Mass balance measurements in the Søndre Strømfjord area in the period 1990-1994

Abstract

We present four years of mass balance measurements for a transcct in the ablation zone of the Greenland ice sheet (near Sondre Stromfjord, West Greenland). The measurements cover an altitude range of 337 to 1524 m. The mean equilibrium line-altitudc is found to be 1424 m. The largcst balance gradient is found just below the equilibrium line. This is a consequence of the albedo pattern, showing the smallest values in the middle of the ablation zone and not at the ice margin.