograph 28, 253-266.
• NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Center), 2008a. Atlas of the cryosphere. University of Colorado (online: http://nsidc.org/data/atlas/index.html).
• NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Center), 2008b. State of the cryosphere. University of Colorado (online: http://nsidc.org/sotc/).
• Osterkamp T. E., Romanovsky V. E., 1999. Evidence for warming and thawing of discontinuous permafrost in Alaska. Permafrost Periglac Process. 10, 17-37.
• Osterkamp T. E., Esch D. C., Romanovsky V. E., 1997. Infrastructure: effects of climatic warming on planning, construction and maintenance. Proceedings, BESIS Workshop, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 115-127.
• Pękala K., Repelewska-Pękalowa J., 2004. Formy pingo w rejonie południowego Bellsundu (Spitsbergen). Polish Polar Studies, XXX Sympozjum Polarne, Gdynia, 293-305.
• Rachlewicz, G., 1998. Rozwój rzeźby glacjalnej zachodniego wybrzeża Zatoki Admiralicji, Wyspa Króla Jerzego, Szetlandy Południowe w okresie postatlantyckim. Rozprawa doktorska, UAM, Poznań.
• Rachlewicz G., Szczuciński W., Ewertowski M., 2007. Post−'Little Ice Age' retreat rates of glaciers around Billefjorden in central Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Pol. Polar Res. 28, 159-186.
• Rakusa-suszczewski S. (red.), 2005. The coastal and shelf ecosystem of Maritime Antarctica, Admiralty Bay, King George Island. Warsaw Univ. Press, Warsaw.
• Rączkowska Z., 2007. Współczesna rzeźba peryglacjalna wysokich gór Europy. Pr. Geogr. IGiPZ PAN, 212.
• Reder J., Zagórski P., 2007a. Recession and development of marginal zone of the Renard Glacier. Landform Analysis 5, 163-167.
• Reder J., Zagórski P., 2007b. Recession and development of marginal zone of the Scott Glacier. Landform Analysis 5, 175-178.
• Repelewska-Pękalowa J., Pękala K., 2003. Spatial and temporal variation in active layer thickness, Calypso-stranda, Spitsbergen. [W:] Proceedings of 8th International Conference on Permafrost. Phillips M., Springman S., Arenson L. (red.). Zurych, 941-945.
• Repelewska-Pękalowa J., Pękala K., 2004. Active-layer dynamics at the Calypsostranda Calm site, Recherche fiord region, Spitsbergen. Polar Geography 28, 326-340.
• Repelewska-Pękalowa J., Pękala K., 2006. Reakcja wieloletniej zmarzliny na zmiany klimatu. [W:] Zmiany klimatyczne w Arktyce i Antarktyce w ostatnim pięćdziesięcioleciu XX wieku i ich implikacje środowiskowe. Marsz A. A., Styszuńska A. (red.). Akademia Morska, Gdynia.
• Rignot E., Casassa G., Gogineni S., Kanagaratnam P., Krabill W., Pritchard H., Rivera A., Thomas R., Turner J., Vaughan D., 2005. Recent ice loss from the Fleming and other glaciers, Wordie Bay, West Antarctic Peninsula. Geophysical Res. Lett. 32, 4. doi:10.1029/2004GL021947.
• Roer I., Kääb A, Dikau R., 2005. Rockglacier acceleration in the Turrmman Valley (Swiss Alps): Probable controls. Norwegian J. Geograph. 59, 157-163.
• Romanovsky V. E., 2006. How rapidly is permafrost changing and what are the impacts of these changes? Essays on the Arctic, NOAA [online: http://ww.arctic.noaa.gov/essay_romanovsky.html].
• Rott H., Rack W., Nagler T., Skvarca P., 1998. Climatically induced retreat and collapse of northern Larsen Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula. Ann. Glac. 27, 86-92.
• Różycki S. Z., 1959. Wśród lodów i skał. Ze wspomnień uczestnika polskiej wyprawy polarnej na Ziemię Torella (Spitsbergen 1934r.). Sport i Turystyka, Warszawa.
• Scambos T., Hulbe C., Fahnestock M., 2003. Climate-induced ice shelf disintegration in the Antarctic Peninsula. In Antarctic Peninsula climate variability: historical and paleoenvironmental perspectives. Antarctic Res. Series 79, 79-92.
• Schneider D., Steig E., 2008. Antarctic Climate: Short-Term Spikes, Long-Term Warming Linked to Tropical Pacific. [online: http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2008/antarcticwarming.jsp]
• Seppälä M., 2003. An experimental climate change study of the effect of increasing snow cover on active layer. [W:] Proceedings of 8th International Conference on Permafros. Phillips M., Springman S., Arenson L. (red.). Zurich, 1013-1016.
• Siedlecki S., 1935. Wśród polarnych pustyni Svalbardu. PWKS, Warszawa.
• Skvarca P., Rack W., Rott H., Ibarzábal Donángelo, T., 1998. Evidence of recent climate warming on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. Ann. Glac. 27, 628-632.
• Slaymaker O., 2007. Criteria to discriminate between proglacial and paraglacial environments. Landform Analysis 5, 72-74.
• Smith M. W., 1988. The significance of climatic change for permafrost environment. Proceedings of 5th Inter-national Conference on Permafrost, Trondheim. Permafrost 3, 18-23.
• Smith M.W., Riseborough D. W., 2002. Where on Earth is permafrost? Boundaries and transitions. [W:] Landscapes In Transition. Landform Assemblages and Transformations In Cold Regions. Hewitt K., Byrne M.-l., English M., Young G. (red.). Kluwer Academic Publishers, 121-139.
• Smith S. L., Burgess M. M, Taylor A. E., 2003. High Arctic permafrost observatory at Alert Nunavut - analysis of a 23 year data set. [W:] Proceedings of 8th International Conference on Permafrost. Phillips M., Springman S., Arenson L. (red.). Zurich, 1073.
• Steffen K., Huff R., 2008. Greenland Maximum Melt Extent: A record maximum melt extent on the Greenland ice sheet in 2002. [online: http://cires.colorado.edu/news/press/2007/07-12-10greenland.html].
• TU (Trent University), 2008. Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, Largest In Northern Hemisphere, Has Fractured Into Three Main Pieces. ScienceDaily. [online: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/ 080415205350.htm].
• UCB (University of Colorado at Boulder), 2008. Arctic Sea Ice Hits Second-lowest Recorded Extent, Likely Lowest Volume. ScienceDaily. [online: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/ 081002172436.htm].
• UNEP/GRID-Arendal, 2007. The Cryosphere, world map. UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library, [online: http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/the-cryosphere-world-map].
• Vaughan, D. G., Doake, C. S. M., 1996. Recent atmospheric warming and retreat of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula. Nature 379, 328-331.
• Washburn A. L., 1979. Geocryology: a Survey of Periglacial Process and Environments. Edward Arnold, London.
• WGMS (World Glacier Monitoring Service), 2008. Global Glacier changes: facts and figures. WGMS, Zurich [online: http://www.grid.unep.ch/glaciers/].
• Zamolodchikov D. G., Kotov A. N., Karelin D. V., Razzhivin V. Yu., 2004. Active-layer monitoring in Northeast Russia: Spatial, seasonal and interannual variability. Polar Geography 31, 47-68.
• Zhang T., Barry R. G., Knowles K., Heginbottom J. A., Brown J., 2008. Statistics and Characteristics of Permafrost and Ground-Ice Distribution in the northern Hemisphere. Polar Geograph. 23, 132-154.
• Zwoliński Z., 2004. Geosukcesja - na przykładzie systemów oazowych regionów polarnych, Spitsbergen i Wyspa Króla Jerzego. [W:] Rekonstrukcja i prognoza zmian środowiska przyrodniczego w badaniach geograficznych. Dokumentacja Geograficzna 31, 129-131.
• Zwoliński Z., 2005. Geosukcesja - zmiany domen morfogenetycznych jako dopełnienie holistycznej teorii przyrody. [W:] Współczesna ewolucja rzeźby Polski. Kotarba A., Krzemień K., Święchowicz J. (red.). IGiGP UJ, Kraków, 549-553.
• Zwoliński, Z., 2007a. Mobilność materii mineralnej na obszarach paraglacjalnych, Wyspa Króla Jerzego, Antarktyka Zachodnia. Wyd. Nauk. UAM, Ser. Geogr., 74.
• Zwoliński Z., 2007b. The geoecosystem of polar oases within the ice drainage basin of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. [W:] Geodiversity of polar landforms. Kostrzewski A., Zwoliński Z. (red.). Landform Analysis 5, 107-112.
• Zwoliński Z., Kostrzewski A., Rachlewicz G., 2008. Environmental changes in the Arctic. [W:] Environmental Changes and Geomorphic Hazards, Singh S., Starkel L., Syiemlieh H. J. (red.) Bookwell, Delhi, 23-36.