Mass Balance Factsheet for the Rabots glaciär, Scandinavia
Rabots glaciär is situated on the west side of the Kebnekaise mountain, which is the highest mountain in Sweden. It covers 3.7 km2 and the volume is estimated to 2.5 108 m3 (2018). The first photograph of the glacier was taken in 1883 and the front was documented photogrammetrically in 1910. The mass balance was first surveyed in 1945/46 and 1949/50. Continuous winter and summer mass balance has been measured since 1981. The position of the glacier front has been measured since 1946. A few older glacier extents have been documented by photographs back to 1910. For additional information on the status of the glacier and on data relating to annual mass balance and other measurements, visit the WGMS Fluctuations of Glaciers Browser. A 3-D visualization of the change in the glacier front extents between 1910 and 2018 can be found here.
FACTS:
- Political unit: SE
- WGMS ID: 334
- Latitude: 67.55°N
- Longitude: 18.30°E
- Height min: 1090 m a.s.l.
- Height max: 1800 m a.s.l.
- Measurement types: MASS BALANCE, THICKNESS CHANGE & FRONT VARIATION
- Current Principal Investigator: Gunhild Rosqvist, Pia Eriksson & Colleagues
- Current Sponsoring Agency: UNIVERSITY OF STOCKHOLM AND SWEDISH INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE
Rabots Glaciär in August 2018 (taken by Per Holmlund on 05/08/2018)
Terrestrial and satellite map of Rabots glaciär (Google Maps)
Rabots glaciär Annual Mass Balance (WGMS, 2018)
Continuous Mass Balance (MB) measurements since 1945/46:
Additional data available: Front Variation (FV), Thickness Change (TC) and Glacier Outlines:
Selected references:
Brugger, K.A., Refsnider, K.A. and Whitehill, M.F., 2005: Variation in length and ice volume of Rabots Glaciär, Sweden, in response to climate change, 1910-2003. Annals of Glaciology. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3189/172756405781813014), 42: 180-188.
Holmlund, P. and Jansson, P., 1999: The Tarfala mass balance programme. Geografiska Annaler 81A (4): 621-631.
Stroeven, A.P. and Van De Wal, R.S.W., 1990: A comparison of the mass balances of rabots Glaciär and Storglaciären, Kebnekaise, Northern Sweden. Geografiska Annaler. 72A, (1): 113-118.