Late Holocene glacier variations and climate at Jan Mayen

Abstract

Jan Mayen is a small (373 km2) remote island in the Norwegian Sea. One third of it is covered by glaciers, all located on the Beerenberg volcano. There have been at least two Holocene periods of glacier expansion at Jan Mayen. The first may have taken place around 2500 B.P. Some glaciers had their maximum extent during the second period, around 1850 A.D. They have subsequently shown an oscillating retreat, with marked expansion around 1910, and with a minimum extent around 1950. Many glaciers advanced again around 1960. The advance of Scbreen probably culminated around 1965. The climate appears to have been more arctic-continental than today during these two periods of glacier advances, caused by expanded pack ice cover in the East Greenland current and strong influence from the Greenland-Arctic high pressure area. The interplay between the high pressure area and the low pressure tracks in the North Atlantic Ocean determines the climate over the north-western part of the Atlantic, and this results in parallel climate and glacier variations within this region. We conclude, contrary to previous reports, that the advances of the glaciers around 1960 were caused by reduced summer temperatures and ablation, and not by increased precipitation.