Penny Ice Cap
| Penny Ice Cap | |
|---|---|
 The Penny Ice Cap | |
  | |
| Type | Ice cap |
| Location | Nunavut,Canada |
| Coordinates | 67°17′N66°13′W/ 67.283°N 66.217°W |
| Terminus | outflow glaciers |
ThePenny Ice Cap,formerlyPenny Icecap,[1]is a 6,000 km2(2,300 sq mi)ice capinAuyuittuq National ParkofBaffin Island,Nunavut,Canada. It forms a 2,000 m (6,562 ft) high barrier on theCumberland Peninsula,an area of deepfjordsand glaciated valleys. It is a remnant of the lastice age.During the mid-1990s, Canadian researchers studied the glacier's patterns of freezing and thawing over centuries by drillingice coresamples.[2][3]
The ice cap has been thinning and its valley glaciers have been retreating in recent decades related to rising summer and winter air temperatures across the easternArctic.[4][5]
The ice cap is named after CaptainWilliam Penny,awhalingcaptain from Aberdeen in Scotland who pioneered over-wintering with nativeInuitatCumberland Soundin order to be able to start whaling (in the 19th century) much earlier in the season. He was also engaged byLady Franklinto search forJohn Franklin,lost with all his crew in the search for theNorthwest Passage.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Penny Ice Cap (Formerly Penny Icecap)
- ^"Nunatsiaq News: Penney Ice Cap shrinking like the rest?".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-05-12.Retrieved2008-01-05.
- ^NOAA Paleoclimatology: Penny Ice Cap Data
- ^NASA: Penny Ice Cap in 1979 and 2000
- ^C. Zdanowicz et al.: Summer melt rates on Penny Ice Cap, Baffin Island: Past and recent trends, and implications for regional climate
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