Frontal variations and surface area changes of Swedish glaciers during 2017–2023

In this paper, frontal variations and surface area changes for each of the years 2017–2023 are assessed for 277 Swedish glaciers, of which the majority is contained within the Randolph Glacier Inventory 7.0. Mapping of all Swedish glaciers became possible by combining Sentinel-2 imagery, semi-automa...

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Main Authors: Martin Houssais, Milan Horemuz, Jamie Barnett, Anders Bergwall, Nina Kirchner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Glaciology
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Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143025100579/type/journal_article
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author Martin Houssais
Milan Horemuz
Jamie Barnett
Anders Bergwall
Nina Kirchner
author_facet Martin Houssais
Milan Horemuz
Jamie Barnett
Anders Bergwall
Nina Kirchner
author_sort Martin Houssais
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, frontal variations and surface area changes for each of the years 2017–2023 are assessed for 277 Swedish glaciers, of which the majority is contained within the Randolph Glacier Inventory 7.0. Mapping of all Swedish glaciers became possible by combining Sentinel-2 imagery, semi-automated mapping procedures and the open-source Margin Change Quantification Tool (MaQiT). In addition, manual mapping was performed at a subset of 22 glaciers historically associated with the Swedish Front Variation Program. At four of those, mapping accuracy was assessed by contrasting Sentinel-2 mapped fronts to fronts mapped in situ using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), a total station and an uncrewed aerial vehicle. Results show widespread retreat of all Swedish glaciers, with cumulative frontal variation amounting on average to −55.6 m during 2017–2023 or −9.3 m a−1. Swedish glaciers had a total area of ∼237 km2 in 2017 and of 210 km2 in 2023. The reduction by ∼27 km2 corresponds to a loss of 11% with respect to the areal extent in the year 2017 but varies across regions. It is also almost as large as the combined area loss of Swedish glaciers in the preceding 15 years (∼31 km2, 2002–2017).
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spelling doaj-art-30dfad91e4e94a59ad11dd211e493e702025-08-20T03:32:15ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522025-01-017110.1017/jog.2025.10057Frontal variations and surface area changes of Swedish glaciers during 2017–2023Martin Houssais0Milan Horemuz1Jamie Barnett2Anders Bergwall3Nina Kirchner4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6371-5527Tarfala Research Station, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Real Estate and Construction Management, Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Stockholm, SwedenTarfala Research Station, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenTarfala Research Station, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenTarfala Research Station, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenIn this paper, frontal variations and surface area changes for each of the years 2017–2023 are assessed for 277 Swedish glaciers, of which the majority is contained within the Randolph Glacier Inventory 7.0. Mapping of all Swedish glaciers became possible by combining Sentinel-2 imagery, semi-automated mapping procedures and the open-source Margin Change Quantification Tool (MaQiT). In addition, manual mapping was performed at a subset of 22 glaciers historically associated with the Swedish Front Variation Program. At four of those, mapping accuracy was assessed by contrasting Sentinel-2 mapped fronts to fronts mapped in situ using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), a total station and an uncrewed aerial vehicle. Results show widespread retreat of all Swedish glaciers, with cumulative frontal variation amounting on average to −55.6 m during 2017–2023 or −9.3 m a−1. Swedish glaciers had a total area of ∼237 km2 in 2017 and of 210 km2 in 2023. The reduction by ∼27 km2 corresponds to a loss of 11% with respect to the areal extent in the year 2017 but varies across regions. It is also almost as large as the combined area loss of Swedish glaciers in the preceding 15 years (∼31 km2, 2002–2017).https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143025100579/type/journal_articlefrontal retreatglacier arearemote sensingSwedish glaciersTarfala
spellingShingle Martin Houssais
Milan Horemuz
Jamie Barnett
Anders Bergwall
Nina Kirchner
Frontal variations and surface area changes of Swedish glaciers during 2017–2023
Journal of Glaciology
frontal retreat
glacier area
remote sensing
Swedish glaciers
Tarfala
title Frontal variations and surface area changes of Swedish glaciers during 2017–2023
title_full Frontal variations and surface area changes of Swedish glaciers during 2017–2023
title_fullStr Frontal variations and surface area changes of Swedish glaciers during 2017–2023
title_full_unstemmed Frontal variations and surface area changes of Swedish glaciers during 2017–2023
title_short Frontal variations and surface area changes of Swedish glaciers during 2017–2023
title_sort frontal variations and surface area changes of swedish glaciers during 2017 2023
topic frontal retreat
glacier area
remote sensing
Swedish glaciers
Tarfala
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143025100579/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT martinhoussais frontalvariationsandsurfaceareachangesofswedishglaciersduring20172023
AT milanhoremuz frontalvariationsandsurfaceareachangesofswedishglaciersduring20172023
AT jamiebarnett frontalvariationsandsurfaceareachangesofswedishglaciersduring20172023
AT andersbergwall frontalvariationsandsurfaceareachangesofswedishglaciersduring20172023
AT ninakirchner frontalvariationsandsurfaceareachangesofswedishglaciersduring20172023