Jakobshavn Glacier
| Jakobshavn Glacier
Sermeq Kujalleq (Greenlandic) Jakobshavn Isbræ (Danish) |
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The calving front of the glacier
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| Type | Ice stream |
| Location | Near Ilulissat, Greenland |
| Coordinates | 69°10′N 49°50′W / 69.167°N 49.833°WCoordinates: 69°10′N 49°50′W / 69.167°N 49.833°W |
| Area | 110 000 km2 (whole catchment) |
| Length | greater than 65 km. |
| Thickness | around 2000 m |
| Terminus | Ocean (was floating now grounded) |
| Status | Retreating |
Sermeq Kujalleq (Greenlandic)
Jakobshavn Glacier, also known as Sermeq Kujalleq (in Greenlandic) and the Jakobshavn Isbræ (in Danish), is a large outlet glacier in West Greenland. It is located near the Greenlandic town of Ilulissat (Danish: Jakobshavn) and ends at the sea in the Ilulissat Icefjord.
Jakobshavn Glacier drains 6.5% of the Greenland ice sheet and produces around 10% of all Greenland icebergs. Some 35 billion tonnes of icebergs calve off and pass out of the fjord every year. Icebergs breaking from the glacier are often so large (up to a kilometer in height) that they are too tall to float down the fjord and lie stuck on the bottom of its shallower areas, sometimes for years, until they are broken up by the force of the glacier and icebergs further up the fjord. Studied for over 250 years, Jakobshavn Glacier has helped develop our understanding of climate change and icecap glaciology.
Ilulissat Icefjord (Greenlandic: Ilulissat Kangerlua) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.
Jakobshavn has been a name used for this glacier in scientific literature since 1853 when Danish geologist Hinrich Johannes Rink referred to it as Jakobshavn Isstrøm (Danish for Jakobshavn Ice Stream). It is sometimes referred to in the international scientific literature (by glaciologists) as Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier. Isbræ is Danish for glacier. It is also commonly known by the anglicised version, Jakobshavn Glacier.
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Wikipedia