Sermeq Kujalleq
Sermeq Kujalleq (Template:Lang-da) is a large outlet glacier in western Greenland. It is located east of Ilulissat, flowing into Ilulissat Icefjord, at approximately 69°10′N 49°50′W / 69.167°N 49.833°W.
Productivity
The glacier is a major contributor to the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet, producing some 10% of all Greenland icebergs. Some 35 billion tonnes of icebergs calve off and pass out of the fjord every year. Icebergs breaking from the glacier are often so large (up to a kilometer in height) that they are too tall to float down the fjord and lie stuck on the bottom of its shallower areas, sometimes for years, until they are broken up by the force of the glacier and icebergs further up the fjord. Studied for over 250 years, Sermeq Kujalleq has helped develop our understanding of climate change and icecap glaciology.
Speed of flow
It is also one of the fastest moving glaciers, flowing at its terminus at speeds of 20 to 22 metres per day. The ice stream's speed-up and near-doubling of ice flow from land into the ocean has increased the rate of sea level rise by about .06 millimeters (about .002 inches) per year, or roughly 4 percent of the 20th century rate of sea level rise[1]. There is evidence for a sudden increase in subsurface ocean temperature in 1997 along the entire western coast of Greenland.[2] The changes in Sermeq Kujalleq are due to the arrival of relatively warm water originating from the Denmark Strait.[2]
See also
References
External links
- Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Jakobshavn Isbræ,West Greenland: the 2002-2003 collapse and nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Review of Survey activities 2003, issue 4, pp. 85-88.
- Ilulissat Icefjord. Book edited by Ole Bennike, Naja Mikkelsen, Henrik Klinge Pedersen and Anker Weidick, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, 28th September, 2004, ISBN 87-7871-136-3
- 2004 velocity measurements incl. tidal effects Article from Dresden University of Technology.