Tarfala Data

Riukojietna

Riukojietna is located on the Norwegian border and is the only ice cap-type glacier in Sweden. Its main tongue is flowing towards east. The glacier is thin and its areal extent has decreased significantly during the 20th century. Between 1960 and 1978 its mass and its extension decreased 15 %. The glacier is described by Schytt (1963) and Rosqvist and Østrem (1989).

Monitoring data

The front position of Riukojietna has been mapped since 1963. Its bed topography was mapped in 1986 by Holmlund (Unpublished). Mass balance is measured on this glacier since 1986 when Dr. Gunhild Rosqvist started measurements for the purpose of a lake sediment study focusing on Holocene glacier variations. The glacier has also been cored for paleoclimatic information by Pohjola et al. (2005).

Time series

Winter mass balance, summer mass balance, net mass balance, equilibrium line altitude and ackumulation area ratio are available as time series in a single file.

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Annual mass balance data

Data file and figure files in EPS format for a single year.

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Two maps were constructed by Østrem showing its extension 1960 and 1978 (Rosqvist och Østrem 1989). Until about 1975 the glacier tongue ended in a proglacial lake with an ice cliff. This lower part was decoupled from the rest of the glacier and was totally melted off at about 1980. The present front is situated about 200 m distant and about 80 m higher than the lake.

Graph

A graph of the Riukojietna mass balance record. White bars represent the winter balance and grey bars the summer balance. The net balance is given as blue for postive and red for negative.

Publications

Potential to recover climatic information from Scandinavian ice cores: An example from the small ice cap Riukojietna
Pohjola, V.A., Cole-Dai J., Rosqvist G., Stroeven A.P. and Thompson L.G.
Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, Vol. 87, No. 1 (2005), pp. 259–270.
The sensitivity of a small ice cap to climatic fluctuations
Rosqvist, G., and Østrem, G.
Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, Vol. 71, No. 1/2 (1989), pp. 99–104.


Riukojietna. Photo: Unknown.

Location (WGS84)68°05'N, 18°04'E
Areal extension4.6 km2