Basal topography of Kronebreen, NW Svalbard

Kronebreen is a tidewater outlet glacier draining the icefield Holtedahlfonna, in the Kongsfjord area of NW Svalbard. Like most glaciers in Svalbard, Kronebreen has been in retreat since the first front positions were recorded, with the exception of a brief advance during the surge of the neighboring glacier Kongsvegen around 1948. Kronebreen is one of the fastest non-surging glaciers in Svalbard, with average annual velocities near the calving front of around 450 m/yr. It has not been possible until recently to calculate ice fluxes, however, since the bottom topography of Kronebreen has been unknown. In 2009, ice thickness data were obtained using low frequency radar from helicopter over the heavily crevassed Kronebreen. These new thickness data are combined with surface elevation maps, older ice depth data, and fjord bathymetry data to create an expanded bed map of the Kongsfjord area. Velocity data of Kronebreen derived from feature tracking of high-res visible imagery is also combined with thickness data to calculate estimates of flux throughout the glacier. Analysis of this new data will give a better understanding of Kronebreen's retreat history, its mass balance and flux into Kongsfjord, and help in making predictions of when and how quickly further glacier retreat may occur.