Briksdalsbreen ( en, the Briksdal glacier) is one of the most accessible and best known arms of the Jostedalsbreen glacier. Briksdalsbreen is located in the municipality of

Stryn Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of t ...

in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier lies on the north side of the Jostedalsbreen, in ''Briksdalen'' (''the Briks valley'') which is located at the end of the

Oldedalen Oldedalen is a river valley in Stryn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long valley runs north-south and ends at the Nordfjorden at the village of Olden. The south end of the valley reaches up to the great Jostedalsbreen glacier in ...

valley, about south of the village of

Olden Olden may refer to: Places *Olden, Norway, a village in Stryn, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway *Olden, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Olden, Texas, a community in Eastland county, Texas, USA People *Charles Smith Olden, an American polit ...

. It is located inside Jostedalsbreen National Park. Briksdalsbreen terminates in a small glacial lake, ''Briksdalsbrevatnet'', which lies above sea level. The size of Briksdalsbreen depends not only on temperature, but is also strongly affected by precipitation. Measurements since 1900 show small changes in the first decades, with advances in the glacier front in 1910 and 1929. In the period from 1934 to 1951 the glacier receded by , exposing the glacial lake. In the period from 1967 until 1997 the glacier expanded by and covered the whole lake, with the glacier front ending at the lake outlet. The glacier attracted international attention in the 1990s, as it was growing at a time when other European glaciers were in decline. After the year 2000, the glacier once again receded. In 2004 it had receded to behind the lake outlet and in 2007 the glacier front was on dry land behind the lake. In this regard, its position approximated the situation in the 1960s. However, glaciologists speculate that the ''size'' of the glacier was at its smallest since the 13th century. In 2008, the glacier front had only receded by since the 2007 measurement. The slower melting is explained by the glacier being completely on dry land. The winter of 2007–2008 saw an increase in glacier mass, which was expected to move the glacier front forward around 2010. This was confirmed in the fall of 2010, when measurements showed that the glacier had advanced over the last yearfjordingen.no
/ref> This was however in comparison with the 2009 measurements, which saw the glacier being the most receded since measurements started in 1900. As the winter of 2009–2010 saw little snow and the summer temperature in 2010 was above average, Professor Atle Nesje predicts that further strong receding will be seen in 2013. As Briksdalsbreen is now very narrow at some stretches, it is possible that it will temporarily disconnect from the larger Jostedalsbreen.

Media gallery

Briksdalsbreen-close-18july2006.jpg, The glacier as seen from the lake in July 2006 Briksdalsbreen Norway 2003 & 2008.JPG, Briksdalsbreen Norway comparison 2003 & 2008

References

External links

*
Useful Briksdalsbreen tourist siteJostedalsbreen National Park CentreBreheimsenteretOfficial travel guide - Destination Stryn & NordfjordDirectorate for Nature Management - National Parks
{{authority control Glaciers of Vestland Stryn