Investigation of intra-annual glacier velocity and seasonality of White and Thompson Glaciers, Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut

Abstract

The Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) is undergoing rapid atmospheric warming at rates that are twice that of the global average and are greater than any other time in the past four millennia. Consequently, changes in glacier behavior are being experienced due to this increase in air temperature, including longer and more intense melt seasons, modifications in glacier motion, and persistent glacier mass loss. To further understand the impacts of this warming trend on glacier flow, this study investigates seasonality and long-term changes in ice motion with a focus on two glaciers: Thompson and White Glaciers on Axel Heiberg Island, with White Glacier containing the longest in situ mass balance record in the Canadian Arctic. This study builds on previous research by creating a dense time series of glacier motion over a ~10-year period (winter 2008/2009 to winter 2021/2022), thus improving upon spatial and temporal resolution of earlier work. The main objectives of this study are to (1) utilize a large catalogue of previously unused SAR (R2 and TSX) data to produce velocity maps of White and Thompson Glaciers, (2) perform a comparison of different SAR datasets and (3) investigate seasonality and long-term changes in velocity structure.