Norway glacier retreat 2007 - 2013

[Jim]

I've just returned from a trip to Norway and visited the Briksdal glacier near to the small town of Olden. I had seen this glacier in 2007, so I was quite shocked at how far it has retreated in just the last 6 years. I have attached a comparison image showing the glacier as it was in 2007 along with (on the right) as it is now in 2013. I guess similar tales could be told of glaciers all around the world 

(But, of course, global warming is just a lie straight from the pit of hell!  )

[DaddyBFree]

Great pictures Jim.  It would appear from the lower left corner of the recent image that the tree line is advancing too.  It is amazing how quickly ecosystems adapt to suit the new "normals."
B

[Jim]

Hi B,
Yes, plants (and animals) will move into newly uncovered niches - but what about the cold-loving plants and mosses that have only ~100 metres (and about 5 years) left before their habitat is lost for good?
 - I also feel sorry for the tourist trade there, as the Brixdal glacier will not be around to attract the visitors for very much longer 

[Espen]

More images from Briksdalbreen:

[Jim]

Hi Espen,
This retreat in the ice seems to be replicated in glaciers around the world, and I was expecting the Briksdal glacier to have retreated somewhat since my last visit as I walked up towards it last week - but I was not prepared for just how far it had actually retreated when I reached the lake.

The retreat was quite shocking, and I really don't expect it to be there at all in a few years time (Talking to the local guide, I was told that this last winter was, like much of Europe, cold, snowy and prolonged. This has not helped save the glacier, which really does seem to be in terminal decline).

I think I might have a look at glaciers in the Alps to see if this scenario is replicated there (indeed, does anyone have data on the European Alpine glaciers?)

[Shared Humanity]

Hi Espen,
This retreat in the ice seems to be replicated in glaciers around the world, and I was expecting the Briksdal glacier to have retreated somewhat since my last visit as I walked up towards it last week - but I was not prepared for just how far it had actually retreated when I reached the lake.

The retreat was quite shocking, and I really don't expect it to be there at all in a few years time (Talking to the local guide, I was told that this last winter was, like much of Europe, cold, snowy and prolonged. This has not helped save the glacier, which really does seem to be in terminal decline).

I think I might have a look at glaciers in the Alps to see if this scenario is replicated there (indeed, does anyone have data on the European Alpine glaciers?)

I have no data but I have been reading up on the alps for the past year and the glacier retreat is fast. Permafrost is also melting which is triggering rock slides throughout the alps.

[Espen]

Hi Jim;

Since I am Norwegian, I don't do much studies in the local glaciers, it only makes me too depressed

[Jim]

Hi Espen,
I'm not surprised, it must be disheartening to watch your local ice melting year after year 
I found a nice, illustrative video of the Bossons glacier on Mont Blanc crumbling away here.
I've attached a couple of frames from the video, first from 2011 and the second from May this year, and the similarities with the Briksdal glacier are striking!

[Espen]

With  the assistance of Jim the images from Briksdal Breen is now updated:

[Stephan]

Any update from the last seven years? Guess it must have retreated further since then... 

[RunningChristo]

IT sure has continued to retreat! I was there first time 1995, then almost the whole lake was covered with ice. This was the situation for ca. 2-4 years, thereafter retreating fast until the lake again was icefree.

[BeeKnees]

This is very sad,
I have a picture of me standing by the lake when the glacier half covered it.  Went back about three years ago and there was almost nothing left to see.

[oren]

I visited Briksdal as a child in 1978. All I remember is it ending in a field. No lake that I can recall. Can anyone post a photo from around that time?

[RunningChristo]

Lucky you Oren, my parents didn't share my interests.  But your memory must be a little disoriented, while the glacier were positioned in the end of the lake, closer to the cliffhanger/tongue. The field you remember must ve the shoreline along the lake, probably covered with some vegetation.

[RunningChristo]

... And 1980.

[oren]

Thanks a lot RC. Those were not my specific interests back then... the visit was part of a general tour of Scandinavia. But interesting nonetheless of course.
It seems my memory is somehow wrong. I remember the name Briksdal well, but either we visited another branch of the glacier system, or I remember the approach to the glacier and not the location itself.

[Freegrass]

Found this with Google images.

First photograph of Briksdalsbreen, taken on 29 July 1869 by Christen de Seue (‘Brigsdalsbræen i Olden (Nordfjord)’; photograph; 12.1 cm × 16.5 cm; Prof. Hiortdahls samlinger; Norges geologiske undersøkelse (NGU), Trondheim, fotoarkiv, C29.93, NGU 001686)

And the briksdal glacier, olden - 1970