[{"name":"tarfala-sydtoppen-elevation-1","title":"Elevation of the ice-covered southern peak, Sydtoppen, of the Kebnekaise massif, Northern Sweden","summary":"This dataset provides annual elevation values for the ice-covered southern peak of the Kebnekaise massif from 1951 until 2021.\r\n\r\nKebnekaise is the highest mountain in Sweden. The Kebnekaise massif has two peaks; a northern ice-free peak with exposed bedrock at an elevation of 2096.8 meters above sea level and a southern ice-covered peak known as Sydtoppen (which means the southern peak in Swedish). Because of its ice-cover, Sydtoppen has a variable elevation \u2014 higher in winter as a consequence of snowfall, and lower in summer because of snow melt.\r\n\r\nReoccurring measurements of the elevation of Sydtoppen have been part of the measuring programme at the nearby Tarfala Research Station since the late 1940s. The elevation is measured at the end of every summer, aiming to capture the peak\u2019s lowest elevation each year. Until 2018, Sydtoppen remained higher than the northern peak, but continued ice melt driven by climate warming has resulted in that Sydtoppen is now at lower elevation than the northern peak. In the two last decades, the elevation of Sydtoppen has decreased by ca. 0.7 m\/year (7.3 m between 2002 and 2011, and 7.2 m between 2012 and 2021). The remaining ice thickness at the southern peak is currently amounting to about 35 m.","citations":"Holmlund P, Holmlund ES (2019) Recent climate-induced shape changes of the ice summit of Kebnekaise, Northern Sweden. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 101:1, 68-78. DOI:10.1080\/04353676.2018.1542130","comments":"Surveys of the elevation of Sydtoppen are carried out annually in late summer by staff at the [Tarfala Research Station](https:\/\/www.su.se\/tarfala-research-station\/), which is the Stockholm University centre for glaciological and alpine research, hosted by the Department of Physical Geography and located in the Tarfala valley in the Kebnekaise massif.\r\n\r\nBecause the exact position of the peak may change from year-to-year due to changes in snow accumulation and wind direction, the position 67\u00b0 54\u2019 N, 18\u00b0 31\u2019 E (WGS84) is to be seen as an approximation whenever no exact annual position is reported. Shape changes of Sydtoppen are described in Holmlund and Holmlund (2019), who also report that the ice base of Sydtoppen is located at 2060 m a.s.l. (\u00b1 2 m).","category":"Terrestrial","subcategory":"Glaciers","keywords":"Tarfala; Kebnekaise; Weather; Climate; Arctic; Alpine; Glacier","scientist":"Tarfala Research Station staff","firstname":"","lastname":"Tarfala Research Station","address":"Department of Physical Geography; Stockholm University","postalcode":"SE-106 91","city":"Stockholm","province":"","country":"Sweden","parameters":"Earth science > Climate indicators > Cryospheric indicators > Glacial measurements > Glacier elevation\/ice sheet elevation","location":"Continent > Europe > Northern Europe > Scandinavia > Sweden","progress":"Completed","language":"English","project":"","publisher":"Bolin Centre Database","version":"1","constrains":"","access":""}]