Briksdalsbreen

Briksdalsbreen (The Briksdal glacier) is one of the most accessible and best known arms of the Jostedalsbreen glacier. Briksdalsbreen lies on the north side of the Jostedalsbreen, in "Briksdalen" (the Briks valley), up the "Oldedalen" in Stryn municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It lies in the Jostedalsbreen National Park. Briksdalsbreen terminates in a small glacial lake, "Briksdalsbrevatnet", which lies 346 meters above sea level. [ [http://www3.dirnat.no/nasjonalparker/engelsk/ Directorate for Nature Management - National Parks] ]

The size of Briksdalsbreen is not only depending on temperature, but is also strongly affected by precipitation. Measurements since 1900 show small changes in the first decades, with advances in the glacier front in 1910 and 1929. In the period 1934-1951 the glacier receded by 800 meter, exposing the glacial lake. In the period 1967-1997 the glacier expanded by 465 meter and covered the whole lake, with the glacier front ending at the lake outlet. The glacier attracted international attention in the 90's, as it was growing at a time when other european glaciers were in decline. [ [http://www.nve.no/modules/module_109/publisher_view_product.asp?iEntityId=2171 NVE - Briksdalsbreen] ]

After the year 2000, the glacier once again receded. In 2004 it had receded to 230 meters behind the lake outlet and in 2007 the glacier front was on dry land behind the lake. In this regard its position approximates the situation in the 1960's. However, glaciologists speculate that the "size" of the glacier is at its smallest since the 1200s.

In 2008, the glacier front had only receded by 12 meter since the 2007 measurement [http://fjordingen.no/default.asp?page=3404&item=1504344,1&lang=1 Briksdalsbreen minkar mindre] ] . The slower melting is explained by the glacier being completely on dry land. The winter of 2007-2008 saw a increase in glacier mass, which is expected to move the glacier front forward around 2010 [ [http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_sogn_og_fjordane/1.6184202 Ein bre som veks. NRK Sogn og Fjordane] ] .

External links

* [http://www.jostedal.com/ Briksdalsbreen in Jostedal Glacier National Park]
* [http://www.briksdalsbre.no useful Briksdalsbreen tourist site]
* [http://www3.dirnat.no/nasjonalparker/engelsk/ Directorate for Nature Management - National Parks]
* [http://envisense.org/glacsweb/photos/briks-panos/index.html Sequence of photos showing the melting]

References and notes

Article translated from the equivalent article in Norwegian (see interwiki link).