The Potential of the Beerenberg Glaciers for Climate Studies

Abstract

The glaciers in Jan Mayen are found on the slopes of Beerenberg. The total glacier area is about 117 km(2), or about 30% of the whole island. Three different possible programs can be outlined. 1) Annual glacier front variations can give smoothed long-time information about the net mass balance of the glaciers. 2) Mass balance monitoring can be done as measurements of altitude variations of winter accumulation and summer melting and give information about the glaciers immediate response on current climate changes. 3) Ice core studies can possibly be conducted in the central crater of Beerenberg and provide information about the climate history and development of contaminants deposited over the last few hundred years.