Post-Little Ice Age glacial lake evolution in Svalbard: inventory of lake changes and lake types

Abstract

The rapid formation of glacial lakes is one of the most conspicuous landscape changes caused by atmospheric warming in glacierised regions. However, relatively little is known about the history and current state of glacial lakes in the High Arctic. This study aims to address this issue by providing the first inventory of glacial lakes in Svalbard, focusing in particular on the post-Little Ice Age evolution of glacial lakes and their typology. To do so, we used aerial photographs and satellite imagery together with archival topographic data from 1936 to 2020. The inventory comprises the development of 566 glacial lakes (146 km2) that were still in direct contact with glaciers during the period 2008–2012. The results show a consistent increase in the total area of glacial lakes from the 1930s to 2020 and suggest an apparent link between climatic and geological factors, and the formation of specific lake dam types: moraine, ice, or bedrock. We also detected 134 glacial lake drainage events that have occurred since the 1930s. This study shows that Svalbard has one of the highest rates of glacial lake development in the world, which is an indicator of the overall dynamics of landscape change in the archipelago in response to climate change.