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Abstract:
This dataset contains annually averaged ice surface velocity and thickness for all 202 tidewater glacier fronts on Svalbard, dating from 2012 to 2021. This is combined with mapping of front position changes to derive annual ice mass rates for retreat/advance, ice flux (discharge) and total frontal ablation.
The dataset is planned to be updated with new results every autumn.
Quality
Ice thickness was calculated with the help of surface (annual mosaics of ArcticDEM strip data) and bedrock DEMs (SVIFT v1.0 from Fürst et al., 2018; NPI DEM, and available bathymetry data from the Norwegian Mapping Authority). Velocity data were obtained from 3 datasets: Landsat-8 velocities from the ITS-Live product (2013 to 2018), and Sentinel-1 velocities derived by Adrian Luckman (2015 to 2020) and by Friedl et al. (2021) (2015 to 2021).Mean velocities values were calculated for each glacier when different datasets were available for similar years. Mass rates for retreat/advance were derived from front position changes manually digitized based on available satellite or aerial imagery, mainly acquired by Sentinel-2 or Landsat-8 during the period 15 Aug. to 15 Sept. each year and from ice thickness data. Ice flux (discharge) was derived from annual velocity data and ice thickness data. Frontal ablation was calculated as the combination of the ice mass rate and the discharge of ice.