Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2021-76
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2021-76
06 May 2021
 | 06 May 2021
Status: this preprint was under review for the journal ESSD. A revision for further review has not been submitted.

Unlocking archival maps of the Hornsund fjord area for monitoring glaciers of the Sørkapp Land peninsula, Svalbard

Justyna Dudek and Michał Pętlicki

Abstract. Archival maps are an invaluable source of information on the state of glaciers in polar zones and are very often basic research material for analysing changes in their geometry. However, basing a reliable comparative analysis on them requires they be standardised and precisely matched against modern-day cartographic materials. This can be achieved effectively using techniques and tools from the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The research objective was to accurately register archival topographic maps of the area surrounding the Hornsund fjord (southern Spitsbergen) published by the Polish Academy of Sciences, and to evaluate their potential for use in studying changes in the geometry of glaciers in the western part of the Sørkapp Land peninsula in 1961–90. Comparing the 1961 and 1990 data, glacier surfaces lowered by about 80–85 m for the largest land-terminating glaciers of the peninsula, and by up to more than 90 m for tidewater glaciers (above the line marking their 1984 extents). The dataset is now available from the Zenodo web portal: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4573130 (Dudek and Pętlicki, 2021).

Justyna Dudek and Michał Pętlicki

Status: closed (peer review stopped)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2021-76', Anonymous Referee #1, 09 May 2021
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Justyna Dudek, 09 Aug 2021
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2021-76', Anonymous Referee #2, 09 Jun 2021
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Justyna Dudek, 09 Aug 2021

Status: closed (peer review stopped)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2021-76', Anonymous Referee #1, 09 May 2021
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Justyna Dudek, 09 Aug 2021
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2021-76', Anonymous Referee #2, 09 Jun 2021
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Justyna Dudek, 09 Aug 2021

Justyna Dudek and Michał Pętlicki

Data sets

Topography of the western Sørkapp Land (Svalbard) in the year 1961 Justyna Dudek, Michał Pętlicki https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4573130

Justyna Dudek and Michał Pętlicki

Viewed

Total article views: 1,166 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total BibTeX EndNote
829 305 32 1,166 25 27
  • HTML: 829
  • PDF: 305
  • XML: 32
  • Total: 1,166
  • BibTeX: 25
  • EndNote: 27
Views and downloads (calculated since 06 May 2021)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 06 May 2021)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 1,058 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 1,058 with geography defined and 0 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 
Latest update: 01 Apr 2023
Download
Short summary
In our research we evaluate the potential of archival maps of Hornsund fjord area, southern Spitsbergen, published by the Polish Academy of Sciences for studying glacier changes. Our analysis concerning glaciers in the western part of the Sørkapp Land peninsula revealed that in the period of 1961–1990 a maximum lowering of their surface was about 80–85 m for the largest glaciers terminating on land, and over 90 m for glaciers terminating in the ocean (above the line marking their 1984 extents).