Spalte Glacier

Spalte Glacier
Map showing the location of Spalte Glacier
Map showing the location of Spalte Glacier
LocationCrown Prince Christian Land, in Northeast Greenland
Coordinates79°43′N 20°16′W / 79.717°N 20.267°W / 79.717; -20.267
Area110 square km
Length15km
Width10km
Lowest elevation0m
TerminusDijmphna Sound
StatusDisintegrated

The Spalte Glacier was a large floating glacier located in Crown Prince Christian Land, northeastern Greenland. The glacier broke up and completely disintegrated in July 2020.

Geography

The glacier was a northern offshoot of the Nioghalvfjerdsbrae glacier as it split either side of Hovgaard Island.[1] The main flow of the Nioghalvfjerdsbrae flows eastward out into Nioghalvfjerd Fjord while a smaller branch, the Spalte Glacier, flowed north into Dijmphna Sound.[2]

In July 2020, satellite images showed the complete break up of the Spalte Glacier.[3] An area of 125 square km of ice broke away leaving a calving front along the side of the main flow of the Nioghalvfjerdsbrae glacier.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Turton, Jenny V.; Mölg, Thomas; Collier, Emily (2020-05-28). "High-resolution (1 km) Polar WRF output for 79° N Glacier and the northeast of Greenland from 2014 to 2018". Earth System Science Data. 12 (2): 1191–1202. doi:10.5194/essd-12-1191-2020. ISSN 1866-3508.
  2. ^ Amos, Jonathan (2020-09-14). "Warmth shatters section of Greenland ice shelf". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  3. ^ "Image: Spalte Glacier breaks up". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  4. ^ Agency, European Space (2020-09-16). "Spalte Glacier Has Disintegrated: A Segment of the Largest Arctic Ice Shelf Shattered Into a Flotilla of Small Icebergs". SciTechDaily. Retrieved 2020-09-18.


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