Storglaciären (Swedish for ''The Great Glacier'') is a
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
in
Tarfala Valley in the
Scandinavian Alps of
Kiruna Municipality,
Sweden. The glacier is classified as polythermal having both cold and warm bottom temperatures. It was on Storglaciären that the first
glacier mass balance
Crucial to the survival of a glacier is its mass balance or surface mass balance (SMB), the difference between accumulation and ablation (sublimation and melting). Climate change may cause variations in both temperature and snowfall, causing ...
research program began (immediately after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
), which continues to the present day; this is the longest continuous study of its type in the world. Storglaciären has had a cumulative negative mass balance of -17 m between 1946 and 2006. The program began monitoring the Rabots Glaciär in 1982, Riukojietna in 1985, and Mårmaglaciären in 1988. All three of these glaciers have had a strong negative mass balance since monitoring began.
For the purpose of studying Storglaciären and nearby glaciers,
Stockholm University
Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, s ...
operates the
Tarfala research station in the
Kebnekaise
Kebnekaise (; from Sami or , "Cauldron Crest") is the highest mountain in Sweden. The Kebnekaise massif, which is part of the Scandinavian mountain range, has two main peaks. The glaciated southern peak used to be the highest at above sea lev ...
region of northern Sweden.
See also
*
Ice sheet dynamics
Ice sheet dynamics describe the motion within large bodies of ice, such those currently on Greenland and Antarctica. Ice motion is dominated by the movement of glaciers, whose gravity-driven activity is controlled by two main variable factors: ...
References
Glaciers of Sweden
Landforms of Norrbotten County
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