Abstract:

A Geographical Information System (GIS) has powerful functions with which to analyze spatial data. This study constructed a model using GIS methods to simulate long-term changes of the polythermal Austre Lovénbreen Arctic mountain glacier. The GIS methods can be used to quickly and efficiently obtain the ice thickness, length of the mainstream line, surface area and ice volume of the glacier within the simulation. The variation of glacier volume in the time series was found consistent with the curve of the high-order function. Compared with the results of the Elmer/Ice modeling, in the first 90 years, it is feasible to study changes of a glacier on a scale of one to several decades using the GIS simulation methods. The GIS methods can be used to perform rapid quantitative analysis of geometric parameters to support research on mountain glacier change.

Key words: GIS model, glacier change, Arctic mountain glacier, Austre Lovénbreen