Storglaciaeren, Scandinavia

Mass Balance Factsheet for the Storglaciaeren, Scandinavia

Storglaciaeren is a small valley glacier situated on the eastern side of the Kebnekaise Massif, in northern Sweden. This glacier has been classified as one of the ‘reference glaciers’ by the World Glacier Monitoring Service because it has continuous long-term observations dating back to the year 1945/46. Mean annual air temperature at the equilibrium line of the glacier (around 1450 m a.s.l. for balanced conditions) is about -6 °C. Approximatively 85% of the glacier is temperate with a cold surface layer in its lower part (ablation area), and its tongue lying over discontinuous permafrost. Average annual precipitation is about 1000 mm at the nearby Tarfala Research Station. 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.

FACTS:

  • Political unit: SE
  • WGMS ID: 332
  • Latitude: 67.90°N
  • Longitude: 18.57°E
  • Height min: 1130 m a.s.l.
  • Height max: 1750 m a.s.l.
  • Measurement types: MASS BALANCE, THICKNESS CHANGE & FRONT VARIATION
  • Current Principal Investigator: Nina Kirchner, James Barnett & Colleagues
  • Current Sponsoring Agency: TARFALA RESEARCH STATION / UNIVERSITY OF STOCKHOLM (STOCKHOLM, SE)
Storglaciaeren in August 2021 (taken by Nina Kirchner on 07/08/2021)

Storglaciaeren in August 2021 (taken by Nina Kirchner on 07/08/2021)

Terrestrial and satellite map of Storglaciaeren (Google Maps)

Storglaciaeren Annual Mass Balance (WGMS, 2016)

Storglaciaeren Annual Mass Balance (WGMS, 2016)

Continuous Mass Balance (MB) measurements since 1945/46:

logo_MB_graph1logo_MB_data1

Additional data available: Front Variation (FV), Thickness Change (TC) and Glacier Outlines:

logoFVgraph1logoFVdata1logoTC_graph1logoTC_data1logo_Glacier_Outlines

Selected references:

Terleth, Y., van Pelt, WJJ., Pettersson, R. 2022. Spatial variability in winter mass balance on Storglaciären modelled with a terrain-based approach. Journal of Glaciology 1–13. doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.96
Monz, M. E., Hudleston, P. J., Prior, D. J., Michels, Z., Fan, S., Negrini, M., Langhorne, P. J., and Qi, C, 2021.: Full crystallographic orientation (c and a axes) of warm, coarse-grained ice in a shear-dominated setting: a case study, Storglaciären, Sweden, The Cryosphere, 15, 303–324, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-303-2021.
Holmlund, ES., Holmlund, P., 2019. Constraining 135 years of mass balance with historic structure-from-motion photogrammetry on Storglaciaren, Sweden. Geografiska Annaler Series A Phys Geogr. 10.1080/04353676.2019.1588543

last change 2/03/2023