Yelverton Glacier (Y) and De Vries Glacier (D) in 1999 and 2018 Landsat images.  Red arrows and red dots indicate the 1999 terminus and yellow arrow the 2018 terminus.  Point M indicates the area of melange or sikussak, the boundary of this area is marked by orange dots. Purple dots mark the snowline.

Yelverton Glacier is an outlet glacier from an ice cap on Northern Ellesmere Island. White and Copland (2019) identified an 85% reduction in are of eight floating ice tongues in the Yelverton Bay area.  They further observed that many of the glacier including Yelverton lost a substantial area of melange that had protected the glacier fronts from contact with open water.  The melange is comprised of icebergs and mulit-year sea ice and is referred to as sikussak. Here we examine Landsat images from 1999-2018 to identify the retreat of Yelverton Glacier and the loss of sikussak.

In 1999, the sikussak extends to the end of the Yelverton Glacier inlet, while the glacier terminus is 4.5 km up the inlet.  De Vries Glacier terminates adjacent to the northern tip of the peninsula separating De Vries and Yelverton.  In 2000, there is no change in the terminus or sikussak, the snowline is at 900 m.  In 2002, the terminus region and sikussak remain unchanged, the snowline is again close to 900 m. By 2015, Yelverton Glacier has retreated to its grounding line.  The sikussak that had existed is gone. In 2018, the terminus is exposed to open water and has retreated 8 km since 1999, the snowline is at 900 m. The area of sikussak that had been 6 km long has not returned and persisted since it disappeared. Pope and Copland (2012) noted the loss of multi-year land fast sea ice in the region beginning in 2005 and concluding with total loss by 2010 driven by warming.  This same climate change has also driven the retreat of Trinity Wickeham Glacier and Devon Ice Cap that also released new islands.  The Canadian Arctic Islands have seen widespread glacier area/mass balance loss particularly during the last two decades ( Noël, 2018).

Yelverton Glacier (Y) and De Vries Glacier (D) in 2002 and 2015 Landsat images.  Red arrows indicate the 1999 terminus and yellow arrow the 2018 terminus.  Point M indicates the area of melange or sikussak. 

Yelverton Glacier (Y) and De Vries Glacier (D) in 2000 and 2015 Landsat images.  Red arrows indicate the 1999 terminus and yellow arrow the 2018 terminus.  Point M indicates the area of melange or sikussak.