The location of the Torngat Mountains is shown relative to circum-arctic and middle northern latitudes (inset). Locations discussed in the text are abbreviated on the map as follows: Blow Me Down Mountains (BMD), Nachvak Fiord (NF), Mount Razorback (MR) and Ryan's Bay (RB). Symbols depict ice masses mapped in 2005 for this study (black circles: active ice masses grey squares: inactive ice masses).
Map of the Torngat Mountains and adjacent coastline. These features occupy the southern limit of glacierization in the eastern Canadian Arctic, making them of particular interest for scientific study.įig. 1 inset),are one of the few remaining glacierized regions in the Arctic yet to be comprehensively inventoried as part of the GLIMS initiative and there is currently little baseline information available on the state of glaciers and ice masses in the region. The Torngat Mountains of northern Labrador ( Fig. As a result, glacier inventories utilizing GLIMS protocols have contributed to a near-globally complete dataset of glacier outlines ( Reference ArendtArendt and others, 2013). Reference Knoll, Kerschner, Heller and RastnerKnoll and others, 2009 Reference PaulPaul and Andreassen, 2009 Reference Barrand and SharpBarrand and Sharp, 2010 Reference Bolch, Menounos and WheateBolch and others, 2010 Paul and Svoboda, 2010 Reference Davies and GlasserDavies and Glasser, 2012 Reference PanPan and others, 2012). The GLIMS program has led to comprehensive glacier inventories in many polar and alpine regions and contributes to regional glacier change assessments (e.g.
Initiated in 1998, the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) project has as its primary goal to map and monitor all the world’s glaciers using data from satellite sensors ( Reference BishopBishop and others, 2004 Reference Racoviteanu, Paul, Raup and ArmstrongRacoviteanu and others, 2009). Reference Kääb, Paul, Maisch, Hoelzle and HaeberliKääb and others, 2002 Reference PaulPaul and Kääb, 2005). Automated and semi-automated glacier classification techniques and the widespread availability of digital elevation models (DEMs) have increased overall mapping resolution and accuracy while decreasing classification time (e.g. Satellite sensors such as the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Landsat have enabled the construction of complete, precise glacier inventories in otherwise inaccessible locations ( Reference Kääb, Paul, Maisch, Hoelzle and HaeberliKääb, 2005). With the advent of remote-sensing technologies, the ability to survey glacierized landscapes has vastly improved over the past 40 years (Pellilka and Rees, 2009). Reference Radić and HockRadić and Hock, 2011).
Reference Paul, Maisch, Kellenberger and HaeberliPaul and others, 2004), leading to projections that half of all small mountain glaciers (5 km 2) will disappear in the next century (e.g. Reference MeierMeier, 1984) and some have endured rapid disintegration over the past decade (e.g. Mountain glaciers, in particular, are extremely sensitive to changes in climate (e.g. Reference MeierMeier and others, 2007 Reference Church and WhiteChurch and White, 2011 Gardner and others, 2013) and it is projected that glacier surface mass loss alone will contribute 0.16–0.22 ± 0.04 m to SLR during the next century ( Reference Radić, Bliss, Beedlow, Hock, Miles and CogleyRadić and others, 2014). The near-worldwide retreat of glacier ice has resulted in accelerating contributions of glaciers to global sea-level rise (SLR) (e.g. Melting over the past century on many glaciers and ice caps has been greater than during any other period of the preceding several millennia ( Reference Anderson, Miller, Briner, Lifton and VogelAnderson and others, 2008 Reference Sharp, Burgess, Cogley, Ecclestone, Labine and WolkenSharp and others, 2011a Reference FisherFisher and others, 2012 Reference ThompsonThompson and others, 2013).
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