Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 27, 2012, pp. 68 1 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF DENMARK AND GREENLAND BULLETIN 27 • 2012 Neoglacial and historical glacier changes around Kangersuneq fjord in southern West Greenland Anker Weidick, Ole Bennike, Michele Citterio and Niels Nørgaard-Pedersen GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF DENMARK AND GREENLAND DANISH MINISTRY OF CLIMATE, ENERGY AND BUILDING 22 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 27 Keywords Greenland, Godthåbsfjord, Kangersuneq, Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, glaciology, tidewater glaciers, Quaternary, Holocene, Neoglacial, Little Ice Age. Cover The calving front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia seen from the south-west. The trimline zone on Nunataarsuk semi-nunatak in the background reaches almost to the top of the mountains. The calving front is 4.5 km long. Photograph: Dirk van As, 22 August 2011. Frontispiece: facing page Qamanaarsuup Sermia is separated into an upper and a lower part by a bedrock high. The area in the foreground was covered by an ice-dammed lake during the Little Ice Age maximum. The lower part of the glacier is c. 2 km wide. Photograph: Dirk van As, 28 August 2012. Chief editor of this series: Adam A. Garde Editorial board of this series: John A. Korstgård, Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University; Minik Rosing, Geological Museum, University of Copenhagen; Finn Surlyk, Department of Geography and Geology, University of Copenhagen Scientific editor of this volume: Jon R. Ineson Editorial secretaries: Jane Holst and Esben W. Glendal Referees: Ole Humlum (NO) and Niels Tvis Knudsen (DK) Illustrations: Jette Halskov Digital photographic work: Benny M. Schark Layout and graphic production: Kristian A. Rasmussen Printers: Rosendahls - Schultz Grafisk A/S, Albertslund, Denmark Manuscript received: 31 January 2012 Final version approved: 24 August 2012 Printed: 27 December 2012 ISSN 1604-8156 ISBN 978-87-7871-347-6 Citation of the name of this series It is recommended that the name of this series is cited in full, viz. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin. If abbreviation of this volume is necessary, the following form is suggested: Geol. Surv. Den. Green. Bull. 27, 68 pp. Available from Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark Phone: +45 38 14 20 00, fax: +45 38 14 20 50, e-mail: geus@geus.dk or at www.geus.dk/publications/bull © De Nationale Geologiske Undersøgelser for Danmark og Grønland (GEUS), 2012 For the full text of the GEUS copyright clause, please refer to www.geus.dk/publications/bull mailto:geus@geus.dk www.geus.dk/publications/bull www.geus.dk/publications/bull 3 44 Contents Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Notes on the Holocene history of the area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Geological, archaeological and historical information on glacier fluctuations and sea-level changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Data from aerial photographs and satellite images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Glacier changes in the Kangersuneq area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The former ice-dammed lake Isvand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Qamanaarsuup Sermia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Narsap Sermia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Kangilinnguata Sermia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Comparisons with regional glacier fluctuations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 South of Kangersuneq to Frederikshåb Isblink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Frederikshåb Isblink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Nakkaasorsuaq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Sermeq in Sermilik icefjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Isortuarsuup Sermia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 1CG14004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Kangaasarsuup Sermia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 North of Kangersuneq to Saqqap Sermersua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The ice-sheet margin at Isukasia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Saqqap Sermersua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Temperature changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Older Neoglacial (6500–2000 years BP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Younger Neoglacial (2000 years BP – present) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Index to place names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 5 Abstract Weidick, A., Bennike, O., Citterio, M. & Nørgaard-Pedersen, N. 2012: Neoglacial and historical glacier changes around Kangersuneq fjord in southern West Greenland. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 27, 68 pp. The Nuup Kangerlua region in southern West Greenland became deglaciated in the early Holocene and by the mid-Holocene, the margin of the Inland Ice was located east of its present position. Dis- cussion of late Holocene changes in the frontal positions of outlets relies on descriptions, paintings, photographs, maps, data from investigations of Norse ruins, aerial photographs and satellite images. The Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system has receded over 20 km during the last two centuries, indicating a marked response to climatic fluctuations during and since the Little Ice Age (LIA). A large advance between 1700 and 1800 was followed by rapid recession in the first half of the 1800s. Limited data from c. 1850–1920 indicate that although the long-term position of the glacier front remained c. 10–12 km behind the LIA maximum, the late 1800s and the early 1900s may have seen a recession followed by an advance that resulted in a pronounced moraine system. The ice-dammed lake Isvand formed during the LIA maximum when meltwater from the western side of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia drained to the Ameralla fjord in the west. This is in contrast to the drainage pattern before the 1700s, when water probably drained to Kangersuneq in the north. Thinning of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia resulted in total drainage of Isvand between 2000 and 2010 and the discharge of water through Austmannadalen has now returned to the same level as that in medieval times. Other outlets in the region, such as Akullersuup Sermia and Qamanaarsuup Sermia have varied in phase with Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, but with amplitudes of only a few kilometres. In contrast, Narsap Sermia has been nearly stationary and Kangilinnguata Sermia may have advanced until the middle of the 1900s. Lowland marine outlets in south-western Greenland were characterised by large amplitude changes during the Neoglacial. Extreme examples, in addition to Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, are Eqalorutsit Killiit Sermiat at the head of Nordre Sermilik fjord in southern Greenland and Jakobshavn Isbræ in Disko Bugt, central West Greenland. The Neoglacial advances appear to have occurred at different times, although this may in part reflect the limited information about fluctuations prior to the 1930s. The differences could also reflect variations in mass balance of different sectors of the ice sheet, different subglacial dynamics or topographical factors. The lowland areas are separated by uplands and highlands that extend below the marginal part of the Inland Ice; in such areas, the outlets have been advancing almost up to the present, so that the position of the glacier front around AD 2000 broadly coincides with the LIA maximum. Charting the fluctuations of the outlets thus illustrates the large variability of the glaciers’ response to changing climate but it is notable that the number of advancing outlets has decreased markedly in recent years. Authors’ address Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark. E-mail: awe@geus.dk mailto:awe%40geus.dk 66 Introduction In recent years, the Greenland ice sheet (the Inland Ice) has become a symbol of climate change. The ice sheet is losing mass at an accelerating rate (Dahl-Jensen et al. 2009; Rignot et al. 2011; van As et al. 2011), and it is becoming increasingly clear that we need a better under- standing of the past behaviour of the ice sheet and in par- ticular its sensitivity to climatic change. Here we present a review of our current knowledge about late Holocene changes of the Inland Ice margin in the Nuup Kangerlua region in southern West Greenland (Figs 1, 2). Recent climate change has resulted in thinning of mar- ginal parts of the Inland Ice (Dahl-Jensen et al. 2009). Politicians as well as ordinary citizens are concerned that the melting of the Inland Ice and the consequent rise in sea level will lead to world-wide environmental and so- ciological problems. Over the next century, the sea level may rise by about 1 m; a large part of this predicted rise is attributed to melting of the Inland Ice. However, during the past centuries different sectors of the margin of the Inland Ice have responded to climate change in various ways. Some sectors have been stable, others have receded and others have advanced. This im- plies that predicting glacier hazards such as changes in calf-ice production from the large tide-water outlets or ice-margin changes at hydropower plants can be difficult. It must be remembered that the Inland Ice is an im- mense body of ice. At the margin, the ice sheet is often confluent with minor ice caps or other local glaciers that have their own mass budget. The Inland Ice has exten- sive accumulation areas, and it is difficult to delimit the catchment areas for the individual sectors or outlets from the ice sheet. In addition, the catchment areas may change over time. The aim of this work is to compile in- formation about marginal changes of the Inland Ice in the Nuup Kangerlua region to give an impression of for- mer variations. The work focuses on the last centuries, but includes data concerning the last 6000 years. Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord) is the largest fjord complex in southern West Greenland and the longest fjord extends c. 160 km. The fjord branches are often sur- rounded by steep mountains, but lowlands are also rep- resented. The inner parts of Nuup Kangerlua were colo- nised by Norse people about 1000 years ago. The Norse established the Western Settlement (Vesterbygd) with c. 95 farms and two churches, but they abandoned the region after 350–400 years (Arneborg 2004; Dugmore et al. 2012). The only written information about the Greenland ice sheet from the Norse period is found in The King’s mirror from c. 1260 where it is briefly stated that most of the land is icebound (Larson 1917; Weidick & Bennike 2007). Some legends from the later Eskimo people (Thule culture) refer to their relationships with the Norse people (e.g. accounts by Aron from Kangeq and Jens Rosing presented in Birket-Smith 1961), but provide no information on glacier extent or glacier changes. The European exploration of the Baffin Bay and Davis Strait Fig. 1. Map of Greenland showing the location of the studied region and the location of selected ice cores. I n l a n d I c e Canada NorthGRIP Nuuk Summit Baffin Bay Ice core Town Main area study Area comparison for Camp Century DYE-3 Kangerlussuaq airport Disko Sisimiut Narsarsuaq 500 km 40°W48°W 72°N72°N 66°N 60°N 32°W 66°N 78°N 8°W40°W56°W 24°W72°W 78°N Fig. 1 7 region from c. 1500–1700 did not increase our knowl- edge of the Greenland ice sheet or glaciers in Greenland. The region was again colonised by Europeans in 1721, and from this time onward a fairly rich body of histori- cal information exists about the outlet glaciers from the Inland Ice in the region. This presentation summarises information about gla- cier changes from geological observations, archaeological evidence, historical sources, as well as more recent evi- dence from aerial photographs and satellite images. An index of relevant place names is included to aid under- standing of older data sources. The emphasis is on the scattered historical information on glaciers, which dates back to the early part of the exploration history in the be- ginning of the 1700s, and up to the first half of the 1900s. Work on the fluctuations of the glaciers in this area was initiated 52 years ago (Weidick 1959); more recent work and the recognition or re-evaluation of historical sources have necessitated an updating and revision of the record. Since the advent of aerial photography in the 1930s and particularly with the recent influx of satellite infor- mation, data on ice-sheet history have become both more accurate and more readily available. These data are dealt with in more general terms, tracing the major trends of the glacier fluctuations up to the first decade of this cen- tury. Setting This study is centred on the area at the head of Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord), c. 80 km east of the town of Nuuk (Fig. 3). The ice-free land in this part of Greenland is 100–125 km wide, with lowlands and uplands with el- evations up to 1000–1500 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The landscape is dissected by numerous straits and fjords, of which the longest, Nuup Kangerlua, reaches from the outer coast to the Inland Ice. In its inner part, in the Kangersuneq area, the ice-sheet margin reaches sea level, or close to sea level, in five outlets. From south to north, these are Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, Akullersuup Ser- mia, Qamanaarsuup Sermia, Narsap Sermia and Kangi- linnguata Sermia (Figs 2, 3). Fig. 2. Map of south-western Greenland showing outlet glaciers, the marginal areas of the Inland Ice and major fjords mentioned in the text. 68°N 70°N 66°N 64°N 62°N 60°N 70°N 68°N 66°N 64°N 200 km 50°W 45°W 50°W55°W 72°N in Nuuk Kangiata Nunaata Sermia Qamanaarsuup Sermia Kangilinnguata Sermia Kangersuneq Narsap Sermia Kangaasarsuup Sermia Akullersuup Sermia Frederikshåb Isblink Saqqap Sermersua Jakobshavn Isbræ Nuussuaq Disko Nakkaasorsuaq Qassimiut lobe Torsukattak Ikerasaap Sullua Disko Bugt Isortuarsuup Sermia Sermeq Sermilik Buksefjorden Allumersat Kangerlussuaq airport Arsuk Bræ Nordre Qipisarqo Bræ Sermeq Eqalorutsit Killiit Sermiat Qajuuttap Sermia Sermilik Isukasia Inland Ice Nordre Isunnguata Sermia NarsarsuaqNarsarsuaq Søndre Isortoq Paakitssup Ilorlia Qalerallit Sermia Søndre Sermilik Isvand 1CG14004 Sisimiut 88 Langva Kangerluarsunguup Illorsuit (13) Akul lers uaq Nuna taa rsu k Umiivik (15) Isortuarsuk Kangaarsarsuk (55) Nipaatsoq (54) Austmannadalen Gytjesø Nikku Johannes Iversen Sø Tummeralik (37) Kilaarsarfik (51) Nansens Teltplads (52) Tummeralip Tasersua Kapisillit Karra Nunatarsuaq Saqqannguaq (11) Puilasoq 10 km 51°W 51°W 65°N 64°N 50°W 65°N 64°N 50°W Kangilinnguata Sermia Kangersuneq Uj ara ssu it P aa va t Karra Austmannadalen Kapisillit Narsap Sermia Aku ller suu p S erm ia Kangiata Nunaata Sermia Qamanaarsuup Sermia Kangaasarsuup Sermia 1CG14004 Ameralla Kangerluarsunguup Nuup Kang erlu a Kapisillit Kangerluat Ameralik Tasersua Nunatarsuaq Akul lers uaq Nuna taa rsu k Isortuarsuk Itill eq Tasersuaq Gytjesø Nikku Isvand Johannes Iversen Sø Langvand Tummeralik (37) Kilaarsarfik (51) Saqqarsuaq (16) Umiivik (15) Ujarassuit (7) Puilasoq (8) Nansens Teltplads (52) Tummerallip Tasersua Illorsuit (13) Narsaq (12) Saqqannguaq (11) Kangaarsarsuk (55) Nipaatsoq (54) Norse ruin group Church ruin Amitsua rsuk Fig. 3 9 Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and Akullersuup Sermia are both calving tidewater glaciers with appreciable calf-ice production. The flux of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia was c. 6 km3 per year in 1996, but by 2005 it had increased by 33% (Rignot & Kanagaratnam 2006). According to Mortensen et al. (2011), the glacial ice discharge is 8 km3 per year. At their maximum extent, the two glaciers Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and Akullersuup Sermia were coalescent, and the calving front of the glacier system was located more than 20 km farther to the north than to- day. The term ‘Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system’ is used here to describe the two confluent glaciers. The third glacier, Qamanaarsuup Sermia ends on land today, but previously ended in a proglacial lake that was dammed by the advanced, confluent glacier system con- sisting of the present-day Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and Akullersuup Sermia. The fourth glacier, Narsap Sermia, is also a tidewater glacier, but calf-ice production is small, and it is sometimes possible to sail along the glacier front by boat. The fifth outlet glacier, Kangilinnguata Sermia, is situated at the head of Ujarassuit Paavat, which is a northern branch of Kangersuneq fjord at the head of Nuup Kangerlua. Kangi- linnguata Sermia is presently a minor land-based outlet. Whereas Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, Akullersuup Sermia and Qamanaarsup Sermia were surrounded by broad, fresh trimline zones in the last century, such a zone is only found to a very restricted degree around Nar- sap Sermia. The trimline zone around Kangilinnguata Sermia is narrow, which indicates a slight recession of the glacier in recent times. Kangaasarsuup Sermia, south of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, has experienced a somewhat larger glacier recession (Fig. 4). Mass-balance measurements have been carried out on Qamanaarsup Sermia between 1979 and 1989 and on a small local nameless glacier (1CG14033) situated at the junction between Ameralik fjord and Kangerluar- sunnguaq (Buksefjorden), c. 75 km south-west of Qama- naarsuup Sermia, during the period 1982–1989 (Braith- waite 1989, 1990; Braithwaite & Olesen 1989). At both places, the investigations were carried out to evaluate the hydropower potential in the region. On Qamanaarsuup Sermia, volume changes were also measured from 1968 to 1980 (Knudsen 1983) and again from 1988 to 1993 (Taurisano 2004). North of the Kangersuneq area (at Isukasia), glaciological investigations were conducted in connection with evaluations of the hydropower potential at the Inland Ice margin in the years 1974–1980 by the Arctic Consultant Group (ACG) and Vattenbyggnads- byrån (Colbeck 1974; Kryolitselskabet Øresund 1980). Notes on the Holocene history of the area The Holocene history of the area is not known in detail. A Quaternary map of the region on a scale of 1:500 000 was published by the Geological Survey of Greenland (Be- schel et al. 1978), but without explanatory notes or a map description. Notes on the Quaternary history have been published by Weidick (1975a, b) and Long et al. (2006). During the last glacial maximum, c. 21 cal. ka BP (cal. ka BP = calibrated to calendar ka before present, where present = AD 1950), the margin of the Inland Ice ex- tended to the edge of the continental shelf according to Vinther et al. (2009). The outer coast of the region became ice free during the early Holocene (Bennike & Björck 2002). During the following millennia, net reces- sion continued, but ice-margin deposits mark some halts or minor readvances of the ice margin. The correlation of these ice-margin deposits in western Greenland is uncer- tain (Weidick 1968, 1984a, b; Kelly 1980, 1985; Long et al. 2006). The recession of the ice margin over the pre- sent ice-free land followed after the abrupt warming at the Younger Dryas – Holocene transition, which is dated to 11.7 ka before AD 2000 (Rasmussen et al. 2006), and which was followed by increasing temperatures during the earliest Holocene. A characteristic feature of the Kangersuneq area is the wide belt of ice-margin deposits, which can be followed at the heads of Nuup Kangerlua and Ameralik fjords at a distance of 10–30 km outside the present margin of the ice sheet. The deposits indicate a halt or readvance. These Holocene ice-margin features have been variously termed the Fjord stage by Weidick (1968), the Younger Fjord moraine system by Ten Brink & Weidick (1974) and the Kapisigdlit moraine system by Kelly (1985). The term ‘the Kapisigdlit stade’ is used here to stress the local character of these ice-margin deposits. Near the settle- ment of Kapisillit, the marine limit drops abruptly from Facing page: Fig. 3. Map of the inner Nuup Kangerlua and Kangersuneq fjord region, showing the locations of named features and Norse ruins mentioned in the text. The map is based on aerial photographs from 1985; outlined area shown in Fig. 16. 1010 Gytjesø N aar suk Kangerluarsunguup Isortuarsuk Kapisigdlit stade Austmannadalen Kapisillit Nunatarsuaq Akul lers uaq ’Lake 8 m’ Nikku Karra Tasersuaq 8.2 0.2 9.8 8.5 10.8 51°W 51°W 65°N 64°N 50°W 65°N 64°N 50°W Kangilinnguata Sermia Kangersuneq Uj ara ssu it P aa va t Karra Austmannadalen Kapisillit Narsap Sermia Akull ersu up Ser mia Kangiata Nunaata Sermia Qamanaarsuup Sermia Kangaasarsuup Sermia 1CG14004 Ameralla Kangerluarsunguup Nuup Kang erlu a Kapisillit Kangerluat Ameralik Tasersua Nunatarsuaq Akul lers uaq Nuna taa rsu k Shell date Basal gyttja from isolation basin Church ruin (Kilaarsarfik) Isortuarsuk 6.4 5.2 5.0 4.3 7.6 Kapisigdlit stade Itill eq Tasersuaq Kapisigdlit stade Covered during the Little Ice Age Gytjesø ’Lake 8 m’ Nikku Isvand Fig. 4 4.9 Amitsua rsuk 10 km 11 over 100 m a.s.l. west of the moraine system to less than 80 m a.s.l. east of the moraines. On the basis of the ra- diocarbon ages from the area (Fig. 4) and archaeological information on increasing relative sea level at the church ruin at Kilaarsarfik (‘Sandnes’) after medieval times (Fig. 3; ruin group no. 51; Roussell 1936), an uplift curve has been proposed (Fig. 5). In the Disko Bugt region, the correlative of this c. 9–8 ka old stade was called the ‘Fjord stage’ by Weidick & Bennike (2007, p. 37). According to the uplift curve, the Kapisigdlit stade can be dated to 8.1–8.3 ka BP, and it may reflect a read- vance as a result of the 8.2 ka BP cold event (Alley et al. 1997). The age of the Kapisigdlit stade may correspond to the age of the Tasiussaq moraine system in Disko Bugt (Weidick & Bennike 2007, Young et al. 2011). However, a shell of the marine bivalve Macoma calcarea, found at Kangersuneq near the settlement of Kapisillit (Figs 4, 6) was dated to 9490 ± 105 14C years BP (Ua-3476; Fig. 6B), or 10.6–11.1 cal. ka BP (Table 1). The shell was found in a 5–10 m high coastal cliff section with a surface that gradually rises to 13 m a.s.l. at the foot of the proximal side of a Kapisigdlit stade moraine, in a silty boulder diamicton containing concretions with shells (Fig. 6B). The shell fauna included rare but well-preserved shells of Mya truncata and Balanus sp. The shells probably come from invertebrates that lived at the bottom of Kanger- suneq icefjord at a time when the ice margin was located near its present position or farther to the south and east than today. During the Kapisigdlit stade, the shells were dredged from the fjord bottom by the advancing glacier, and deposited in a diamict accumulation, which is now exposed in a coastal cliff section. Moraines related to the Kapisigdlit stade were first described from Nansens Teltplads (Nansenip Tupeqa- fia) at the entrance to Austmannadalen from Ameralla (near Norse ruin group 52c; Figs 3, 7). They were called Facing page: Fig. 4. Map of the inner Nuup Kangerlua and Kangersuneq fjord region, showing locations of radiocarbon-dated samples (ages in calibrated ka BP, Tables 1, 2), the approximate position of the Kapi- sigdlit stade (Weidick 1975a) and the maximum extent of the ice margin during the Little Ice Age (LIA max). The red areas around the present ice margins show the extent of the trimline zone. This zone is broadest around the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier sys- tem. The map is based on aerial photographs from 1985. 20 40 60 80 100 El ev at io n (m a .s. l.) Age (cal. years BP) 40006000800010 000 2000 0 0 Marine shells Archaeological dating Basal gyttja from isolation basin Fig. 5 Fig. 5. Model of Holocene relative sea-level changes in the Kanger- suneq icefjord area, based on data presented in Table 1; a.s.l.: above sea level. Locality Lat. Long. Elevation Laboratory Age Calibrated age Material Reference (north) (west) m no. 14C yrs BP * ±1 stdv., BP † * Ages were not normalised for isotopic fractionation, except for Ua-3476 that was normalised to a δ13C value of 0‰ on the PDB scale. † Calibrated according to the CALIB09 dataset (gyttja) and the MARINE09 dataset (marine shells); stdv: standard deviation. Johs. Iversen Sø 64°24´ 50°12´ 100 K-2294 8640 ± 130 Gyttja Fredskild 1983 Gytjesø 64°23.5´ 50°21.5´ 57.3 K-2295 7430 ± 100 Gyttja Fredskild 1983 Kapisillit 64°26´ 50°10´ 40 K-1036 7560 ± 150 Shells Weidick 1968, 1972 Amitsuarsuk 64°32´ 50°28´ 16 I-8596 6670 ± 110 Shells Weidick 1976 Kapisillit 64°28´ 50°11´ 5 Ua-3476 9490 ± 105 Macoma calcarea This study Lake 8 m 64°26´ 50°12´ 8 K-802 4340 ± 120 Gyttja Fredskild 1973 Kilaarsarfik 64°15´ 50°13´ –2 Archaeol. Roussell 1936, 1941 Table 1. Selected radiocarbon age determinations from the Kangersuneq region 9432–10153 8031–8402 8106–8861 7365–7776 10570–11109 4583–5305 c. 800 1212 ‘jøkelgjærde’ (moraine ridge) by Nansen (1890, map) and Bruun (1917, p. 102). This moraine may be cut by a marine terrace at c. 50 m a.s.l. Another early observation of ice- margin deposits come from Kangersuneq fjord, near ruin group 15 (Umiivik), where Roussell mentioned that about 700 m up from the ruin site is a large moraine bank run- ning across the valley (Figs 3, 7; Roussell 1941, pp. 60–61). The recession presumably continued after the Kapi- sigdlit stade, up to the peak of the Holocene thermal maximum at c. 7–6.5 ka. At around this time the ice mar- gin was generally located inland of the present position. It is not known how far east the ice margin retreated. However, a minimum estimate can be given for the time interval during which the ice margin was behind the present margin, based on ages of marine shells in concre- tions sampled from Little Ice Age moraines and from the alluvial plains in front of the outlet of Kangilinnguata Sermia, and dredged by the glacier from the bottom of the fjord. Age determinations of four samples gave ages of 6.4 to 4.2 cal. ka BP (Table 2). It is presumed that the net readvance was characterised by separate readvances of increasing magnitude, which generally culminated to- wards the end of the Little Ice Age at AD 1700–1900. The geomorphology of moraine localities and the con- tent of fossils in the deposits were described by the Ger- man geologist K. Gripp (1932, 1975), who also described marine fossils from Alanngorlia at Sermeq glacier and Frederikshåb Isblink. 100 km Disko 63°N 60°N 52°W 48°W 66°N 56°WA LGM S 11 ka 8–9 ka Lowland Highland Kapisillit 69°N B Nuuk 1 km 64°25´N 50°10´W Johannes Iversen Sø Ua-3476 (10.8 ka) Kapisillit Kapisillit Kangerluat Kangersuneq Kapisigdlit stade 64°25´N 50°10´W Fig. 6 1968 Fig. 6. A: Ice-margin positions during the recession of the of the Inland Ice margin in western Greenland (simplified). The numbers indicate approximate mean ages in ka BP. LGM: Last Glacial Maximum, dated to c. 22 ka BP, the position is according to Vinther et al. (2009). S: the Sisimiut glacial event. The latter stade was dated to 11–14 radiocarbon ka BP, corresponding to c. 12.9–17 cal. ka BP according to Kelly (1985). However, it is possible that the Sisimiut glacial event may correlate with the Younger Dryas cooling (11.7–12.9 cal. ka BP; Rasmussen et al. 2006). The stade marked 8–9 ka shows the approximate position of the ‘Fjord stade’, including the local Kapisigdlit stade in the Kangersuneq – Nuup Kangerlua area and the Marrait and Tasiussaq moraine systems in Disko Bugt. Lowlands are areas below 300 m a.s.l. B: Aerial pho- tograph showing the area around the isthmus at Kapisillit between the fjords Kangersuneq and Kapisillit Kangerluat. Ice-margin features be- longing to the Kapisigdlit stade, the location of the shell sample dated to 10.6–11.1 cal. ka BP (Ua-3476) and Johannes Iversen Sø, investigated by Iversen (1953) and Fredskild (1973, 1983) are shown. Aerial photograph from 13 August 1968, Geodetic Institute, route 281R, no. 146. 13 Ruin group 16 Fig. 7 Fig. 7. Norse and Eskimo ruin groups in the area between Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord) and Ameralik fjord (Bruun 1917); Bruun’s num- bers for ruin groups are still being used today. D. Bruun used a map by J.A.D. Jensen (drawn after field work in 1884 and 1885) as a basis for plotting archaeological sites after collecting information in Greenland in 1903 and using additional information from O. Bendixen after his travels in 1916. The map shows that the Norse farms and churches are found in the interior part of the ice-free land. Jensen’s map was in general use up to the 1930s. Legend: 1. Norse ruins. 2. Ruins previously believed to be Norse. 3. Eskimo tent sites. 4. Eskimo winter houses. 5. Eskimo winter houses from the time of Hans Egede (younger than 1721). 6. Inhabited sites (i.e. from 1884 to the 1930s). The red dot marks the location of ruin group 16 according to Roussell (1941). 1414 Moraine systems (partly with ice-cored moraines) are especially well developed around the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system. Relicts of shear moraines can be seen in Kangersuneq c. 11–12 km behind the Little Ice Age maximum extent as defined by the extension of the trimline zone. In the following, this advance is called the ‘1920 stade’. The first overview of the bathymetry of the Nuup Kangerlua region was compiled by Beschel et al. (1978), although data were lacking from major parts of the in- terior fjords. Mortensen et al. (2011) presented a depth profile of Nuup Kangerlua and Kangersuneq. The depth of the inner part of Nuup Kangerlua is about 600 m, whereas the depth in Kangersuneq icefjord is around 300–400 m (Fig. 8). A major threshold is found at the Little Ice Age maximum, where the depth is c. 150 m. Another smaller threshold is found c. 8 km inside this, with a depth of c. 300 m. The latter is found 1–2 km in front of the 1920 stade. A third threshold may occur at the 2010 frontal position of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, where the water depth is 210–240 m. The thresholds are separated by depressions with depths of 350 and 400 m (Fig. 8). The depressions may have been eroded during time periods when Qamanaarsuup Sermia (during the Kapisigdlit stade) and Akullersuup Sermia (during the Little Ice Age maximum) were tributaries to the Kangia- ta Nunaata Sermia glacier system. The present frontal height of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia is <50 m; the glacier front is probably mainly resting on the fjord bottom. Geological, archaeological and historical information on glacier fluctuations and sea-level changes The uplift curve (Fig. 5) shows a rapid emergence of land in the early Holocene, which was a consequence of the decrease of the ice load over the region. Uplift was fol- lowed by submergence in the late Holocene. Indications of relative submergence were already noted by Arctander (1793) and Pingel (1841, 1845) based on observations of archaeological sites situated at or below the present sea level. Their observations were confirmed by Matthiassen (in: Gabel-Jørgensen & Egedal 1940, pp. 8–10), Roussell (1936, 1941) and Larsen & Meldgaard (1958) based on Laboratory Age Calibrated age Reference 14C yrs BP * ±1 stdv., BP † Ua-3473 5590 ± 90 6240–6628 This study Ua-1089 4535 ± 110 4951–5544 Weidick 1993 Ua-3475 4280 ± 95 4683–5244 This study Ua-3474 3780 ± 70 4057–4448 This study Table 2. Neoglacial radiocarbon ages of shells from the bottom of Ujarassuit Paavat (64°50´N, 50°0´W) * The radiocarbon ages were normalised for isotopic fractionation to a δ13C value of –0‰ on the PDB scale. †Calibrated according to the MARINE09 dataset; stdv: standard deviation. no. 200 –200 –400 400 600 800 Kapisigd lit st ade Present sea level Sea level 8.2 ka m 1960s 1920 stad eSaqqarsuaq ruin group 16 LIA maximum Qamanaarsuup tributary Sermia Akullersuup tributary Sermia 0 5 10 15 20 km LIA maximum Fig. 8Fig. 8. Depth profile of Kangersuneq icefjord showing profiles of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia during the Kapisigdlit stade (8.2 cal. ka BP?), during the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum (1700s), during the 1920 stade (c. 1920) and during the 1960s. The minor depression of the fjord bottom 4–6 km off Qamanaarsuup Sermia and c. 14 km off Akullersuup Sermia may be due to the erosive effect of the frontal part of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system when the two tributary outlets joined the main glacier Kangiata Nunaata Sermia. 15 archaeological investigations, as well as by Saxov (1958, 1961) based on geophysical work. A review of these inves- tigations was published by Weidick (1996). Investigations have been carried out at a few locali- ties in southern West Greenland by dating the timing of isolation of lakes from the sea using pollen analysis and radiocarbon age determination. The pioneers of such in- vestigations in the area were Iversen (1953) and Fredskild (1973, 1983). More recent investigations have been made by Long et al. (2009) at a locality on the outer coast south of Sisimiut, and by Bennike et al. (2011) at a locality near Sisimiut. The relative sea-level history in the inner part of the Nuuk region was undoubtedly different from that of the Sisimiut region 300 km to the north-west, but the fact that the church ruin at Kilaarsarfik (‘Sandnes’) is now covered by the sea at high tide shows that this region has been transgressed. Dietrich et al. (2005) suggested a recent uplift of about 1 mm per year near Sisimiut and a subsidence of 2.2 mm per year at Kapisillit in the inner region of Nuup Kanger- lua based on GPS measurements at a number of stations in western Greenland. Long et al. (2009) suggested that the difference reported by Dietrich et al. (2005) could be a consequence of the behaviour of the ice margin in the two areas. More recently, Bevis et al. (2012) reported an uplift rate of 7.5 mm per year at Kapisillit. Although this figure may be uncertain due to problems with uplift processing, it is likely that the uplift rate has accelerated. Roussell (1936, p. 8–10; 1941, p. 14–18) in his treatise on the Norse farms and churches in the inner parts of Nuup Kangerlua and Ameralik made two important ob- servations on the environmental situation of the Norse settlements: 1. The relative sea level was some metres lower at the Kilaarsarfik church (ruin group 51, Figs 3, 7) at the head of Ameralik fjord in early medieval time than today. We suggest that the following relative sink- ing of the land is primarily related to the increasing glacier load during the Neoglacial. 2. The many farms along the head of Ameralik, in Aust- mannadalen west of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, at the head of Ujarassuit Paavat north of Kangersuneq and in Kangersuneq icefjord must have been more accessible from the sea in medieval times than at present, where kilometre-long tidal flats or calf-ice accumulations are found at the heads of the fjords. The tidal flats reflect a large increase in sediment supply, probably due to a marked glacier advance af- ter the Norse disappeared from the area, presumably around 1345 when the Norwegian priest Ivar Bar- darsson visited the area (Gad 1967; Arneborg 2004). As mentioned in the introduction, data on glaciers and glacier changes are sparse up to the first half of the 1800s. However, in the mid-1800s there was a growing interna- tional interest in the Arctic regions. The first systematic investigations of western Greenland were undertaken between the 1870s and 1900 by the Commission for the Direction of the Geological and Geographical Investiga- tions in Greenland. In addition to geological and geo- graphical studies, archaeological, botanical and other sci- entific investigations were carried out. The results were published in Meddelelser om Grønland, which was issued by the commission. Data from aerial photographs and satellite images The use of aerial photography in Greenland began in the 1930s, in connection with a new systematic map- ping programme (Wenzel-Petersen 1970; Nielsen 2000). The oldest photographs were oblique ones. During the Second World War, the US Air Force covered parts of Greenland with a combination of oblique and vertical photographs (trimetrogon). Oblique aerial photographs were also used by the Geodetic Institute in following years. These photographs cover large areas, but distant objects show little detail and more recent series are thus all vertical. Aerial photographs from Greenland have been ac- quired and collected since the 1930s by the former Geodetic Institute which was established in 1928 and was originally an institution under the War Ministry (Krigsministeriet; Helk 1954; Wenzel-Petersen 1970, p. 31). The Geodetic Institute produced and sold maps and copies of aerial photographs. The total collection of aer- ial photographs was available without restrictions, even during the cold war. On 1 January 1989, the Geodetic Institute became part of the National Survey and Cadas- tre (Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen), currently in the Ministry of the Environment (Nielsen 2000, p. 77). In addition to topographical mapping, the West Greenland photographs from the 1930s were also used in connection with archaeological investigations of the Norse ruins. The many details seen on the photographs made them suitable for archaeological and other scien- 1616 tific investigations. However, the old series did not cover all the ice-free land, and it was not until 1985 that a total coverage of vertical aerial photographs was achieved. Since the 1970s, satellite images have been used to map glacier changes. These images cover large regions and are available at short intervals. Data from satellites can be used in mass-balance calculations of specific sec- tors (Dahl-Jensen et al. 2009). However, in this work we have only used data from satellites to update information from historical sources and aerial photographs. Fig. 9. A: Isvand and the eastern part of Aust- mannadalen in 1888. Eastern part of a map by O.C. Dietrichson (Nansen 1890). Skrid- jökel: glacier, here part of a southern outlet of the Inland Ice (Kangaasarsuup Sermia). Isvand is drawn fairly schematically, but at its east side one can see the damming glacier marked by icebergs in the lake. B: Isvand and its discharge into the river through Austman- nadalen. Vertical aerial photograph from 16 August 1968, Geodetic Institute, route 281T, no. 85. The arrow indicates the island discussed in the text. The recession of the damming ice margin is given by approximate positions of the ice margins with years of ob- servations from 1888 to 1985. The recession was probably interrupted by minor advances, with the most pronounced culminating just before 1920 (marked 1920 stade). The most impressive change occurs in the area between the present glacier margin and the limit of the maximum ice coverage during the Little Ice Age. This limit is marked LIA max, and the area behind is still relatively barren even though major parts of this trimline zone have been free of ice for around 200 years. The position of the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia was stable between 1985 and 2010. After Weidick & Citterio (2011). 1955 1948 1948 1936 1985 1968 1936 1888 LIA max 19 20 st ade LIA max 1968 1 kmKa ng aa sa rs uu p Se rm ia Kangiata Nunaata Sermia Austmannadalen Isvand Langvand 64°14´N 49°40´W 64°14´N 5 km 64°14´N 49°35´WA B Fig. 9 1968 17 Glacier changes in the Kangersuneq area The description and evaluation of glacier changes pri- marily concern the fronts of the glaciers Kangiata Nu- naata Sermia, Akullersuup Sermia, Qamanaarsuup Ser- mia and Kangilinnguata Sermia although the record from Kangiata Nunaata Sermia is supplemented by data from the locality of Isvand, a former ice-dammed lake situated on the western flank of the glacier (Figs 3, 9). The individual glaciers or localities are treated separately, the presentation of the historical and modern data being followed by an evaluation of these datasets in terms of the glacial history. The former ice-dammed lake Isvand The description below concentrates on the area east of Austmannadalen, in particular the area including the former ice-dammed lakes Isvand and Langvand, located south-west of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and north of Kangaasarsuup Sermia (Figs 3, 9). The earliest informa- tion about the ice margin in this area was given by Hans Egede (1925, p. 104) in 1723. He refers to observations by reindeer hunters, who from Ameralik fjord presum- ably travelled up Austmannadalen, and observed the large ‘ice mountain’ which expanded over the mountains and undoubtedly was connected with the ice cover and mountains that Egede had seen farther south. The hunt- ers saw a large lake under the ‘ice mountain’, into which large ice lumps had fallen from the ‘ice mountain’, and Egede compared it with an earlier mentioned ‘Ujarach- suach’ (now: Kangersuneq), which also was full of ice- bergs that had fallen from the ice. It is uncertain whether this description refers to Isvand, but Isvand was the largest of the ice-dammed lakes in this area at the head of Austmannadalen. This ice-dammed lake formed af- ter the Little Ice Age maximum extent of the ice, when the whole area of the later Isvand was ice covered. The comparison to the ice conditions in ‘Ujarachsuach’ fjord is also open to question. It appears that this name was sometimes used for the present Kangersuneq, but usu- ally it was only used for the fjord Ujarassuit Paavat (Figs 3, 10). It may also have been via Austmannadalen that gov- ernor Claus Enevold Paars in April 1729 visited the ice margin, sailing from Nuuk to the head of Ameralik and then walking through Austmannadalen with a party of Danes, guided by two Greenlanders to reach the Inland Ice. From his observations near the ice margin, he de- scribed glacier crevasses, the crystalline structure of the glacier ice, and erratic boulders on the ice surface (Bobé 1936a, p. 26, 1936b, pp. 186–189). On the trip he also found ruins, but he does not mention the ice-dammed lakes at all. If large ice-dammed lakes existed, they must have formed an obstacle for approaching the Inland Ice margin and would probably have been recorded. Egil Thorhallesen, a missionary who lived in Green- land between 1765 and 1775, toured the central parts of western Greenland, especially in 1774 and 1775. He published an account of the Norse ruins (Thorhallesen 1776), but his original description of the country, its people and nature was not published until 1914 by Bobé (Thorhallesen 1914, including maps of the area). Thor- hallesen mentioned several Norse ruins, amongst oth- ers at a locality called Kangia, presumably at the head of Ameralla: In the eastern end of the bay several ruins from the old Europeans are also found; some may also be situated on high ground and some may have been covered by the glacier-ice in recent time. This is described in more detail in the “Efterretning om Rudera i Baals Revier [Treatise on rudera in Baals Revier]”. (Thorhallesen 1914, pp. 51–52; authors’ translation.) It is difficult to locate Thorhallesen’s place names from his map (Fig. 10). ‘Baals Revier’ is Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord). The river named ‘Laxelv’ is probably the river running through Austmannadalen. ‘Storelv’ is probably the Naajat Kuuat river, which drains the glacier Kangaasarsuup Sermia (not shown on Thorhallesen’s map, Fig. 10) and also drains the large lake Isortuarsuk. The head of Ameralik and Ameralla fjords was called ‘Kangia’ by Thorhallesen, but in a note by Bobé (Thor- hallesen 1914, p. 51) it was changed to ‘Umiviarsuit’, which is a locality close to the Kilaarsarfik church ruin (Bruun’s map 1917, Fig. 7). Thorhallesen noted that the length of Ameralla fjord from Eqaluit to its head at Kan- gia (or Umiviarssuit) is 2 Danish miles (15 km), which is close to the distance on modern maps. On Thorhallesen’s map, the lengths of the fjords are generally close to dis- tances on modern maps whereas the orientations of the individual parts are distorted. Roussell (1941) noticed that the route to the Norse ruins behind the present ex- tensive tidal flats may have been easier in the 18th centu- 1818 1 2 5 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 Fig. 10 19 ry than today. It is possible that much of the sedimenta- tion took place after Thorhallesen’s visit. Sedimentation rates may have increased due to the increased ablation that accompanied glacier recession in the 1800s. The ruins at Tummeralik were also mentioned by the early explorers of the region, and from a visit to the area around Tummeralik on 1 June, 1810 (Giesecke 1910, 254–259). Giesecke described the ruins at Tummeralik as well as the ice margin of the ‘Eisblink’, which may be the ice margin situated c. 5 km east of Tummeralik (Tummerallip Tasersua). Ruin group 37a shown on Bruun’s map (Fig. 7) is not mentioned or plotted on new- er maps of Norse ruins in the area (Gad 1967; Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen 1993) and may therefore not exist, at least not as Norse ruins. From a camp at ‘Auaitsirksar- bik’ (3–4 km from the ice margin of the glacier?) in 1810, Giesecke (1910, pp. 257–258) described the ice margin: This evening I went to the incredibly beautiful glacier (Ser- mersoak in Greenlandic), which is surrounded by a lake. The glacier is up to 80 feet high. Its margin is split into pointed cone-shaped prisms that are separated by deep cre- vasses, and some of the cones are almost pyramid-shaped. The surface of the glacier has large, often undulating peaks and depressions. The first impression is ghostlike; and the surrounding, completely barren area put me in a melan- choly mood; it seemed to me that I was in another world. It was midnight – I was resting alone in this depressing area, which had presumably never before been visited by any Eu- ropean. However, soon I enjoyed an uplifting drama in this desert when the sun rose behind this colossal mirror of ice... (authors’ translation). Further observations by Giesecke may refer to the de- velopment of a trimline zone and ice- marginal lakes, but his description is unclear. Several old maps of the area, drawn by local Green- landic hunters, are housed in a collection at the Royal Library in Copenhagen. This collection was established on the initiative of Hinrich Rink, the inspector and later director of the Royal Greenland Trade. He encouraged local hunters to collect information and draw maps of their hunting areas. The linguist and missionary, Sa- muel Kleinschmidt, also participated in this collection of information; his map of the region (Fig. 11) provides the best overview of the area from this time. The map was presumably drawn in the years before 1859, based on various sources and printed in 1860 (Kleinschmidt 1860). On this map, a lake is apparently indicated at the site where Austmannadalen ends at the glacier margin, although it is possible that this lake is just two converg- ing rivers. On newer versions of the map from the last half of the 1800s, this feature was sometimes coloured to indicate a lake. Kleinschmidt’s map was based on maps prepared by local hunters and their information, as well as on his own sketches, bearings and data from surveyors. His map is recognised as being of a high standard for the time. A comparison of Thorhallesen’s map from 1776 (Fig. 10) with Kleinschmidt’s map from 1860 (Fig. 11) shows major improvements. The importance of Kleinschmidt with regard to the geographic knowledge of the Nuuk region is emphasised by Wilhjelm (2001, pp. 144–152). J.A.D. Jensen reported from his visit to the area in 1885 (Jensen 1889, p. 88) that he could not enter the in- terior of Kangersuneq due to dense calf ice in the fjord. Furthermore he noted: In later years the calf-ice concentra- tion [in Kangersuneq] has increased considerably, and the Greenlanders are now rarely able to travel there, which was quite common earlier. (Authors’ translation.) This could mean that the glacier had receded. However, compared with the earlier maps of the 1800s, J.A.D. Jensen’s map from his expedition is more accurate and a later version of this map was used as the base map for Bruun’s system- atic mapping of the Norse ruins in the area ( Bruun 1917). The map of the interior parts of Kangersuneq (Fig. 7) may well have been drawn from the mountain ‘Nikok’ (Jensen 1889, pp. 88–89). According to Jensen’s travel report, this mountain is 3130 feet high (970 m), and he noted that he had a good view of the interior landscape around the southern part of Kangersuneq. It must be the same mountain, named Nivko, which on the map pub- lished by Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen (1993) is shown with Facing page: Fig. 10. Map of the ‘Gothaabs Destrict’ compiled by E. Thorhalle- sen in 1776, accompanying the report on his voyage to central West Greenland (Thorhallesen 1914). The map gives an impression of the geographical knowledge gained by the end of the 1700s of the area of Greenland that was best known at that time. The numbers show the location of some of the place names used in this study: 1: Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord). 2: Ujarassuit. 3: Kangersuneq. 4: Nar- sap Sermia. 5: Isthmus between Kapisillit Kangerluat (on the map: ‘Pisigsarfik fjorden’) and Kangersuneq. 6: Kangiata Nunaata Ser- mia. 7: Ameralla. 8: Austmannadalen. 9: Naajat Kuuat. 10: Eqaluit. The map published in 1914 measures 32 × 23 cm. E. Thorhallesen (1734–1789) was born in Iceland and was a priest in Greenland (1765–1775). He made a description of West Greenland in connec- tion with mapping of Norse ruins. 2020 a Fig. 11 Fig. 11. Map of the Nuuk area (title in Greenlandic). The Danish text below the map translates: Map of the inner part of Godthåb District, with special regard to the former Scandinavian settlements. Compiled from various observations, as well as from drawings and accounts by Greenland- ers, especially Aron and Abraham from Kangeq. By S. Kleinschmidt, Godthaab 1860. Printed in the printing office of the Inspectorate. (Authors’ translation.) The Danish headings to the right of the map translate as follows: Sunde og Fjorde: straits and fjords. Indsøer: lakes. Fjelde m:m:: mountains etc. Forskjellige benævnte Egne: various mentioned areas. Øer: islands. Nyere Hustomter: newer house ruins. Pladser beboede 1859–60: Inhabited settlements 1859–1860. The legend translates as follows: betegner … beboede Pladser: designates … inhabited settlements. … grønlandske Ruiner: Eskimo ruins. … nordiske Ruiner: Norse ruins. The scale (Maalestok) is in Danish miles (1 Danish mile = 7.5 km); a: Akullersuaq. The map is reproduced from Gulløv (1983). A printed version of the original map is in the Royal Library in Co- penhagen; the map in this version measures 26 × 19 cm. S. Kleinschmidt (1814–1886) was a teacher at the Teacher’s College in Nuuk (Godt- håb Seminarium); he published a famous Greenland grammar and added many details to the geographical knowledge of West Greenland. 21 an altitude of 924 m a.s.l., and which is located on the south-western side of Kangersuneq near the settlement Kapisillit. Jensen also described ice-dammed lakes along the south side of Narsap Sermia on the semi-nunatak Nunatarsuaq and their draining through Narsap Sermia and he mentioned the innermost semi-nunatak Nuna- taarsuk. In view of the details provided, the approximate position of the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia south of the semi-nunatak Akullersuaq may be realistic (Figs 3, 4), but the front may also have been copied from Klein- schmidt’s or other early maps from the middle of the 1800s. The following information about the area between Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and Ameralik fjord in 1888 is taken from F. Nansen’s description (Nansen 1890). Nansen crossed the Inland Ice from South-East Green- land to Ameralik fjord in West Greenland. He described the descent from the Inland Ice and compiled a map over parts of the ice margin, the ice-dammed lakes Isvand and Langvand and the valley (Austmannadalen) leading down to Ameralla fjord (Fig. 9). All three names were given by Nansen’s expedition. The area was mapped by O.C. Dietrichson; only the western part of it concern- ing Isvand is shown here (Fig. 9A). This map from 1888 shows that the marginal lakes are situated inside the trimline zone, which must have formed before this year. If Kleinschmidt’s map from 1860 shows a lake at this site, Isvand must have existed around or before the mid- dle of the 1800s. Initial thinning of the glacier implies that recession from the maximum extent of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia began before the visit by Nansen’s ex- pedition. The following recession can be seen on aerial photographs from 1936 to 1985 (Fig. 9B). The Norse ruins in Austmannadalen were located in 1934 and excavated in 1937 (Roussell 1941, p. 14). In connection with these activities, the area was covered by aerial photographs in 1936. The photograph in Fig. 9B from 1968 shows the eastern part of Austmannadalen with the ice-dammed lakes Isvand and Langvand. The glacial extent in 1936 can be compared with the situation in 1888 (Nansen 1890, map; Fig. 9A), as well as with an aerial photograph from 1985 and an ASTER image from 2010 (Fig. 12). The photograph from 1968 shows the Inland Ice mar- gin surrounded by a wide trimline zone. It is difficult to differentiate between the ice-dammed lakes Isvand and Langvand (Fig. 9B) and the surrounding trimline zone as the lakes were filled with the same silt that covers the vegetation-poor trimline zone; this is in marked con- trast to other lakes in the area that appear black on the photographs. The extent of the trimline zones indicates that the maximum coverage of the margin of the Inland Ice occurred before 1888, but also that the ice margin at this locality in 1888 had already receded 2–3 km from the Little Ice Age maximum. On the aerial photographs from 1936 and subsequent years, a series of ice-margin features, which must have formed during an advance be- fore the 1930s, can also be seen. They can be followed down to the former semi-stable front of the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system situated c. 12 km behind the Little Ice Age maximum. The stade marked by these moraines is the 1920 stade mentioned earlier. On the aerial photographs from 1936, an ice-free head- land, peeping out from the ice margin in the lake, is seen. Following recession until 1985 (Fig. 9B), this headland became an island (see arrow on Fig. 9B) and the recession of the ice margin during this period must be c. 2 km. The shape of the Isvand lake in the period 1936–85 remained unchanged, indicating a nearly permanent lake level at c. 360 m a.s.l. (Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen 1993), with no periodic sudden drainage of Isvand under or through Kangiata Nunaata Sermia to Kangersuneq and with a permanent discharge through Austmannadalen. Comparison of the 1985 photograph with a Landsat image from 2009 shows a dramatic change in the area. Satellite images from between 1987 and 2010 indicate that the shrunken Isvand lake underwent sudden drain- age events via Kangiata Nunaata Sermia in 2004 and 2009. It appears that the continuous thinning of Kangia- ta Nunaata Sermia resulted in drainage of Isvand. The fluvial discharge through Austmannadalen to Ameralla and Ameralik fjords must now be just as modest as it was during the Norse period. However, the area formerly covered by Isvand is now covered by a layer of silt and the head of Ameralla is filled up with extensive tidal-flat silt accumulations; these features testify to the former influence of Isvand and its drainage through Austman- nadalen. Photographs taken by Dirk van As on 26 August 2010 apparently show a renewed filling up of the ponds of the former Isvand. This is also seen on ASTER images from earlier in 2010 (Fig. 12). Presumably the lake remnants are now partly emptied by periodic drainage via Kangiata Nunaata Sermia. 2222 Evaluation During the time of the Norse settlers, the river running through Austmannadalen only received water from the restricted hydrological basin of Austmannadalen and therefore had a very modest discharge. The following culmination of the Little Ice Age is uncertain, but the ice margin was probably situated at the pass point between Austmannadalen and the valley around Isvand. H. Egede visited the region in 1723 and mentioned an expanding ‘ice mountain’ and water ‘under’ (and around?) the ice (Egede 1925, p. 104). In 1729, C.E. Paars traversed the area, but he does not mention an ice-dammed lake (Bobé 1936b, pp. 186–187). It is therefore possible that Isvand did not exist and the ice margin may have been located at the pass point between Isvand and Austmannadalen (at c. 360 m a.s.l.). During the period when Isvand existed in the 1700s, 1800s and the 1900s, the pass between Isvand and Aust- mannadalen received meltwater from large parts of the western ablation areas of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia that drained via Austmannadalen to Ameralla. The lake may have had the same level at c. 360 m a.s.l. through- out the period of its existence, and the development of the lake reflects the recession of the ice margin, which led to a growth of the lake area, but without any essen- tial change of its outline. After the rapid drainage of the Fig. 12. Advanced spaceborne thermal emission reflection radiometer (ASTER) sat- ellite image of the area in front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and former size of lake Isvand showing the situation in 2010. The outline of the former lake Isvand in 1968 is shown with white lines (see Fig. 9B). The ap- proximate positions of the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia are shown for the period c. 1920–2010; the Akullersuup Sermia ice front remained nearly stationary between 1985 and 2010. LIA max: Little Ice Age maximum. After Weidick & Citterio (2011). 2 km 1920 1985 2009 2010 1968 1920 stade LIA max LIA m ax 193 6 1946? 197 9 1948 2009 19 85 /86 Kangiata Nunaata Sermia Kangaasarsuup Sermia Akullersuup Sermia Austmannadalen Langvand Former size of lake Isvand 64°16´N64°16´N 49°40´W 49°40´W 19 68 2010 Fig. 12 2010 23 lake through Kangiata Nunaata Sermia in 2004 and 2009, the ice margin became more stable, and the flu- vial regime in Austmannadalen became similar to that in medieval times. The only change compared with the medieval conditions is the blanket of silt and mud that now covers the trimline zone including the earlier lake floor of Isvand. In addition, an extensive tidal flat has formed at the head of Ameralla fjord. The glacial events in the Austmannadalen and Isvand area can be summarised as follows: c. 1700 – c. 1750: The advance leading to the Little Ice Age maximum presumably occurred c. 1729 and led to the formation of Isvand, the ice-dammed lake, in perhaps 1723. This implies that significant drainage of meltwater through Austmannadalen from Kangiata Nunaata Ser- mia took place. Subsequent minor recessions and read- vances of the ice margin may have occurred during this period. c. 1750 – c. 1800: Initial thinning of the western flank of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia. The size of Isvand depended on the minor fluctuations of the glacier. Over this time period, the area drained via Austmannadalen to Amer- alla. The size of Isvand was restricted. c. 1800–1888: The ice margin at Isvand receded c. 2.5 km, presumably with large variations. The rate of re- cession was reduced towards the end of the period. 1888 – c. 1920: The decreasing recession rate during this period shifted to a marked advance of the glacier margin at some time well before 1920, and ended with the cul- mination of the advance c. 1920. This may have been due to low average annual temperatures in West Greenland. Hence at Nuuk, a period with average annual tempera- tures below –2°C occurred during the period from 1873 to 1920 (Cappelen 2005). Other factors could also have influenced the mass balance of the glacier, but it is possi- ble that the glacier did not respond until around 20 years after the onset of cooling. Pronounced moraines referred to the 1920 stade can be followed for 16 km from Isvand to the glacier front, which at that time was located in Kangersuneq fjord, c. 12 km behind the Little Ice Age maximum position (Fig. 12). The location of the glacier margin in Isvand between the positions in 1888 and 1936 also implies an approxi- mate culmination of this event c. 1920. 1920–1985: This period shows an increasing rate of re- cession beginning in 1920 and culminating c. 1955–1968 with a rate of c. 70 m per year. The recession rate fell to 12 m per year between 1968 and 1985. This pattern may reflect the temperature history in the region (Cappelen 2005). The temperature record at Nuuk shows that there was a broad maximum in mean annual temperatures around 1930, followed by slowly decreasing temperatures until c. 1960. The time period from 1960 to 1990 was characterised by fluctuating low temperatures. 1985–2010: The distance between the outer part of the trimline zone and the ice margin is rather stable at c. 5.5 km from the Little Ice Age maximum extent (Fig. 9B). Satellite images indicate that the shrunken Isvand lake in the first decade of the 2000s have drained through Kangiata Nunaata Sermia. This happened on two oc- casions, around 2004 and 2009. Thus after at least c. 250 years, the drainage of lake Isvand to Ameralla has changed back to the medieval conditions of the area with a very modest water discharge through Austmannadalen (Weidick & Citterio 2011). The Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system Conditions around the head of Kangersuneq fjord after the time of the Norse settlers cannot be described better than by Roussell (1941, p. 16–18), who after a descrip- tion of Ameralik and Austmannadalen writes about Kangersuneq: This is the great fjord, now called Kanger- suneq, which from the innermost part of the settlement cuts its way southeast towards the Inland Ice and embraces three glaciers, one of which is dead whereas the other two are very active, even if their calves are only small in com- parison with those of North Greenland. All the same, their production is large enough to prevent the fjord from being navigable even to small craft. It is said that the chances of getting through are best in the month of August; one year at this time we succeeded with great difficulty in forcing a boat half way up the fjord, where we had to go ashore and continue on foot. Another year we arrived a little earlier, but the fairway was closed. Considering that along the east shore there are several farms, and not the smallest either, it must be assumed that conditions in the Middle Ages were different. On the other hand one cannot be too careful when summing up natural conditions in Greenland. In the same fjord it is clearly to be seen that the principal glacier once 2424 extended much farther out (fig. 8); the lower part of the rock sides is as it were divided into two parts along a line which slants evenly down from the present upper edge of the ice to the water about 10 km down the fjord. Above this line the fells have the usual brownish-green vegetation, but below it they are bare and barren, as if the ice had left them only recently. Now, there are ruins inland behind the place which would then have been the front margin of the glacier, which seems somewhat incredible; can it be, then, that in the time between 1360 and now the glacier advanced and then retreated? A photograph taken by Rink (National Museum archives) in the 1850s shows that the conditions were exactly as they are today. And one is tempted to say that if eighty years cannot spread the vegetation, the situa- tion may just as well be eight hundred years old. The fjords then as now were the main lines of communi- cation for the settlements, and no one left the waterside of his own free will. Nevertheless, in both the Vatnahverfi of the East Settlement and to some extent in the West Settle- ment there are farms lying several hours’ journey from the landing place (fig. 9), and accordingly this must be taken as evidence of the extraordinary intensity of the settlement. In the West Settlement there is the possibility that these inland farms were those of the last remnants of the tribe, who in these remote regions tried to find peace from the Eskimos. This, however, has been disproved with complete certainty by the excavations in the Austmannadal. The fairly rich finds of artefacts were of exactly the same types as those un- earthed in the main farms by the fjord, and the bones in the refuse heaps show that even inland the large marine mam- mals were an important economic factor, which means that the farmers in the valley cannot have concealed themselves, but must often have gone whaling and sealing out through the fjord to the open sea. The photograph mentioned as fig. 8 in this quotation shows ruin group 16 and the trimline zone on Akuller- suaq semi-nunatak, seen from the north. The photograph by Rink mentioned in the text is also shown here (Fig. 13A). Roussell’s fig. 9 shows an inland Norse farm in the innermost part of Austmannadalen. The Eastern Settle- ment refers to the Norse settlements in South Greenland and the Western Settlement to the Norse settlement in the Godthåbsfjord region. Little is known about the in- nermost parts around Kangiata Nunaata Sermia from the 18th century. On Thorhallesen’s map from 1776 (Fig. 10; Thorhallesen 1914) two large outlets are seen coming from the Inland Ice and calving in Kangersuneq. The northern of these outlets must be Narsap Sermia and the southern is the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia gla- cier system, consisting of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and Akullersuup Sermia. K.L. Giesecke described the area around the head of Kangersuneq, which he visited in August 1808, mention- ing the place names Nunatarsuaq and Illorsuit. He may have camped between Illorsuit (ruin group 13a; Fig. 7) and ruin group 15 (at Umiivik). Giesecke (1910, p. 150) described the ruins as stone heaps, traces of stone walls and single buildings, covered with soil, grass and bushes. The following description of the Norse ruins at Saqqarsuaq is more detailed (ruin group 16, Figs 3, 7). On older maps, ruin group 16 is located on the north- western slope of the valley between Qamanaarsuup Ser- mia and the inner part of Kangersuneq, c. 5 km from the icefjord (Figs 3, 7). Roussell (1941, p. 78, fig. 54) and Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen (1993), however, placed ruin group 16 near the southern tip of the semi-nunatak Nu- natarsuaq, near the coast of Kangersuneq. According to his diary for 7–12 August 1808, Giesecke (1910, pp. 147– 151) passed Narsap Sermia and Narsaq on his way to the head of Kangersuneq and then camped close to Narsaq due to bad weather. The following attempt to reach the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system took place on 12 August, when Giesecke and his companions arrived at the Illorsuit site (ruin group 13a, Figs 3, 7), described as being located at the end of Kangersuneq. They reached ruin group 16 (Saqqarsuaq) in the valley between Qamanaarsuup Sermia and the frontal parts of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia. Giesecke wrote (pp. 150–151) the following about the valley, the glaciers and the ruin group: This valley runs to the opposite side back down to the sea, and has as the former in its centre a large raging mountain river. Part of it runs straight to the sea, and part of it runs via another curvature around a small mountain towards the glacier to the east. This glacier is larger, steeper and more dangerous than the one to the north-east, and there are no nunataks, one sees only the immense masses of towering ice. Here, very close to the ice, I found a well-preserved Norse ruin that protruded above the small shrubs. It formed a square and measured close to 50 × 50 feet, and in some places the walls reached c. 1 yard [1 m] above the moss, grass and shrubs. The in- ner walls were difficult to discern, but the shrubs indicated three main rooms. Several other buildings in this rocky val- ley were probably buried below the glacier long ago. I ascended both mountains located between the de- scribed valleys in the area. These mountains are extremely fissured; the fissures are sometimes 1 fathom [2 m] or more wide and very long. The surface of the mountains is covered by enormous rock fragments, which indicates a fairly recent 25 earthquake, because the rock fragments, which here and there fit together are still very sharp. On the other side of the valley, towards the glacier, a large lake is found, which drains over a bedrock threshold to the glacier and on to the sea. In the valley near the lake some reindeer grazed quietly until I was around fifty paces away... Giesecke described the view from the mountain (c. 1000 m above sea line): From the higher of the aforemen- tioned mountains I could see Pisissarfik, a part of Amera- glikfiord with its small islands, as well as both glaciers in this region. The glaciers actually belong to the great ice cover that is found on all land from north-west to south-east. The sight of this ice cover is incredibly beautiful, and well worth the difficult ascent. (Authors’ translation.) ‘Pisigsarfik’ was the fjord that is now called Kapisillit Kangerluat; the name Pisissarfik is now used for a 1220 m high mountain peak on the northern shore of this fjord. Following the descriptions above and a later descrip- tion by Roussell, the location of ruin group 16 near Kangersuneq can be determined. The presence of a large ice-dammed lake filling the valley in front of Qa- manaarsuup Sermia must imply an advanced position of the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia system. The general de- scription also indicates that the front was close to ruin group 16, and that the glacier dammed the meltwater from Qamanaarsuup Sermia to form an ice-dammed lake (called ‘Saqqarsuaq lake’ in the following). Knuth (1944, p. 100) doubted that Giesecke had visited ruin group 16, which he suggested should be located farther to the east in accordance with D. Bruun’s map (Fig. 7). However, Roussell’s description of ruin group 16, and Roussell’s localisation of ruin group 16 to a position close to the eastern margin of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia based on the description of Giesecke, fits with Roussell’s own measurements of the ruin group. Kleinschmidt’s map from 1860 (Fig. 11) shows the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia in a more retracted po- sition than described by Giesecke in 1808, when Kangia- Fig. 13. A: The front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, seen from the north. The photo- graph was taken in the 1850s by H. Rink; it is housed in the archives of The National Museum in Copenhagen. B: Same as above, taken by John Møller in 1903. Reproduced from Bruun (1917, fig. 11, p. 76). The loca- tion of the photographer was not exactly the same as for A. H. Rink (1819–1893) was a royal inspector of South Greenland and later a director of the Royal Greenland Trade. In addition to his administrative du- ties, he is known for his pioneering studies of the geology, glaciology and anthropol- ogy of Greenland. J. Möller (1867–1935) was born in Greenland and educated in Denmark as a printer, photographer and interpreter. B A Fig. 13 Akullersuaq Nunataarsuk 1850s 1903 2626 ta Nunaata Sermia blocked the valley to Qamanaarsuup Sermia leading to the formation of an ice-dammed lake. On Kleinschmidt’s map the glacier front is placed south of the Akullersuaq semi-nunatak, 10–12 km from the Little Ice Age maximum position as shown by the trim- line zone. The same position is shown on J.A.D. Jensen’s map from 1885. The earliest photograph of a glacier in Greenland may be that taken by Rink in the 1850s. Rink’s photograph shows the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, seen from the west side of Kangersuneq at the isthmus between Ka- pisillit Kangerluat and Kangersuneq, north-east of the Kapisillit settlement (Fig 6B). Rink’s photograph, which is also mentioned by Roussell (1941, p. 17), is reproduced here (Fig. 13A). A later photograph taken from approxi- mately the same position by John Møller in 1903 and published by Bruun (1917, fig. 10, p. 76) is shown here as Fig. 13B. The trimline zone on the mountain walls of the semi-nunataks Nunataarsuk and Akullersuaq can be seen and the position of the glacier front on both photo- graphs can be estimated to 10–12 km south of the Little Ice Age maximum extension of the glacier. Following a visit in 1909, Nordenskiöld (1914, p. 638–639) wrote that Kangiata Nunaata Sermia had been retreating, in contrast to Narsap Sermia which was advancing during the first years of the 1900s. Concerning ruin group 16 at Saqqarsuaq, Bruun (1917, p. 78) wrote that he was told by Greenlanders during his visit in 1903 that there was a rather small ruin, but earlier there could have been more ruins, which may have been flushed away by a river or destroyed by the ice. Both Bruun’s and Nordenskiöld’s evidence for recession of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia could refer to the middle or the last decades of the 1800s, and the advance leading to the 1920 stade may have started in the last decades of the 1800s or the beginning of the 1900s. The older Little Ice Age maximum advance seems therefore to have occurred in the 1700s and Giesecke’s description of a lake in the valley between Qamanaarsup Sermia and the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system implies a situation with the front of the Kangiata Nu- naata Sermia glacier system close to the Little Ice Age maximum extent. Bruun’s record of other ruins at the site of ruin group 16 being removed by the nearby glacier or flushed away by its marginal drainage is easy to under- stand if it occurred during the maximum extent of the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system. According to the trimline zones, the glacier in this area at its Little Ice Age maximum reached an elevation of 123 m a.s.l. (Rous- sell 1941, p. 79). The present ruins are located at 208 m a.s.l., according to Roussell’s description of the ruin site (Roussell 1941, fig. 54, p. 78), which is indeed close to the trimline zone (Fig. 14). The apparently fairly stationary Ruins Kangersuneq 1 km 100 m 200 m Fig. 14Fig. 14. Ruin group 16 and the surrounding terrain at Saqqarsuaq, Kangersuneq icefjord. Redrawn from Roussell (1941, fig. 54). The red part of the terrain indicates the estimated extent of the ice cover of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia at its maximum during the Little Ice Age. The slope of the trimline zone maximum is c. 20 m/km, de- creasing towards the north. According to Roussell (1941), the alti- tude of the trimline zone is 123 m a.s.l., and the ruins are at 208 m a.s.l., although the latter figure is not in accord with the contours on the map. Note that this is a reproduction of the original map. Facing page: Fig. 15. A: Front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia in 1921 seen from the west. Photograph by Aa. Nissen in GEUS’ glaciological archive (filed under glacier 1CH23003); Aage Nissen (1889–?) was a teach- er at and later a leader of the Teacher’s College in Nuuk in the pe- riod from 1920 to 1927. B: Oblique aerial photograph of the interior part of Kangersuneq looking from the south-west over Kangersuneq to the north-east, where the front of Qamanaarsuup Sermia can be seen, surrounded by a broad trimline zone. In the foreground a double set of marginal moraines can be seen. The outer set (labelled LIA max) marks the extension of the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system in the 1700s. The younger set (labelled 1920 stade) marks the maximum of a large readvance, presumably initiated dur- ing the beginning of the 1900s and culminating shortly before 1920. Geodetic Institute, route 506B-N, no. 6270, 21 August 1948. 27 B A 1920 stade LIA max Kangersuneq Qamanaarsuup Sermia Fig. 15 1948 1921 2828 glacier front at the end of 1800s and beginning of the 1900s astonished Roussell (see quotation on pages 23- 24). He estimated the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia to be c. 10 km from its Little Ice Age maximum position, indicating a century of ‘stability’ of the position of the glacier front. However, the large fluctuation during the 1920 stade must have taken place during this period. With respect to ruin group 15 (Umiivik), Bruun (1917, p. 78) referred to the statement of the Greenland- ers, viz. that it is a locality with many, partly overgrown ruins, which is in accordance with information from a visit to the place by O. Bendixen in 1916 (mentioned in Bruun 1917, p. 72). As mentioned above, J.A.D. Jensen’s map was widely used up to the 1930s. A photograph from 1921 shows the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia seen from the north-west (Fig. 15A). The glacier front is lo- cated close to the moraines that formed during the 1920 stade. During the first decades of the 1900s, ice-margin fea- tures formed in the central parts of the trimline zone (Fig. 15B). These ice-margin features are widespread and dark in several places, which imply dead ice or ice-cored moraines. Traces of this advance (the 1920 stade) are also seen at Isvand. 50°W 50°W 51°W 51°W 65 °N 65 °N 64 °3 0' N 64 °3 0' N 64 °N 64 °N Kangaasarsuup Sermia Kangersuneq Austmannadalen Nunataarsuk Qamanaarsuup Sermia Akullersuaq Saqqarsuaq (16) Umiivik (15) Nunatarsuaq Tummeralik (37) LIA max LIA max Isvand Austmannadalen 1920 1936 2009 198 5 Akullersuup Sermia 1948 Kangiata Nunaata Sermia Qamanaarsuup Sermia LIA max Akullersuaq Nunataarsuk Saqqarsuaq (16) Umiivik (15) Nunatarsuaq Tummeralik (37) LIA max 1808? 2 km 1920 LIA max 1968 64°15´N64°15´N Langvand 64°15´N 49°30´W50°W 49°30´W Fig. 16. Recession of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia since the Little Ice Age maximum (LIA max) in the 1700s. The oldest ice margin known after the LIA max is the presumed position of the glacier front in 1808, when the glacier prevented water from draining from the Qamanaarsuup Sermia glacier to the Kangersuneq fjord. During later positions from c. 1850 to the 1930s, the front was located somewhere between the southern tip of the Akullersuaq semi- nunatak in the north-east and the area east- north-east of Tummeralik (ruin group 37) in the south-west. Umiivik: ruin group 15, Saqqarsuaq: ruin group 16. The map is based on aerial photographs from 1985 when the ice-dammed lake Isvand was at its maximum extent. 29 A more general recession began in the 1920s, but on aerial photographs from 1948 Kangiata Nunaata Ser- mia and Akullersuup Sermia are still confluent, forming a ‘Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system’ where the glacier tongues have a common front in Kangersuneq. Not until the end of the 1940s was the recession so pro- nounced that the glaciers were split up into two separate outlets. According to a satellite image from 22 June 2009 (Figs 12, 16), continued recession has brought the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia to a position 21–22 km be- hind the position of the Little Ice Age maximum in the 1700s. During the period from 1985 to 2010, the front of Akullersuup Sermia has only retreated 1–2 km. Evaluation The sources from the 18th century all describe an ad- vancing glacier. The front of calving tidal glaciers may show both annual fluctuations of up to a kilometre, with advance during the winter and retreat during the summer, and larger decadal fluctuations. The historical record can provide information about the latter, but usu- ally only give general trends, and only rarely contribute with accurate data. The Little Ice Age maximum extent was presumably reached for the first time in the beginning of the 1700s, but as some sources also speak about advance later in that century, it is possible that the ice margin was close to the Little Ice Age maximum throughout the century, although with minor fluctuations: c. 1775–1810: The frontal advance of the Kangiata Nu- naata Sermia glacier system may have culminated near a headland in Kangersuneq, located just south of the ruin group at Umiivik (Qassertup Nuua). Thorhallesen’s map from 1776 gives little information but the glacier at the head of what is called ‘Ujaraksoak fjorden’ on the map must be the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system. This map shows the length of Kangersuneq fjord from the mouth at Karra (Fig. 3) to the head of the fjord at the Little Ice Age maximum of the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system to be about 6 miles; since 1 Dan- ish mile is 7.5 km (Norsk Forlishistorisk Forening 2012; Marcussen 2011), this equates to c. 45 km, a distance that is compatible with modern maps (e.g. see Fig. 3). The overall advance ended in the 18th century, and was followed by a slow recession that may have continued to the beginning of the 19th century, when the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system still blocked the valley to Qamanaarsuup Sermia. The ‘Saqqarsuaq ice-dammed lake’ existed in the beginning of the 1800s, implying that c. 1808 the glacier front was still close to the maximum extent of the Little Ice Age, which can be mapped from the well-defined trimline zone (Fig. 14). 1810–1860: During the following decades, fast recession took place, so that the front at the latest around 1860 had retreated c. 10–13 km from the Little Ice Age maximum extent. During this c. 50 year period of recession, the ave- rage recession rate was 200–260 m per year. The information from Giesecke about an ice-dammed lake (the ‘Saqqarsuaq lake’) between Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and Qamanaarsuup Sermia in 1808 and the short distance (c. 5 km) from the Little Ice Age maximum of the frontal parts of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia to the ‘Saqqarsuaq lake’ must imply a glacier dam by a large ice body (Fig.17A). Roussell (1941, p. 79) measured the maximum height of the trimline zone at ruin group 16 (Saqqarsuaq) to have been 123 m a.s.l., i.e. close to the lake. The exact lake level is unknown, but it was presum- ably c. 48 m a.s.l. (Fig. 17A). The damming ice body can scarcely have had a much smaller thickness than at the Little Ice Age maximum, and we therefore suggest that the glacier front in 1808 still had a position close to the maximum of the glacier system. As mentioned in the introduction, depths over 600 m are found in the inner part of Nuup Kangerlua. Off Kapisillit, the bottom of Kangersuneq is flat at c. 340 m, and no indication of a submarine threshold or moraine is observed that may have been formed during the Kapisig- dlit stade. In contrast, ice-margin deposits from the Lit- tle Ice Age maximum form a threshold at 150 m below sea level (b.s.l.). The 1920 stade is only marked by a small rise of the sea bottom to a depth of c. 300 m. It is possible that both thresholds were anchoring points for the front for longer periods, but it is not known if the thresholds consist of bedrock or ice-margin deposits (Fig. 8). The increase of ice in Kangersuneq before 1885 (J.A.D. Jensen 1889, p. 88) could have been connected to a large breakup during the thinning of the outermost part of the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system. As large calf-ice production may be a sign of a retreating gla- cier rather than an advancing glacier, the increased calf- ice production could indicate a period with fast recession in the first half of 1800s. 1860–1903: Information from 1850 and the follow- ing decades are based on the map of Kleinschmidt, and 3030 Qamanaarsuup Sermia a b b A B LIA max 1948 1985 1968/2009 1 km 64°28´N 64°28´N 49°40´W 49°40´W Former ice-dammed ‘Saqqarsuaq Lake’ Fig. 17 1943? 2009 Fig. 17. A: Qamanaarsuup Sermia, seen from the west. In the foreground near the front of the glacier a proglacial lake terrace (a) is seen. It is presumably related to the ice- dammed ‘Saqqarsuaq Lake’, that occupied the valley between Qamanaarsuup Sermia and Kangersuneq until the beginning of the 1800s, as observed by K.L. Giesecke in 1808 (Giesecke 1910). b–b marks a moraine ridge that may be referred to the Kapisigdlit stade (tentatively dated to 8.2 ka BP). Aerial photograph, Geodetic Institute, route 505 E-Ø, no. 7418 (probably from 1943). B: Qa- manaarsuup Sermia with frontal positions at the Little Ice Age maximum, in 1948, 1968 and 1985 according to Taurisano (2004, fig. 3.5), plotted on an ASTER image from 2009. Rink’s and Møller’s photographs from the 1850s and 1903. They indicate that the glacier front, at least at these specific times, was located at a position 10–12 km from the Little Ice Age maximum, as also suggested by Aa. Roussell. 1903–1920: Only little information is available from the first two decades of the 1900s. Although it could seem that the front was essentially stable from c. 1850 to c. 1920, however, significant changes in the frontal position must have occurred during this period. A pho- 31 tograph by Aa. Nissen from 1921 (Fig. 15A) shows the front of the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system. The glacier front was close to, but behind the moraines of the 1920 stade, and the 1921 glacier front was closely surrounded by fresh moraines deposited just prior to 1921. The moraines are the result of a marked advance, presumably initiated one or two decades before. The ice- margin features can be seen in the trimline zone on the west side of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, extending from an altitude of around 400–450 m a.s.l. in the Isvand area (c. 15 km from the front) and down to the calving front in Kangersuneq fjord. A large initial recession must have taken place before c. 1900, but how far up the Kanger- suneq fjord is not known. The following advance prob- ably occurred during the first two decades of the 1900s. A clear colour difference is seen between the trimline zone below and above the line of the 1920 stade on pho- tographs and satellite images (Fig. 9B). The upper and older part of the trimline zone, which is from the 1700s, is characterised by widespread lichen and vegetation cover, as well as some soil development. The lower and younger part of the trimline zone was not left finally by the glacier until after c. 1920, and this part is therefore more barren than the older part. However, both parts can be characterised as ‘barren ground’ that is clearly dif- ferent from the surrounding areas with older vegetation. 1920–1985: A period of fast recession of the front took place after c. 1920. Around 1950–1960, this led to a sep- aration of the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system into the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia proper and Akuller- suup Sermia, which is now a separate outlet from the ice sheet. The later development of the frontal position of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia is shown by the following es- timated positions of the front behind the Little Ice Age maximum: 1920: 11.5 km, 1921: 11.8 km, 1936: 14.5 km, 1948: 18 km and 1968: 20.5 km (Fig. 16). An advance took place in the following years and in 1985 the front had advanced to a position c. 20 km behind the Little Ice Age maximum, as also pointed out by Timm (2010). 1985–2010: By 2009, the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia reached a position 22 km behind the Little Ice Age maximum. According to a 2010 ASTER image, however, it had advanced to a position c. 20.5 km from the Little Ice Age maximum. These secondary fluctua- tions of the frontal position during the last decades pre- sumably reflect minor annual fluctuations of the glacier, the frontal position of which is determined by anchor points such as submarine thresholds or other features of the fjord topography (e.g. Mercer 1961). Regarding the recession of Akullersuup Sermia, we note that the height of the trimline zone above this gla- cier also indicates a marked thinning, as recorded for Kangiata Nunaata Sermia. After the split of the glacier system, the front of Akullersuup Sermia has receded only c. 2 km between 1985 and 2010. Qamanaarsuup Sermia This glacier has already been mentioned above in con- nection with the formation of the ice-dammed ‘Saqqar- suaq lake’ in front of the glacier (Fig. 17A). Its more re- cent development is described below. The glacier and its surroundings are located in the most remote part of the Kangersuneq region. Although its name refers to rein- deer hunting (qamavoq = wait for it), it must have been difficult to access during the Little Ice Age maximum in the 1700s when the valley in front of it was closed by the ‘Saqqarsuaq lake’ and the Kangiata Nunaata Sermia gla- cier system. Hence the first information about this gla- cier and the valley in front of it was published following the mapping by J.A.D. Jensen in 1885 (Jensen 1889). The glacier is now surrounded by a trimline zone, the outer- most parts of which appear to be related to the proglacial, ice-dammed lake that may have existed in the 1700s. Morphological evidence of a former ice-dammed lake was also reported by Andsbjerg (1985). This lake may have drained in the first half of the 1800s, but a more complete understanding of the history of this lake must be left to future investigations of the lacustrine deposits in the valley. The oldest aerial photograph that covers Qamanaar- suup Sermia dates from 27 August 1936 (Geodetic Insti- tute route 61A, no. 25283, not shown). Unfortunately, this oblique photograph was taken from a distance and the glacier lobe can only be faintly seen surrounded by a trimline zone. Taurisano (2004) puts the last advance to the Little Ice Age maximum at 1880–1890 on the basis of the licheno- metrical dates of Beschel (1961). However, Beschel’s data do not preclude that the maximum position was reached earlier, in the 1700s. Beschel’s data on growth rates of lichens are from central West Greenland, far from the Kangersuneq region, and are mainly based on fluctua- tions of local, small glaciers. Subsequent frontal positions 3232 of Qamanaarsuup Sermia between 1948 and 1993 were mapped by Taurisano (Fig 17B; Taurisano 2004, fig. 3.5). From the Little Ice Age maximum to 1948 the gla- cier receded 1.5 km, corresponding to an average value of 24 m per year, if recession began in 1885 as suggested by Taurisano. From 1948 to 1968, the glacier receded 0.5 km, corresponding to 25 m per year. Between 1968 and 1985, recession was very limited. From 1985 to 1993, the glacier front receded c. 100 m, corresponding to 13 m per year. Finally, on a Landsat image from 2009 the front was at approximately the same position as in 1993. On the basis of aerial photographs from 1968 and 1980, detailed maps (1:10 000, contour interval 10 m) were made by Knudsen (1983). From a comparison of the two maps, Knudsen concluded that the glacier had receded 25–50 m and he recorded a thinning near the snout of the glacier to less than 10 m. The contour lines at higher elevations were nearly identical in the two years. Evaluation Little is known about the fluctuations of this glacier before the 1900s. Its frontal deposits at the former ice- dammed lake may indicate that the maximum extent of the glacier and the formation of the ice-margin deposits took place at the same time as the possible formation of the lake, so that the history of this glacier may be similar to that of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia. However, the later recession of this land-based glacier so far only amounts to around 2 km. During the more detailed measurements of the changes of this glacier between 1968 and 1985, the recession was only 25–50 m, i.e. 1–3 m per year. The pre- sumed ice-dammed lake (‘Saqqarsuaq lake’) must have been emptied during the recession between 1810 and 1850. The terrace in Fig. 17A marked ‘a’ may be a rem- nant of the alluvial plain that formed during the Little Ice Age maximum; the surface of the terrace would thus mark the level of the former ‘Saqqarsuaq lake’ at its maxi- mum extent. The elevation of the terrace was measured by GPS in the summer 2011 to be 48 m a.s.l. (Dirk van As, personal communication, 2011), which must indicate the maximum elevation of the lake level. Because the el- evation of the former lake bottom is 0–30 m a.s.l., the lake must have been shallow even though it had an extent of c. 10 km2. Observations of the frontal positions of Qamanaar- suup Sermia in 1948, 1968 and 1993 (Taurisano 2004) show positions of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.1 km behind the Little Ice Age maximum, respectively, and indicate that the re- cession rate began to decrease in the 1960s, possibly in- duced by a minor cooling of the climate. According to a Landsat image, in 2009 the frontal position was close to that of 1993, as mapped by Taurisano (Fig. 17B). According to Taurisano (2004, pp. 36–39), the low- er and upper parts of Qamanaarsuup Sermia showed marked differences in surface elevation changes from 1968 to 1985. The upper part thickened by 1 m per year whereas the lower part thinned by 0.3 m and is gradually being transformed into dead ice (see frontispiece). Narsap Sermia The surroundings of Narsap Sermia have been described several times due to the occurrence of Norse ruins (groups 11 and 12; Figs 3, 7) near the front of Narsap Sermia (Figs 3, 7, 18). Early records of these ruins are from Bruun (1917, pp. 75–77), who included informa- tion from O. Bendixen from a journey in 1916 and from Greenlanders who noticed these ruins close to the front of the glacier. Narsap Sermia was plotted on the early map by Thor- hallesen (Fig. 10). Although his map is sketchy and does not depict ruin sites in this area, the glacier front is, as to- day, shown at some distance from Kangersuneq. This is in contrast to the more northern fjord, on his map called ‘Naviangoæt’, where the Norse ruin groups 7 and 8 are located (Figs 3, 7). The proximity of the front of Narsap Sermia to Kangersuneq and to Narsaq was also recorded by Giesecke (1910, p. 147–148). On 7 August 1808, he passed its front on the way from Ujarassuit Paavat to Narsaq (ruin group 12, Figs 3, 7), and continued to a place called ‘Narkseeit- siaq’, where he camped. The camp site must have been relatively close to Narsaq since he described calving noise from the front of Narsap Sermia. J.A.D. Jensen’s map, based on observations in 1884 and 1885, shows a position of the front closer to Kanger- suneq. In his description of ruin groups 11 and 12, Jen- sen does not mention the nearby front of Narsap Sermia (Jensen 1889, p. 110). From a visit in 1909, Nordenskiöld (1914) reported that Narsap Sermia had advanced during the first years of the 20th century; the advancing glacier had buried several hunting camp sites. D. Bruun (1917, p. 75) noted, when describing ruin group 11 (Saqqannguaq), that ruins are found at the 33 shores of rivulets. This is based on observations by O. Bendixen from his voyage in 1916. For ruin group 12 (Narsaq), D. Bruun (1917, p. 77) reported that at Narsaq, between a steep headland and the end of the glacier, there is a small ruin on the slope immediately above the fjord. Some of the ruins had slipped into the water. The descriptions of Roussell, after visiting the area in the 1930s, give no new information about Narsap Ser- mia. Aerial photographs and satellite images from 1936 onwards show that the front of Narsap Sermia has been located at about the same place. It appears that the front of this glacier may have been relatively stable for around 250 years, although this conclusion is based on scattered information. General recession of the glacier front seems to have started in the first decade of this century. Evaluation It appears from the map of Thorhallesen (1914; Fig. 10) that the front of Narsap Sermia was situated in a small fjord branch, a short distance from Kangersuneq. The same is seen on aerial photographs from 1936, 1948 and 1985, as well as on satellite images from 2009 and 2011. The glacier is only surrounded by a narrow trimline zone, which supports the proposal that it has not fluctu- ated much during the past centuries. Based on studies of aerial photographs and satellite images, Timm (2010) considered the glacier stationary or advancing between 1936 and 1985, but it was suggested that the central parts of the glacier front receded c. 700 m between 2002 and 2009. This is in accordance with a narrow trimline zone developed at the lower flanks of the glacier. It appears to be the first signs of the following frontal recession of around 1 km that occurred in the pe- riod 2009–2011 (Landsat image, 14 July, 2011), as mea- sured along the centre line of the glacier (Fig. 18). Fig. 18. Narsap Sermia. The frontal posi- tion of the glacier is taken from a Landsat image from 2009 and drawn on an aerial photograph from 16 August 1968, Geodetic Institute, route 281T, no. 70. In 1968, the Norse ruins at Narsaq and Saqqannguaq were located around 1 and 2.5 km from the glacier front, which is the local Little Ice Age maximum of the glacier. Marked recession of the centre line of the glacier (c. 1 km) oc- curred between 2009 and 2011. 64°40´N 1968 2011 2009 1 km Saqqannguaq Narsaq Narsap Sermia Ivisaartoq 64°40´N 64°40´N 50°05´W 50°05´W Fig. 18 1968 3434 Fig. 19. A: Kangilinnguata Sermia on 25 August 1930, seen from a height of 630 m a.s.l. (Gripp 1975, plate 2, fig. 2). The arrow indicates the location of Norse ruin group 8 (Figs 3, 7), which was mapped, described and photographed with the glacier in the background by Roussell in 1934 (Roussell 1941, pp. 76–78). B: Kangilinnguata Sermia seen from the north in 1948 (Geodetic Institute, route 505-ES, no. 1948). The lake south of the glacier front (top left) receives large amounts of meltwater from the Inland Ice margin south of Kangilinnguata Sermia. This meltwater drains to the Ujarassuit Paavat fjord, to the right (see Fig. 3) via the outermost part of the front of Kangilinnguata Sermia. A Naajat Kinginnerat Kangilinnguata Sermia Narsap Sermia Ivisaartoq Ujarassuit Nunaat B Kangilinngua Naajannguit? 1930 1948 35 Kangilinnguata Sermia In contrast to the other outlets around Kangersuneq described above, the interior of Ujarassuit Paavat was described by Hans Egede, who lived in Greenland from 1721 to 1736. His descriptions of the Ujarassuit Paavat fjord region concentrated on a large group of ruins 8 km from the glacier (Ujarassuit; ruin group 7, Figs 3, 7), whereas only few persons have described the more mod- est ruin group at Puilasoq (group 8, Figs 3, 7), situated only c. 2 km from the glacier front. This is because a c. 7 km long tidal flat separates the navigable outer part of Ujarassuit Paavat from the inner part of the fjord with the Puilasoq ruin group 8 and the Kangilinnguata Ser- mia glacier. E. Thorhallesen seems to have visited the inner parts of Ujarassuit Paavat. On his map from 1776 (Fig. 10), he calls this fjord ‘Naviangoæt’ and the Ujarassuit site is designated ‘Europ. Rudera’. The un-named ruin group at Puilasoq is marked by a single building. The ice-sheet margin north-east of Puilasoq is marked ‘Jökull’. In his description of the locality, Thorhallesen (1914, pp. 46– 47) wrote: At high tide this bay is twice as long, and from a high mountain I saw three or four more rudera [ruins] in the area. The ruins can be seen from a great distance, because the grass, where the field has been fertilised, dies and becomes red in late summer, since it starts growing ear- lier in the spring. The glacier ice, which covers the uplands from north to south, as far as can be seen, and which cov- ers the highest mountains, falls towards the south-east from Naviangoæt down to the sea, which is perhaps the head of Ujaraksoak fjord, unless it continues farther below the ice. Sometimes large pieces of ice fall down and float around until a strong eastern wind drives them out of the fjord. (Authors’ translation.) Although the frontal position of Kangilinnguata Ser- mia is not well defined, it seems that the front during the last half of the 18th century was advancing and that the glacier calved into the fjord, at least at high tide. Hence it is possible that the tidal flat in the inner part of the fjord formed after Thorhallesen’s visit. K.L. Giesecke also visited Ujarassuit Paavat. In his di- ary, he mentioned on 5–6 August 1808 (Giesecke 1910, pp. 145–147) the earlier visits by H. Egede and E. Thor- hallesen, but he only briefly mentions the glacier. Klein- schmidt’s map from 1860 (Fig. 11) depicts Ujarassuit Paavat, the bay at Ujarassuit and the head of an outlet from the Inland Ice that almost reaches the inner part of Ujarassuit Paavat. The latter outlet must be Kangi- linnguata Sermia. The sketchy contours of the map do not allow us to determine the exact position of the gla- cier front, but it appears that the glacier did not reach the sea. After a later visit in 1885, by J.A.D. Jensen (Jen- sen 1889, p. 109), ruin group 8 and its surrounding area were described thus: Should be located on the north side of Ujaragssuit’s north-eastern branch, into which the Inland Ice now protrudes, transporting large amounts of clay that are deposited in the fjord, so that it becomes dry at low tide. Living Greenlanders remember that until around 1840 they could sail up this fjord branch by umiaq to a bird cliff on the south side, but the ice has advanced far beyond this place. (Authors’ translation.) Based on the statements by Thorhallesen from the middle of the 1700s and those by J.A.D. Jensen from the middle of the 1800s, we suggest that Kangilinnguata Sermia was advancing at this time and that sedimenta- tion in Ujarassuit Paavat was increasing. Although visited subsequently by D. Bruun in 1903 (Bruun 1917) and by O. Bendixen in 1916 (both men- tioned in Bruun 1917, p. 72), no further information was provided about the glacier. Aa. Roussell, after work in 1934, provided detailed descriptions of ruin group 7 (Anavik, now Ujarassuit; Roussell 1941, pp. 32– 34) and group 8 (Puilasoq, pp. 75–77, 167–171). Roussell stated that the distance from ruin group 8 to the front of Kangilinnguata Sermia was around 2 km (Roussell 1941, p. 76). He published a photograph showing the glacier at approximately the same position as at present (Roussell 1941, fig. 52, p. 76). The glacier was also described by Gripp, who inves- tigated the glacier in 1930 and described marine faunas found in concretions in the moraine and in the alluvial plain in front of the glacier (Gripp 1932). Gripp also de- scribed the geomorphology of deposits in front of the glacier and within the glacier, where push and shear mo- raines occurred (Gripp 1975). Gripp (1932, 1975) pub- lished photographs of Kangilinnguata Sermia (Fig. 19A). It appears that the glacier still had no pronounced trim- line zone around 1930, but the glacier front was heav- ily crevassed and partly dominated by shear moraines and about 10 m high push moraines close to the active glacier ice. Gripp’s photographs can be compared with aerial photographs of the glacier from 1948, 1968 and 1985 as well as a satellite image from 2007 (Figs 19, 20). Apart from a slight increase in the size of the superficial moraine area in 1948, only small changes are seen in the frontal appearance, in addition to a little thinning. 3636 Evaluation Thorhallesen’s description from the 1700s indicates that Kangilinnguata Sermia was calving in the fjord now named Ujarassuit Paavat, but called ‘Naviangoæt’ by Thorhallesen. It is possible that the interior part of Ujarassuit Paavat was not filled with sediments to such a high degree as at present; if so, Kangilinnguata Sermia may have been a calving glacier even if the front was lo- cated at the same place as today. However, it is also pos- sible that calf ice drifted into Ujarassuit Paavat from the Kangersuneq icefjord. From the descriptions from the 1700s and most of the 1800s, it is difficult to determine the position of the glacier front. The records state that the glacier was advancing and possibly at the same time filled the interior parts of the fjord with sediments. Since only a narrow trimline has developed around the glacier front, its position cannot have been farther west than today during the Little Ice Age (including the narrow belt of shear moraines at the present glacier front). The formation of the proglacial tidal flat can only be explained by increased sedimentation. This is in ac- cordance with the record by J.A.D. Jensen that the head of the fjord could be reached by boat as late as around 1840, but not at the time of his visit in 1885, due to the development of a tidal flat. The formation of this tidal flat can hardly be taken as evidence of a glacier advance, but the notes in J.A.D. Jensen’s report on the glacier front passing a bird cliff may provide information about the timing and extent of the advance. Thorhallesen used the name ‘Naviangoæt’ for the inner part of Ujarassuit Paavat. According to L. Bobé’s footnote to Thorhalle- sen’s text (Thorhallesen 1914, p. 46), this place name can be translated as ‘Naujanguit’, which is used by the Greenlanders for the glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) and the Iceland gull (L. glaucoides); ‘Naviangoæt’ is thus probably a name for a bird cliff with breeding gulls. The southern side of the frontal parts of Kangilinnguata Ser- mia borders on a 500–700 m high steep mountain slope, and the mountain is called Naajat Kinginnerat, but no bird cliff is known from the site (D. Boertmann and L.M. Rasmussen, personal communication 2011). How- ever, this could be caused by the present inaccessibility to the place because of the advancing glacier. Confirmation Fig. 20. A: Kangilinnguata Sermia on 25 August 1968 (Geodetic Institute, route 281V no. 810). B: Kangilinnguata Sermia front on 4 August 2007 (ASTER image). Comparisons between the photographs from 1930 and 1948 (Figs 19A, B), the aerial photograph from 1968 and satellite images from 2007 and 2009 indicate a slight thinning. In addition, a thin trimline zone developed around the glacier front during this 77 year period. LIA max (Little Ice Age maximum). Kangilinngua LIA max 50°W 1 km Kang ilinn gua ta S erm ia Naajat Kinginnerat LIA max 1968, 2009 A B 64°50´N 64°50´N 50°W 49°50´W Kangi linng uata Ser mia 1 km Fig. 20 1968 2007 37 (or the opposite) by local hunters is needed. However, both maps by Kleinschmidt (1860) and Jensen (1889) give the impression that the glacier front in 1885 was still close to its Little Ice Age maximum extent. Accord- ing to the information presented above, the glacier must have advanced in the first part of the 1800s, after which thinning and development of superficial moraines have occurred throughout the 1900s (Fig. 20). It is deemed likely, therefore, that J.A.D. Jensen’s ref- erence to the advancing glacier passing a bird cliff around 1840 refers to the steep southern mountain slope, today situated 1–2 km behind the Little Ice Age maximum as determined from terminal moraines and a narrow trim- line zone. It is suggested that the glacier front passed the bird cliff in the first part of the 1800s during an advance that reached the Little Ice Age maximum extent some- time at or after the middle of that century. The magni- tude of the advance may have been between 1 and 2 km (the distance between the cliff and the Little Ice Age maximum extent; Fig. 19). The first accurate evidence of the position of the gla- cier front was provided by Gripp after his visit to the gla- cier in 1930. From his description (Gripp 1932, 1975), the glacier seems to have been surrounded by Little Ice Age moraines and a trimline zone, and it must be con- cluded that the glacier front was in a stage of initial thin- ning. The distance from the glacier front to ruin group 8 in 1934 was estimated by Roussell to be 2 km, which is close to the present distance. The Puilassoq ruin site and Kangilinnguata Sermia are shown on a photograph from 1934 by Roussell (Roussell 1941, fig. 52, p. 76). Aerial photographs from 1936, 1968 (Fig. 20A) and 1985 give the impression that the glacier front was thin- ning and becoming increasingly covered with surface moraine. The front was probably receding slightly. A Landsat image from 2009 indicates continuous thin- ning of the front with further development of the trim- line zone, but development of dead ice makes it difficult to determine the exact recession of the glacier front. The same is seen on an ASTER image from 2007 (Fig. 20B). Comparisons with regional glacier fluctuations The description of the five outlets from the Inland Ice that are found in the Kangersuneq area shows the great diversity in response to past climate changes. In order to discern a possible pattern in the geographical distribution of these responses, it was necessary to look at changes of the outlets from a larger geographical region of the west- ern slope of the Inland Ice. Preliminary investigations of calving glaciers in south-western Greenland were made by Weidick (1994a, b) and of the south-western slope of the ice sheet in general, based on aerial photographs from around 1950 and 1985 (Weidick 1991a, b). It ap- pears that thinning and recession since the Little Ice Age are connected with piedmont-like outlets spreading over extensive lowland areas such as the Qassimiut lobe (Pod- lech 2004) and Frederikshåb Isblink (described here) in South-West Greenland with relatively small frontal changes, or with large ice streams such as Kangiata Nu- naata Sermia and Jakobshavn Isbræ (Sermeq Kujalleq) in West Greenland that show large frontal changes (Fig. 21). Fluctuations of the ice margin are also recorded in other parts of the ice sheet, but the amplitudes are small, and hence it is difficult to identify and date the former changes. However, it appears that a small but widespread advance was characteristic for outlets and marginal parts from around 1950 to 1985. At most localities, the margin only advanced up to a maximum of a few hundred metres during this period. The other outlets from the ice-sheet margin in the Godthåbsfjord region are described below, beginning from the south. South of Kangersuneq to Frederikshåb Isblink The outlets in this region are Frederikshåb Isblink, Nak- kaasorsuaq in Allumersat fjord (Bjørnesund), Sermeq glacier, Isortuarsuup Sermia, 1CG14004 and Kangaasar- suup Sermia (Fig. 2). Un-named outlets are described us- ing their inventory code numbers according to Weidick et al. (1992). 3838 Frederikshåb Isblink Frederikshåb Isblink is a large, land-based outlet from the Inland Ice, with a circular piedmont lobe (definition by Armstrong et al. 1973). It has a frontal diameter of c. 25 km and is separated from Davis Strait by a 5–10 km wide alluvial plain (Fig. 22). This large outlet attracted early attention, and was de- scribed by several travellers. It was described in the 1700s by Hans Egede (1741, 1925), Erich Larssøn (1942), Poul Jochumsen Molt- zou (1935), Lars Dalager (1915) and Egil Thorhallesen (1914). However, these descriptions are often vague, and it is difficult to identify the described localities. This is also the case for descriptions by O. Fabricius (1788). Fabricius was a Danish priest, zoologist and lin- guist who lived in Paamiut just south of Frederikshåb Isblink from 1768 to 1773. He gave the first detailed de- scription of the margin of the Inland Ice and discussed the origin of icebergs (Fabricius 1788, pp. 69–70): The ice sheet is a most peculiar natural phenomenon, greatly exceeding the glaciers known in other countries, since it reaches from one end of the country to the other and con- ceals the entire interior part of the land with permanent ice, so that only some mountaintops protrude here and there, black and without ice cover. When ascending one of the highest mountains on the ice-free land near the coast but at the same time close to the ice sheet, one is faced with a fright- ful sight; however, one becomes eager to learn more about it. Fig. 21. Maps of south-western Greenland with ice-sheet contours from Bindschadler et al. (1989). The coloured zones show recession or growth in c. 1950 and c. 1985 (Weidick 1991a, fig. 1, p. 40). The grey ar- rows show the major calf-ice producing out- lets (Jakobshavn Isbræ, Kangiata Nunaata Sermia and Eqalorutsit Killiit Sermiat). The latter is an outlet from the eastern flank of the Qassimiut lobe. ca. 1950 ca. 1985 Disko Jacobshavn Isbræ 24 00 22 00 20 00 Sønder Strømfjord Sarqap sermerssua Isukasia Kangiata nunata sermia Sermilik Frederikshåb Isblink 0 200 km 22 00 30 00 31 00 c. 1950 c. 1985 Disko Jakobshavn Isbræ 16 00 18 00 20 00 22 00 24 00 26 00 28 00 Kangerlussuaq airport 200 km Net recession & thinning Net advance & growth Major drains Net recession and thinning Net advance and growth Major drains Saqqap Sermersua Kangiata Nunaata Sermia Frederikshåb Isblink Nakkaasorsuaq Qassimiut lobe Nuuk Sermeq Fig. 21 Facing page: Fig. 22. Satellite image of Frederikshåb Isblink, ASTER pseudo- colour mosaic from 1 July 2003. The altitude of the glacier north of Dalager Nunatakker is c. 1000 m a.s.l. The entire outlet is sur- rounded by a clear trimline zone indicating a general thinning of the glacier since the Little Ice Age maximum (LIA max), but the frontal recession, even near sea level, is only a few kilometres. A marked cov- er of superficial moraines has formed around the southern margin. The red dot shows the location of the studies conducted at Qorlor- toq by Pitman (1973). A, B, C and D? refer to areas mapped by A. Kornerup in 1878 (see Fig. 23). 39 62°30´N Dalager Nunatakker 62°30´N 50°W 50°W 10 km Dalager Nunatakker Qorlortoq Tasersuaq LIA max Sioraq Kangaarsuup Tasersua Frederikshåb Isblink J.A.D. JensenJ.A.D. Jensen NunatakkerNunatakker Majorariaq C D? B A 2003 62°30´N Fig. 22 4040 I believe even a superficial person will here be put into a state of profound reflection. As far as the eye can see, to the north, south or east, nothing but a sparkling plain of ice is seen. It deserves the name of an ice sea, because the ice-cov- ered areas are situated lower than the nearest mountains in the ice-free land. This ice expands year by year more and more, growing both in height, and in extent, and hence has covered most of the land. Where it meets high mountains it must stop until it grows over them, so it without hindrance can continue. It has been attempted to erect a stake on the bare land, some distance from the ice, and next year the stake was taken by the ice. So fast is its growth that Greenlanders speak about localities where their parents hunted reindeer, and which are now completely ice covered. Personally, I have seen trails that lead up to the inner part of the land; trails that have been made earlier but which now end in the ice, confirming the account of the Greenlanders. The ice sheet advances in particular in the valleys and where these reach the sea or the heads of fjords; here it advances so much that it forms large sheets of ice on the water. (Authors’ translation.) Fabricius continued with a detailed description of glacier surfaces, crevasses and meltwater draining into crevasses. He also described glacier erosion, deposition of till and calving. From his detailed description it is clear that he had a thorough knowledge of the glaciers and the margin of the ice sheet in the area south of Frederikshåb Isblink, but it is difficult to position his described locali- ties. It is clear from his description, however, that the ice margin was generally advancing in the latter part of the 1700s in this region. K.L. Giesecke visited the area in 1809 (Giesecke 1910), A. Kornerup in 1878 (Kornerup 1879), N.O. Holst in 1880 (Holst 1886) and J.C.D. Bloch in 1890 (Bloch 1892). From this period, the descriptions by Kornerup and Bloch are particularly interesting for the many de- tails they provide about the ice and the landscape. An example of the results of the detailed investiga- tions in 1878 is shown here (Fig. 23). The map is based on surveys of selected areas of Frederikshåb Isblink by Kornerup (Kornerup 1879, pp. 132–133). It can be com- pared with the satellite image from 2003 (Fig. 22), and with an aerial photograph of J.A.D. Jensen Nunatakker from 1985 (Fig. 24). The rate of recession of the margin of Frederikshåb Isblink during this 125 year period has varied. In 1878, in the western parts of Frederikshåb Isblink, the glacier front was located just behind the moraines that mark the Little Ice Age maximum (Fig. 23; Kornerup 1878); by 2003 the margin had receded 1–2  km. At Dalager Nunatakker, a thinning is seen at the lower parts of the nunataks alongside some deforma- tion of the median moraines, shown on Kornerup’s map. Little change is seen on J.A.D. Jensen Nunatakker al- though some development of trimline zones is apparent. On the 1985 aerial photograph, grey snow-free areas of exposed glacier ice are seen at c. 1300 m a.s.l., south-west of the nunataks, indicating that the nunataks are situ- ated close to the snow line. Based on his visit in 1890, Bloch described the west- ern frontal, alluvial plain as a clay plain. Furthermore Bloch (1892, pp. 150–151) reported the presence of wide river beds testifying to high summer discharge from the ice (the expedition visited the locality at the end of May) and thick vegetation cover with large willow bushes that extended up to the moraine in front of the ice margin proper, indicating that it had not receded for a long time period. Bloch (1892) reported a single main end-moraine, which was situated close to the margin of the ice. At a single locality, two moraines were recognised, spaced about 60 feet (c. 19 m) apart; the outer moraine was old, however, and already partly overgrown. Locally, the ice margin was located c. 30 feet (9 m) behind the main mo- raine, the dimensions of which varied a great deal. At many localities, the rivers had breached the moraine. The largest moraine was 20 feet (6 m) high and 10 feet (3 m) wide; it consisted of clayey gravel with large and small rounded clasts. The margin of the Inland Ice was described by Bloch (1892) as a smooth, descending plain; these notes are fol- lowed by a short description of the ice. Both Kornerup’s and Bloch’s descriptions of the frontal parts of Frederiks- håb Isblink, based on visits in 1878 and 1890, indicate a position close to the maximum for the Little Ice Age. The oldest moraine described by Bloch may have formed in the 1700s. In the following century, a map was drawn by K. Gripp and S. Hansen using terrestrial photogrammetry based Facing page: Fig. 23. Detailed maps of areas in the Frederikshåb Isblink area (see Fig. 22), surveyed by A. Kornerup in 1878 (Kornerup 1879). A: front of Frederikshåb Isblink. B: Dalager Nunatak- ker. C: J.A.D. Jensen Nunatakker. D: probably a small nunatak situated about 8 km east of the easternmost of Dalager Nu- natakker, located as e on Kornerup’s original map (Kornerup 1879, map sheet C). 41 Fig. 23 4242 on photographs taken in 1930. The unpublished map covers part of the glacier front to the Davis Strait on a scale of 1:10 000 and with a 10 m contour interval. Aerial photographs taken between the 1930s and 1985 show a gradual thinning of the large lobe and photographs from 1985 show the trimline zone to be c. 1 km wide. At the northern part of the front of Frederikshåb Is- blink, near the Majorariaq river, the total recession from the outer moraines of the trimline zone (the Little Ice Age maximum) to the position in 2010 can be estimated to be c. 3 km whereas the total recession of the western part of the front near Sioraq is scarcely 1–2 km for the same time period. Farther south at Qorlortoq, at a profile of Pitman (1973), the ice front shows a total recession of c. 500 m from the Little Ice Age maximum to 2010. Frederikshåb Isblink is a large glacier, and it will be necessary to conduct new field investigations in order to locate and re-measure the localities described, before 1 km Nakkaasorsuaq 1878 63°03´N 63°03´N 49°40´W 49°40´W Allumersat LI A m ax 1985 1968 Fig. 25 1968 Fig. 25. Nakkaasorsuaq outlet in Allumersat (Bjørnesund). The approximate frontal posi- tions during the Little Ice Age maximum (LIA max), in 1878 and in 1985 are shown (Geodetic Institute, route 281M, no. 434, 13 August 1968). The position in 2010 was the same as in 1968. 2 km 49°W 62°50´N 49°W 62°50´N Fig. 24 1985 Fig. 24. J.A.D. Jensen Nunatakker, 19 July 1985, Geodetic Institute, route 886N, no. 1672. When compared to Fig. 23C it is seen that only minor changes have occurred since 1878, although a narrow trimline zone seen locally indicates a lowering of the Inland Ice surface in the region. Dark areas on the Inland Ice surface south-west of the nunataks indicate sporadic areas of snow-free glacier ice and the proximity of the snow line at this altitude on the Inland Ice surface (c. 1300 m a.s.l.). The elevation of the peaks of the nunataks in this area varies from 1440 to 1680 m a.s.l. according to Geodetic Institute (1974). 43 a comprehensive evaluation of the changes of the entire glacier can be made. Pitman (1973) carried out work on the glacial history of Frederikshåb Isblink near the Qor- lortoq locality, at 62°29.5́ N, 49°47´W, south-west of the large ice-dammed lake Kangaarsuup Tasersua. Ages were determined using lichenometry, and the Little Ice Age maximum was dated to 1832. Between the Little Ice Age maximum and c. 1950, the glacier has receded c. 400 m. Later aerial photographs from 1964 (Geodetic Institute, route 272V, no. 100, 2 July) and 1985 (Geodetic Insti- tute, route 886L, no. 665, 9 July) and satellite images from the first decade of the 2000s show little change in the frontal position of the glacier. This is presumably due to the strong development of surface moraine cover over the southern part of Frederikshåb Isblink, which has led to large areas of dead ice. Nakkaasorsuaq The Nakkaasorsuaq glacier in Allumersat fjord at 63° 03́ N, 49°42´W is a tidal, calving glacier, but with lim- ited calf-ice production. The front is c. 800 m wide and is surrounded by a trimline zone that extends c. 2.5 km out beyond the present front (Fig. 25). Early descriptions of the area date back to 1801 (Mørch 1942), but give no details of the geography of the fjord, and only state that it is closed by ice (Weidick 1959). Giesecke visited the fjord in 1809, but he did not reach the head. Mapping of the interior of Allumersat started with the collection of map sketches made by local hunters (Rink’s map collection in the Royal Library, Copenhagen), but it is not possible to locate the glacier front from this source (the best example is ‘Peter’s map’, mentioned by Weidick (1959)). The first description and more detailed mapping of the glacier and the surrounding area took place in 1878 (Jensen 1879, pp. 35–38 and his enclosed map). During the expedition, Jensen visited the mountain of Qaqqatsi- aq c. 10 km north of the glacier on 12–14 June. After the descent, the expedition made soundings in the fjord at a distance of 0.25 mile from the glacier front and found a maximum depth of 212 fathoms. Assuming Danish units were used, it means that the depth was c. 400 m at c. 2 km from the glacier front (1 Danish fathom = 1.8331 m, 1 Danish mile = 7.5 km). The position of the glacier front in 1878 was c. 800 m behind the Little Ice Age maximum (Fig. 25). This estimate is supported by a water colour made by A. Kornerup (Fig. 26A) during the expedition, published by Weidick (1975a) together with a later photograph from the same site, taken in 1936 by J. Helk (Fig. 26B). The latter photograph is the only information for the period following Jensen’s expedition in 1878. It shows the front of the Nakkaasorsuaq glacier in a retracted position, c. 2 km from the Little Ice Age maximum. Aerial photographs from the early 1940s, 17 June 1948, 13 August 1968 and 20 July 1985 all show that the glacier front was located at a narrow part of the fjord. During this period, the glacier front had a surface falling steeply over a distance of c. 3 km from 500 m down to sea level. A Landsat image from 2010 shows the position of the glacier front close to the position in 1968 (Fig. 25). Sermeq in Sermilik icefjord The Sermeq glacier is 65–70 km long and 3.5–5 km wide. On its way to Sermilik icefjord the glacier receives several tributaries from local ice caps in the surround- ing alpine highland (Fig. 27). A river plain and tidal flat, c. 5 km long, separate the glacier front from the fjord (Fig. 28). The present position of the glacier front is 63°32´N, 50°45́ W. The middle and upper part of the outlet is seen in Fig. 29. The glacier is surrounded by very fresh moraines around its front, so the Little Ice Age maximum is close to the present front position. About 6 km east of the pres- ent front, the glacier sends a branch northwards towards Alanngorlia fjord. This branch is also separated from the fjord by a 1–2 km long river plain/tidal flat. The sources from before the middle of the 1800s pro- vide little information about the position of the front of the Sermeq glacier. After investigations of the fjord Sermilik and its northern branch Alanngorlia in 1878, Jensen wrote (1879, pp. 31–32): The margin of the In- land Ice has lately advanced in these fjords and according to information by training college teacher Kleinschmidt, boats could, as late as at the beginning of this century, pass through the valley that is found east of the mountain Iviangiusat, but this strait is now completely filled with the Inland Ice. (Authors’ translation.) If this is true, the front may have advanced at least 7 km since the begin- ning of the 1800s, supposing that the mentioned pas- sage through Alanngorlia first was blocked by proglacial sedimentation before the glacier passed and blocked this 4444 A B Fig. 26 1878 1936 Fig. 26. Nakkaasorsuaq in Bjørnesund. A: The watercolour of the glacier front was painted by A. Kornerup on 15 June 1878 (Kornerup 1879, 1978). B: The glacier front photographed by J. Helk on 26 July 1936. Copyright Arktisk Institut, Copenhagen. J. Helk was head of the photo- grammetrical section at the Geodetic Institute in Copenhagen and subsequently director of Arktisk Institut in Copenhagen. 45 2 km Iviangiusarsuit Sermeq 63°30´N Iviangiusarsuit Alanngorlia 50°30´W 50°30´W50°30´W 63°30´N Fig. 27 1985 Fig. 27. Sermeq glacier, aerial photograph from 20 July 1985, Geodetic Institute, route 886K no. 1843. Dotted line: deformation of the median moraine according to a satellite image from 2010. Meltwater from the glacier drains west (left) to the Sermilik fjord. passage. Today, the place name ‘Iviangiusat’ is changed to Iviangiusarsuit. With respect to early maps of the area, we note that the Alanngorlia–Sermilik connection was blocked by ice on maps by Kleinschmidt from 1855 and by B. Peters from 1859 (B. Peters in the Kleinschmidt map collec- tion at the Royal Library in Copenhagen (Weidick 1959, fig. 42)). The first map by Jensen (1889) was corrected in later versions (presumably after data acquired during later expeditions to West Greenland) so that the glacier front of Sermeq is shown in a position closer to the pres- ent one and with a distance to the Alanngorlia branch of c. 6–8 km. The northern part of the front of Sermeq is located at a ‘bay’ just south of a large local glacier coming from Iviangiusarsuit (Fig. 28). The following information on the position of the gla- cier front was given by K. Gripp (1975) from investiga- tions in 1930. Gripp noted that moraines were formed at the active ice margin. A photograph of the glacier front shows the entire front and its surroundings, seen from the north at an elevation of 385 m a.s.l. The estimated position of the front in 1930 is shown on an aerial pho- tograph from 1968 (Fig. 28B). If it is correct that the po- sition of the glacier front at the beginning of the 1800s allowed boats to pass from Alanngorlia to Sermilik fjord south-west around Iviangiusarsuit, the front of the Sermeq glacier may have had a position at least 5.5 km behind the position in 1930 and c. 6 km behind that in 1968 (Figs 27, 28). The following advance, given by the estimated positions of the glacier front in 1985 and 2010, is shown in Fig. 28. The estimated advance from c. 1800 to 1930 was c. 6 km (?), corresponding to 46 m per year. From 1930 to 1968 it advanced 18 m per year (700 m in 38 years) and from 1968 to 1985 (Figs 27, 28B), it advanced 12 m per year (200 m in 17 years). Finally, from 1985 to 2010 (Landsat image) the northern flank of the glacier front may have advanced c. 100 m, corresponding to c. 4 m per year. Isortuarsuup Sermia Isortuarsuup Sermia at 63°50´N, 50°00´W, is an over 20 km long, c. 5 km wide outlet that calves in the Isortu- arsuup Tasia lake at c. 450 m a.s.l. (Fig. 29). The calf-ice 4646 63°33´N 1 km 1985 LIA max Ea rly 1 80 0s ? 1930? 2010 1968 Sermeq Iviangiusarsuit 63°33´ 50°37´W 50°37´W B A 1930 1968 Fig. 28. A: The front of Sermeq glacier seen from the north-west from an altitude of 385 m a.s.l. Photograph by K. Gripp, 11 September 1930, published by Gripp (1975, plate 1, fig. 2). According to Gripp, most of the drainage from the ice front appeared to occur via a subglacial tunnel located below the large median moraine at the centre line of the glacier front. The median moraine can also be seen on the aerial photograph of the front from 1968, shown in Fig. 28B. B: Sermeq glacier. Aerial photograph from 14 August 1968, Geodetic Institute, route 281H, no. 263. The estimated positions of the glacier front in 1930 (see Fig. 28A), 1985 and 2010 are shown on the photograph. LIA max: Little Ice Age maximum. 47 Fig. 29. ASTER image of Isortuarsuup Sermia from 4 August, 2004 covering a large part of Sermeq (Fig. 27) and the un-named glacier 1CG14004 (Fig. 31). The area adjacent to the margin of the Inland Ice is barren, partly alpine with local glaciers confluent with the marginal part of the Inland Ice, which might influence the response character of the ice-sheet margin. The position of the glacier front is close to the posi- tions in 1985 and 2010. Between 1938 and 1987 the ice-dammed lake at 710 m a.s.l. has drained at regular intervals (every 8th or 9th year) via Isortuarsuup Sermia. This periodicity is thought to have also prevailed since 1987 with inferred draining events in 1993 and 2002 (see Fig. 30). 1CG14004 Ice-dammed lake at 710 m a.s.l. Isortuarsuup Tasia 63°30´N 50°W 50°W 63°22´N 5 km Isortuarsuup Sermia 64°N Se rm eq Ser meq Fig. 29 2004 64°N 50°W 2004 4848 production appears to be small and the maximum height of the glacier front is about 40 m above the lake level. Details of the glacier and its surrounding area are best seen on an aerial photograph from 1968 (Geodetic Institute, route 281O, no. 317, 13 August). The glacier front was surrounded by a 100–300 m wide trimline zone indicating recent thinning of about 50 m near the front. The trimline zone pinches out at elevations above 750 m a.s.l. The trimline zone indicates a Little Ice Age maximum about 400 m more westerly than seen in 1968. Comparisons with aerial photographs from 1937(?) and 1985 reveal only a slight change in the position of the front and the same is seen on a Landsat image from 2010. ‘Lake 710 m’ is a large ice-dammed lake situated on the north side of Isortuarsuup Sermia, 5–10 km behind (east of) the front. The glacier and the ice-dammed lake are situated in a region that received little attention before the 1930s. Due to the need for hydropower for Nuuk (Kangerluarsunnguaq or Buksefjorden hydropower plant), hydrological and glaciological investigations have been carried out in order to calculate the future hydro- power potential (Braithwaite 1989). As illustrated by Fig. 29, the margin of the Inland Ice around Isortuarsuup Sermia is surrounded by alpine uplands and highlands covered with large local glaciers. The determination of the position of the main glacier front must therefore to some degree be controlled by the mass balance and dynamics of the contributing lo- cal glaciers. The position of the front of Isortuarsuup Sermia varied little from 1950 to 2004. The stability of the frontal position and the thickness of the glacier are also reflected in the regularity of the draining periods of the ice-dammed lake at 710 m. Between 1938 and 1987, draining occurred at intervals of 8–9 years (Thomsen et al. 1992; Fig. 30). The ASTER image from 2004 (Fig. 29) shows a lake in the process of being filled up and it is possible that the lake drained in 1992 and 2001. In 2011, the lake level was again at a maximum (Fig. 30). 1CG14004 1CG14004 is a small, c .6 km long and c. 1 km wide, un- named land-based outlet from the Inland Ice, situated at 63°58´N, 49°42´W (Figs 29, 31). The present glacier front is situated c. 1500 m behind moraines that mark the Little Ice Age maximum. The age of the moraines is unknown, but we suggest that they formed in the mid- or late part of the 1800s, based on dating of the Little Ice Age maximum of other smaller land-based glaciers in the region. The first information about the frontal position of 1CG14004 comes from aerial photographs from the 1930s (not very detailed) and from 1968 and 1985. It ap- pears that in 1968 the front was situated c. 900 m behind the Little Ice Age maximum. The recession continued up to 2010 when the glacier front was situated about 1500 m behind the Little Ice Age maximum. Kangaasarsuup Sermia Kangaasarsuup Sermia is a land-based outlet with a length over 20 km from its beginning at the Inland Ice to the front at 64°06́ N, 49°59´W. At the front and along its flanks, the glacier is surrounded by a wide trimline zone, with a length of 2–3 km at the front (Fig. 32). 647 m 695 m 653 m 747 m 729 m 750 750 800 800 751 m 1km Ice margin Maximum lake level Minimum lake level 49°50´W 53°54.6´N 710 m B A 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Year 650 700 W at er le ve l ( m a .s. l.) Fig. 30 Fig. 30. Ice-dammed lake at 710 m a.s.l. (see Fig. 29) that is peri- odically drained via Isortuarsuup Sermia. The data for the period 1937–1987 are from Thomsen et al. (1992), and the continuation is based on satellite images. A: Estimated lake levels and draining events. B: Map of the ice-dammed lake at 710 m a.s.l. Redrawn from Thomsen et al. (1992, figs 5.3 and 5.4, pp. 27 and 29). 49 Historical knowledge about this outlet is sparse. The glacier is not shown on the first map of the area by J.A.D. Jensen. Subsequent investigations by the end of the 1800s formed the foundation for the map by Amdrup et al. (1921; 1:1 000 000). Descriptions of Norse ruin groups no. 54 (Nipaatsoq, c. 6 km west of the present glacier front) and no. 55 (Kangaarsarsuk, at the north-western end of lake Isortuarsuk, 3.5 km south of the glacier front) do not include any information concerning the glacier (Jensen 1889, p. 117; Bruun 1917, p. 102). The first sketch map showing details of the glacier is probably that published by Roussell (1941, p. 14, fig. 6). A set of aerial photographs from 1936 (which formed the basis for Roussell’s sketch map) shows the glacier front surrounded by a trimline zone (e.g. Geodetic Institute, route 768C, no. 25297) and on the aerial photographs the glacier front is situated c. 1.3 km behind the Little Ice Age maximum as defined by the outer limit of the trimline zone. A later aerial photograph from 13 August 1968 (Fig. 32) shows the front situated c. 3 km from the Little Ice Age maximum. Roussell (1941, p. 16) mentioned that according to Thorhallesen, the eastern arm of Ameralik (possibly Naajat Kuuat, Fig. 10, loc. 9) reached a lake that was cov- ered by an advancing glacier. It is unlikely that this lake was Isortuarsuk (Fig. 32), and it is also unlikely that the glacier was Kangaasarsuup Sermia. We consider it more likely that the lake was Isvand, which was covered by the western flank of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia in the 1700s (Fig. 9, see earlier description). E. Knuth (1944, pp. 94–109) provided a review of the knowledge of the topography of the interior parts of the Nuup Kangerlua region, based on his own and Roussell’s archaeological investigations in the early 1930s, as well as on aerial photographs from 1936. Knuth’s discussion included the ruin group ‘Kangârssârssuk’. According to Knuth, local people told him that the latter place name should be ‘Kangârssârssuaq’ (Knuth 1944, pp. 104–109). Knuth included an aerial photograph of Kangaasarsuup Sermia (p. 99) and provided a short description of the frontal parts of the glacier, which he called a ‘dead gla- cier’ (p. 104) after crossing it. Landsat and ASTER images from 2009 and 2010 re- cord a continuation of the recession, with the front of the glacier situated c. 3.4 km behind the Little Ice Age maxi- mum in 2010. The trimline zone looks fresh and sterile, but possible correlation with the development around Isvand north of the Kangaasarsuup Sermia may imply a greater age (1700?) for the formation of the outermost part of the trimline zone. North of Kangersuneq to Saqqap Sermersua A wide coastal area with lowlands and uplands and nu- merous lakes is found between Kangilinnguata Sermia in the south and Saqqap Sermersua in the north (Fig. 2). The ice-free coastland reaches elevations of around 1200 m a.s.l. near the margin of the Inland Ice. The c. 50 km long margin of the Inland Ice is undulating, with a number of lobes, but without proper outlets from the ice sheet. Some parts of the ice margin terminate in ice- 63°56´N63°56´N 63°56´N63°56´N 1CG14004 49°36´W LIA max 1 km 2010 1968 Fig. 31 1968 Fig. 31. Aerial photograph from 1968 of outlet glacier 1CG14004 from the Inland Ice (Geodetic Institute, route 281S, no. 79, 13 August). The glacier code number is according to Weidick et al. (1992). The ap- proximate glacier extent during the Little Ice Age maximum (LIA max) and the estimated position of the glacier front in 2010 (from a satellite image) are shown. 5050 dammed lakes that drain to the south to the Ujarassuit Paavat and Nuup Kangerlua fjords. North of Saqqap Sermersua, ice-dammed lakes drain towards the Søndre Isortoq fjord (Fig. 2). The ice-sheet margin around 65°N (Fig. 2) is described below, an area for which some data are available from early visitors. Specific descriptions focus on the Isukasia area (sector 1CH02002; Weidick et al. 1992), located in the central part of the region where the local hydropower potential has been investigated, and on the large outlet Saqqap Sermersua in the north. 1 km 64°05´N LIA max LIA max 2010 1936? 1948 64°05´N 50°W 50°W 1968 Kangaarsarsuk (ruin group 55) Kangaasarsuup Sermia Isortuarsuk Naajat Kuuat Akuliarusersuaq Kangaasarsuaq Fig. 32 1968 Fig. 32. Aerial photograph from 13 August 1968 (Geodetic Institute, route 281Q, no. 178) of Kangaasarsuup Sermia. The approximate posi- tions of the glacier front during the Little Ice Age maximum (LIA max), in 1936 (Geodetic Institute, route 768C, no. 25297), in 1948 (Geo- detic Institute, route 505 D1-Ø, no. 9774, 4 September) and in 2010 (from a satellite image) are shown. The total recession is c. 3.4 km. 51 The ice-sheet margin at Isukasia The southern areas of the ice-sheet margin at Isukasia (65°11́ N, 49°50´W; Fig. 33) were first mapped by J.A.D. Jensen during 1884–1885 (Jensen 1889). Jensen’s map may be partly based on information from older sources. It is not possible on the basis of the outline of the lakes around Isua and Ataneq (Fig. 34) to make comparisons with modern maps of the area, or to map changes in the position of the ice margin. The locality Isua on Jensen’s map is named Isukasia on later maps (Fig. 34). The area has been visited and described in connection with investigations of basement rocks and iron-ore de- posits at Isukasia (Henriksen et al. 2009). Glaciological investigations have been conducted as part of an evalua- tion of the hydropower potential of the locality in con- nection with possible future mining (Colbeck 1974; Kryolitselskabet Øresund 1980). The glaciological in- vestigations included determination of ice-margin fluc- tuations, going back to the 1930s, based on aerial pho- tographs. During the period of glacial and hydrological investigations, direct measurements of annual fluctua- tions of the ice margin were carried out from August 1974 to August 1980. The data showed a continuous ad- vance of the ice margin of 50–80 m, i.e. a few metres per year (Kryolitselskabet Øresund 1980). On the basis of aerial photographs and Landsat images from 1969, 1985 and 2010 (Fig. 33), the total advance between 1969 and 2009 is estimated to c. 300 m, or c. 7 m per year. The rate of advance seems to have been fairly constant during the last four decades, following the annual measurements from 1974 to 1980 by Kryolitselskabet Øresund (1980). Saqqap Sermersua Saqqap Sermersua at 65°12.5́ N, 50°39´W is a c. 28 km long, land-based outlet from the ice sheet. The frontal width is c. 3 km and at present a c. 2 km long alluvial plain separates the glacier front from the large Tasersuaq lake (Fig. 34). Although remote, the Saqqap Sermersua area has at- tracted reindeer hunters. Kleinschmidt’s map of the Nuuk area (Fig. 11) gives a good impression of the general knowledge of this area in the 1850s. The first published information on changes of Saqqap Sermersua appeared in the Greenlandic newspaper Atuagagdliutit (Barselaj 1969 49°50´W 2010 1CH02002 Isukasia 49°50´W 65°11´N 65°11´N Lake at 792 m a.s.l. a 5 km 65°11´N Fig. 33 1969Fig. 33. Part of the Inland Ice margin at Isu- kasia. Estimated advances of the ice margin near the lake at 792 m a.s.l. are shown on the aerial photograph from 1969 (Geodetic Institute, route 281Y, no. 88, 10 August). The locality marked a, in the eastern inlet, is the site of annual measurements of frontal positions from 1974 to 1980 made by ACG (Kryolitselskabet Øresund 1980). The approximate position of the glacier front position in 2010 is indicated. 5252 50°30´W 5 km 2009 65°15´N Saq qap Ser mersu a 1985 c.1850? 1936 1968 d c 65°15´N 50°30´W b a b d a c 65°N 65°N 50°W 50°W 20 km Fig. 34 1985 Fig. 34. Aerial photograph of Saqqap Sermersua. Estimated advance of the ice margin between the 1850s and 2009 is shown on the photograph from 11 July 1985 (Geodetic Institute, route 886K, no. 1456). The inset map was presumably made on the basis of the map by J.A.D. Jensen after his survey work in the area in 1885 (Amdrup et al. 1921). The locations of features a to d can be found on modern maps and the distances between these points on old and modern maps fit within ± 1 km; the date of this version of the map is unknown. The ice-front position around 1850–1860 is taken from Fig. 11 (Kleinschmidt’s map), and is located c. 2–3 km downstream of point d. 53 1866). Barselaj was a parish clerk and a member of the lo- cal council in Nuuk. His family name was probably Eze- kiassen, but only his first name was used as the author of the article. Barselaj visited the Saqqap Sermersua area in 1862 and 1865. On his first visit he was told that the gla- cier was advancing. This was confirmed during his sec- ond visit to the glacier in July 1865, when he saw an old trail that was partly buried under the ice. The advance of the glacier appeared to be faster during the summer than in winter (H.C. Petersen, personal communication, 1996). Barselaj also noted that there was calf ice in lake Tasersuaq, but the location of the front was not given, which is strange because at present the glacier front is separated from Tasersuaq by an extensive alluvial plain. This plain is not shown on J.A.D. Jensen’s map, made after surveys in 1884–1885. Jensen’s map provides a relatively detailed picture of the area surrounding the glacier front (Jensen 1889). However, there is no map scale and the coastlines and other landscape features are somewhat distorted. It ap- pears that the front of Saqqap Sermersua was located close to the modern position. The map was used for dec- ades as a base map of the area, and it was used by Bruun to map Norse settlements (Fig. 7). A modified version of the map was included in the description of Greenland, published 200 years after Hans Egede’s arrival in Green- land (Amdrup et al. 1921). Part of this map with Saqqap Sermersua and the surrounding area (still without the al- luvial plain in front of Saqqap Sermersua) is reproduced here and compared to an aerial photograph from 1985 (Fig. 34). The suggested position of the glacier front shown on the aerial photograph in Fig. 34 shows the probable situation in the 1850s, based on Kleinschmidt’s map (Fig. 11). North of the glacier, several large lakes are found (b). The lakes drain via a river (d) to Saqqap Ser- mersua at a place that was located 1 –2 km behind the front on Kleinschmidt’s map. On aerial photographs (Fig. 34) and modern maps, the glacier front is seen with the same river located 5–6 km behind the glacier front. This implies that the glacier front advanced c. 4 km from the middle of the 1800s to 1968 (c. 34 m per year). Dur- ing the following period from 1968 to l985 it advanced c. 500 m (c. 29 m per year) and finally during the period from 1985 to 2009 it advanced c. 500 m (c. 21 m per year). We suggest that the front experienced a steady advance of c. 30 m per year throughout the period from the 1850s to the present time. The variations may reflect uncertain- ties in the determination of the frontal positions. Discussion Temperature changes Considering the temperature history since the end of the 1700s in western Greenland (Vinther et al. 2006), the sparse information up to the mid-1800s may indicate a cold period; for the subsequent years (Cappelen 2005), there is a parallel trend for all stations on the west coast with relatively cold periods around 1900 and a less ex- treme cold period c. 1990, interspersed with warmer spells c. 1940. The present marked increase in tempera- tures began c. 1995. The definition of geological periods in the Quaternary is basically related to temperatures inferred from proxy data obtained from investigations of plant or animal re- mains or stable isotopes of material from sediment or ice cores. With respect to the term Neoglacial, this period is defined by the cooling following the Holocene thermal maximum that may have peaked in the inland areas of southern West Greenland between 7000 and 6500 cal. years BP (Bennike et al. 2010). The Neoglacial can be subdivided in various ways (e.g. Dahl-Jensen et al. 1998; Kaplan et al. 2002; Seidenkrantz et al. 2007; Kuijpers et al. 2009). It is subdivided here into an older (6500–2000 cal. years BP) and younger part (2000 cal. years BP to the present). Older Neoglacial (6500–2000 years BP) We can only provide a fragmentary picture of the fluc- tuations of the ice margin during older periods. The ice 5454 margin receded rapidly in the early Holocene until the peak of the Holocene thermal maximum at c. 7.0–6.5 cal. ka BP (Fig. 35). At several localities reworked marine fos- sils have been found in Neoglacial deposits or in glacier ice near the ice margin: 1. Southern flank of the Qassimiut lobe at around 61°N, 47°W. Eight samples gave ages of 8.4 to 2.9 cal. ka BP (Weidick et al. 2004). 2. Søndre Qoornoq Bræ (61°09´N, 47°50´W. A few shells were found during reconnaissance work in 1955 (Weidick 1959). No samples have been dated. 3. Frederikshåb Isblink (c. 62°37´N, 50°08´W). Ma- rine shells from the moraine and alluvial plain in front of the glacier were collected by D. Heling (Heling 1974) and a sample dated to 21 740 ± 400 14C years BP (Weidick 1975a; I-7622). The sample is a bulk sample and may consist of a mixture of Holo- cene and pre-Holocene shells. 4. Kangilinnguata Sermia (c. 64°50´N, 50°00´W). Four age determinations of shells gave ages from 6.4 to 4.3 cal. ka BP (Table 2). 5. The Jakobshavn Isbræ area (around 68°58´– 69°45́ N, 50°14́ –50°20´W). Fifteen radiocarbon dates of marine shells and a walrus tusk collected at the present margin of the ice sheet around Jakobs- havn Isbræ ranged from 6.1 to 2.2 cal. ka BP (Wei- dick & Bennike 2007). In the area around Jakobshavn Isbræ, Briner et al. (2010) have investigated numerous lakes close to the recent ice margin. They presented 18 radiocarbon ages ranging from 7.4 to 0.8 cal. ka BP. Deglaciation continued after 7.3 cal. ka BP beyond the present ice margin until c. 2.3 cal. ka BP south of Jakobshavn Isbræ and until 0.4 cal. ka BP north of the ice stream. Marine sediments at the mouth of Jakobshavn Isfjord (Kangia) indicate ‘extensive ice phases’ at c. 2 and 0.5 cal. ka BP relating to a buried ‘Narssarssuaq stade’ and a 1700–1800 culmination of Little Ice Age advances in this region. The problem here is whether ‘extensive ice phases’ imply glacier advances or conversely extensive calf-ice production due to ice-front disintegration accompanying recession of a calving gla- cier. The general decrease in temperatures caused initial glacier expansions. Beschel (1961) in his research on gla- cier fluctuations in West Greenland discerned the gen- eral glacier advances in this period: the ‘Hochmoos’ ad- vance of an uncertain age, although indicated at c. 4000 years BP on his fig. 2, and the ‘Larstig’ advance, estimat- ed at between 2800 and 2500 years BP. Both stades were defined in the Alps from moraines found in front of Lit- tle Ice Age moraines associated with minor local glaciers. The Narssarssuaq stade in South Greenland (61°10´N, 45°25́ W; Weidick 1963; plate 1) is referred to the Older Neoglacial. The moraines of the Narssarssuaq stade in the area around Narsarsuaq in South Greenland follow the present ice margin at a distance of 5–10 km along an ice-margin length of c. 60 km. A northern continu- 10 20 30 50 100 200 300 400 600 800 1000 D ep th (m ) 1930s Warm Period 1100 1200 1300 1330 1360 –40 δ18O (‰) –35 –30 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000 2000 5000 10 000 20 000 50 000 100 000 Ag e (y ea rs b ef or e 19 58 ) Little Ice Age Medieval Warm Period Holocene thermal maximum Last glacial stage Fig. 35 Older Neoglacial Younger Neoglacial Roman Warm Period Narssarssuaq stade Fig. 35. Late Quaternary temperature history according to the Camp Century ice-core record. Redrawn from Dansgaard (2004). Blue areas: colder than present; red areas: warmer than present. The age-depth model is tentative. 55 ation of this moraine system may have existed around the Qajuuttap Sermia ice stream, c. 30 km north-west of the Narsarsuaq airport. Moraines in this area were described by Moltke & Jessen (1896, p. 100). Qajuuttap Sermia started to advance and expand in the first half of the 1900s, an advance that probably ended towards the end of the last century. The moraines recorded by Moltke and Jessen were thus presumably removed or covered by Qajuuttap Sermia during this most recent advance (Wei- dick 2009). The Narssarssuaq moraines have been dated by lichenometry and radiocarbon dating to c. 2000 cal. years BP (Dawson 1983; Bennike & Sparrenbom 2007). Farther north at the head of Kangerlussuaq (Søndre Strømfjord, 67°11́ N, 50°10´W, Fig. 2), the age of a Neo- glacial advance of Isunnguata Sermia of the same mag- nitude as the following Little Ice Age maximum was determined by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to c. 2000 cal. years BP (Forman et al. 2007). This advance may thus have taken place at the same time as the Narssarssuaq stade. Finally, a series of moraines on the Nuussuaq penin- sula north of Disko Bugt crosses the inner part of Nuus- suaq. The moraines can be followed from Torsukattak icefjord in Disko Bugt in the south to Ikerasaap Sullua (Qarajaq Isfjord) in the north and continue on the pen- insulas north of Ikerasaap Sullua. These moraines were first described by E. von Drygalski (1897, vol. 1, p. 121) and later by Weidick (1968, p. 92). The length of the moraine system across Nuussuaq peninsula is 32 km and the system follows the present ice margin at a distance of 0.5–1 km. This glacial stade was called the Drygal- ski stage by Weidick (1968, p. 136). The moraines were possibly formed during a period when the relative sea level was not higher than at present, and the moraines are older than the Little Ice Age moraines that are found between the Drygalski moraines and the present ice mar- gin. The moraine system is tentatively correlated to the Narssarssuaq stade in South Greenland. During recon- naissance work in August 1961, the system was followed all the way from Torsukattak to Ikerasaap Sullua (Be- schel & Weidick 1973, p. 313). Younger Neoglacial (2000 years BP – present) The Medieval Warm Period (MWP) extended from AD 850 to 1200. It can be divided into several phases sepa- rated by one or more cold spells, as seen in records from Ameralik fjord (Kuijpers et al. 2009). Farther south, Kaplan et al. (2002) investigated a sediment core from ‘Qipisarqo Lake’, located 2 km from Nordre Qipisarqo Bræ which is an outlet from the Qassimiut lobe (Fig. 2) at c. 61°03́ N, 47°42´W. Between c. 9.1 and 0.4 cal. ka BP and again from AD 1850 onwards, the margin of Nordre Qipisarqo Bræ was at or behind its present position. The Qassimiut lobe had in general a reduced extent during the period 8.4–2.9 cal. ka BP, as shown by dating of re- worked marine shells near its present margin (Weidick et al. 2004). During the Little Ice Age, Nordre Qipisarqo Bræ was larger than at present, and it advanced into the catch- ment of ‘Qipisarqo Lake’, which led to deposition of minerogenic sediment in the lake during the period from AD c. 1550 to 1850 (Kaplan et al. 2002). With respect to the advance during the Little Ice Age, Holst visited the margin of Nordre Qipisarqo Bræ in 1880 (Holst 1886; Weidick 1959) and reported that the glacier front was situated only c. 100 feet behind the Little Ice Age maxi- mum. We suggest that the ice-margin position reached its maximum during the middle of the 1800s. A relatively cold period at around AD 600–900 is seen in the Greenland ice-core records, such as the Camp Century ice core from 77°10´N, 61°08´W (Dansgaard 2004; Fig. 35). The record from the DYE-3 ice core has been used for modelling the response of the Inland Ice margin north of Jakobshavn Isbræ, at Paakitsup Ilorlia (Fig. 2; Reeh 1983; Weidick & Bennike 2007). Accord- ing to this model, a glacier advance occurred around AD 800; the magnitude of the advance was nearly as marked as later advances occurring around 1700 and 1900. There were possibly several cold spells, of which the most extreme may have been the so-called Fimbul winter, de- scribed in Nordic mythology, and dated to AD c. 536 (Gräslund 2007). The initial onset of the Little Ice Age is often placed at AD 1100, but the real start of the Little Ice Age prob- ably did not take place until after 1200–1400. In addi- tion, there were warm spells between 1570 and 1600. These relatively warm periods subdivide the Little Ice Age into several parts. No documented glacier advances took place during the oldest part of the Little Ice Age although it is possible that traces of such advances were covered by younger advances in the 1700s and 1800s. Ac- cording to the modelling by Reeh (1983) of ice-margin fluctuations at Paakitsup Ilorlia near Jakobshavn Isbræ for the period AD 600–2000, an advance occurred around AD 1200, but the expansion of the ice margin was extremely modest. The trimline zone was mainly 5656 1800 1850 1950AD 1900 2000 1800 1850 1950AD 1900 2000 1800 1850 19501900 2000 2 4 6 0 2 4 km 0 2 km 0 2 km 0 2 km 2 0 1 km 0 2 km 0 1 km 0 2 km 4 6 km 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 km ? ? ? ? 1920 stade 1920 stade Drainage of Isvand 2004 Saqqap Sermersua Ice margin west of Isukasia Kangilinnguata Sermia Narsap Sermia Qamanaarsuup Sermia Kangaasarsuup Sermia 1CG14004 Sermeq Nakkaasorsuaq Frederikshåb Isblink (southern part) Kangiata Nunaata Sermia ? Last LIA max? ?? 0 1 km Isortuarsuup Sermia Last LIA max? Last LIA max Last LIA max Last LIA max? ? Advance LIA max in mid 1800s? Presumably close to LIA max since 1700s Last LIA max 0 2 4 6 km ? ? Separation of Akullersuup Sermia from Kangiata Nunaata Sermia c. 1950 ? ? ? Last LIA max Isvand area 0 Frederikshåb Isblink Nuuk Saqqap Sermersua Fig. 36 57 formed during the Little Ice Age maximum from the 1700s or at the end of the 1800s. These two maximum advances are often marked by differences in vegetation cover and soil formation on the moraines, the older mo- raines being darker because they have a denser cover of lichens than the younger moraines. This was described for the Qassimiut lobe, at Qalerallit Sermia in South Greenland (Weidick 1963, pp. 91–93; Fig. 2). In some places, the old moraines (1700s?) are located distal to the younger moraines, whereas in other areas, the older moraines disappear under the younger ones. This con- tradicts the general idea, taken from local glaciers, that the oldest moraines are nearly always situated distal to the younger moraines. For small, local glaciers in West Greenland, Beschel (1961, pp. 1058–1059) followed this concept when dating moraines by lichenometry. An ad- vance occurred at c. 1600 followed by another advance at 1770–1780. Larger advances occurred in the second half of the 1800s, around 1870–1880 and 1890–1895, followed by a minor advance in 1920–1925. For the Inland Ice margin, the trimline zone often in- dicates the maximum advance from the 1700s, and the middle or late part of 1800s. However, in some sectors of the ice-sheet margin, the trimline zone is poorly de- veloped, and in other places, a trimline zone is missing. Information about fluctuations of the Inland Ice margin is sporadic. Sometimes it is only based on lichenometric ages, which can be questionable (Jochimsen 1973; Web- ber & Andrews 1973). However, lichenometric ages may be used to estimate the relative age of moraines, which are difficult to date using other methods. Historical in- formation can also be uncertain. An example discussed here is the uncertain determination of the position of the front of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia, which in the middle of the 1800s, 1903 and in the l930s was at the approxi- mately same position. This would lead to the conclusion that this glacier was relatively stable, with approximately the same position of the front for more than a century. However, the photograph by Nissen from 1921 and the recognition of the ‘1920 stade’ show that the glacier front receded in the early 1800s, advanced c. 1903 and retreat- ed in the 1930s (Fig. 36). Concluding remarks Radiocarbon ages of marine material, transported from the subsurface of the West Greenland ice sheet to its margin, demonstrate a widespread recession of the ice margin during the Holocene. Dated shells from the Qas- simiut lobe show that the ice margin was located behind the present margin as late as 2.9 ka BP (Weidick et al. 2004) and at Kangilinnguata Sermia at 4.3 ka BP (this study). At the southern part of Jakobshavn Isbræ, the ice margin was behind the present margin at 2.2 ka BP (Weidick & Bennike 2007) and at the northern part of this ice stream at 0.4 ka BP (Briner et al. 2010). These investigations focused on ice-free areas adjacent to the largest calf-ice-producing outlets from the ice sheet, and the behaviour of other parts of the ice-sheet margin may have been different. The fluctuations of the ice-sheet margin are still poor- ly documented, especially before the 1900s. However, from the sparse data available we can conclude that the Inland Ice margin had a retracted position, not only at the peak of the Holocene thermal maximum, but also in the following millennia, at least in some lowland areas. Local deviations may have occurred, such as the advance during the Narssarssuaq stade (around 2000 years ago). This advance may have been related to the first large cold spell after the Holocene thermal maximum, as shown in the temperature history inferred from the ice core from Camp Century (Fig. 35; Dansgaard 2004). A cold period Facing page: Fig. 36. Estimated fluctuations of 12 major outlets and sectors of the Inland Ice margin discussed in the text. The curves illustrate the large variation in glacier response to climate change. Three outlets show late Little Ice Age maxima (LIA max), in the 20th century, and other outlets have maintained an extent close to earlier Little Ice Age maxima. Only Kangiata Nunaata Sermia shows large variations during the last two centuries. 5858 Contours of ice surface (m) Bedrock elevation (m) 1601–1700 1501–1600 1401–1500 1301–1400 1201–1300 1101–1200 1001–1100 901–1000 801–900 701–800 601–700 501–600 401–500 301–400 201–300 101–200 0–100 250 m interval 48°W51°W54°W 67°N 66°N 65°N 64°N 48°W51°W 63°N 62°N 1500 1000 1250 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 12 50 22 50 20 00 17 50 15 00 67°N 66°N 65°N 64°N 63°N 62°N Frederikshåb Isblink S KNS NS SS Fig. 37 59 is recognised at 2000 years BP, which could have initiat- ed the Narssarssuaq stade that only locally went beyond the present extent of the ice margin. The subsequent cold period of the Little Ice Age seems to have two minima at about AD 1550 and AD 1850 (Dahl-Jensen et al. 1998). Traces of the early advances of the ice margin have been obliterated by later advances. With respect to the response of the individual sectors of the Inland Ice margin to climatic changes it must first be stressed that the current information about amplitude and exact dating of culmination is often uncertain, and that the trend of the fluctuations, even for the relatively well-documented last century shows a high degree of variability (Fig. 36). It is clear that if the trimline zones around outlets indicate the maximum Little Ice Age ex- tent of the glacier, then localities without trimline zones must delineate areas where the present-day position co- incides with the Little Ice Age maximum. It is concluded that the Little Ice Age maxima show a spread of ages, although for minor lowland outlets, the majority are re- lated to the youngest Little Ice Age maximum from the mid- or end of the 1800s. With respect to outlets without a trimline zone, it should be mentioned that some of these (Narsap Sermia, Sermeq), at the end of the 1900s and the beginning of this millennium, seem to show an initial recession. In Fig. 36 the fluctuations of the outlets and ice margin are shown. If this picture is compared with a map showing the topography of the ice-free coastland and the subgla- cial topography of the adjoining parts of the ice sheet, it can be suggested that the large fluctuations of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia may be related to the presence of a large valley system that is evident under this ice stream (Fig. 37), and therefore to the mass balance and the dynamics of this ice stream. Otherwise outlets without trimline zones, such as Saqqap Sermersua in the north and Isortuarsuup Sermia in the south, seem to be related to nearby uplands and highlands although this can scarcely explain the steady advance of a local outlet. As regards the role of glaciers and their fluctuations as a ‘climatoscope’ for climate change in general, this seems to have been most success- ful for minor local glaciers where a well-defined delinea- tion of the glacier form favours a more direct expression of the ruling local climatic and mass-balance conditions (Leclercq 2012; Leclercq et al. 2012). In contrast, the ac- cumulation (catchment) area and ablation area within specific sectors of the Inland Ice may not be constant since the boundaries of these areas may shift position as a result of changing climatic conditions in combination with a series of factors that influence the dynamics and response time of the outlet. Such factors include surface elevation, bed elevation, local and temporal variations in snow fall, mass balance, basal ice temperature, depth of the transition between Weichselian and Holocene age ice, curvature of the surface contours and slope aspect of the surface terrain (listed for modelling of the Inland Ice dynamics by Ahlstrøm et al. 2008, p. 24). The specific gaps in understanding and modelling of the ice-margin response to climatic change are also dealt with by Dahl- Jensen et al. (2009); the observations and information discussed here can serve as examples of the strong vari- ability in the response of the individual segments of the ice-sheet margin. This does not, however, weaken the credibility of estimates of the total mass balance of the entire Inland Ice. It is more related to the problem of prognoses of the response time of the individual sectors, where detailed short-term predictions are required to evaluate glacier hazards with respect to future explora- tion for minerals or hydropower. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to many people for help and support and for many discussions during the study. Particularly to the following GEUS employees: An- dreas Ahlstrøm, Antoon Kuijpers, Camilla Andersen, Dirk van As, Dorthe Pedersen, Horst Machguth, Karen Edelvang, Naja Mikkelsen, Robert Fausto, Signe Bech Andersen and Søren Nielsen. Willy Weng, Frants van Platen-Hallermund and Anette Hindø helped with the Facing page: Fig. 37. Map of southern West Greenland showing the landscape in the coastal region and its continuation (subglacial topography) be- low the adjacent part of the Inland Ice. The marked fluctuations of Kangiata Nunaata Sermia (KNS) may be related to its role as the only lowland area that connects the marginal part of the ice sheet with the sea. The ‘quasi-stable’ behaviour of Narsap Sermia (NS) or the advance of Sermeq (S) and Saqqap Sermersua (SS) may be re- lated to interplays of mass balance, dynamics and the bedrock to- pography. Data are from the ETOPO1 global relief model, provided by the National Geophysical Data Center in the USA (Amante & Eakins 2009); suppressed colour tones are utilised to differentiate the subglacial topography from the surficial topography west of the Inland Ice. 6060 maps. Dirk van As kindly provided information and photographs from recent field work at Kangersuneq, and Stuart Watt helped to locate place names and gave advice on their spelling. Henrik Højmark Thomsen and Niels Henriksen have supported us with knowledge on the earlier field work of the Survey. H.C. Petersen kindly provided information on the article by Barselaj published in Atuagagdliutit in 1866. René Forsberg discussed prob- lems of determining recent uplift rates. The referees, Ole Humlum and Niels T. Knudsen, are thanked for their constructive and pertinent comments. Data on the subsurface topography of the Inland Ice were provided by the ETOPO1 global relief model, pro- vided by the National Geophysical Data Center in the USA. ASTER data were distributed by the Land Pro- cesses Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), located at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Ressources Observation and Science (EROS) Center (lpdaac.usgs.gov). Aerial photographs are published with the permission of Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen (A.200/87). Dirk van As kindly provided photographs for the cover and the frontispiece. Anker Weidick dedicates this work to the memory of Arne Noe-Nygaard, professor and head of the Mineral- ogical Museum in Copenhagen from 1942 to 1978. 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(By inclination I am Greenlandic: about the life and work of Kleinscmidt). Det Grønlandske Selskabs Skrifter 34, 528 pp. Young, N.E., Briner, J.P., Axford, Y., Csatho, B., Babonis, G.S., Rood, D.H. & Finkel, R.C. 2011: Response of a marine-terminating Greenland outlet glacier to abrupt cooling 8200 and 9300 years ago. Geophysical Research Letters 38, L24701, http://dx.doi. org/10.1029/2011GL049639 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006810 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049639 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049639 65 Akuliarusersuaq (Akuliaruserssuaq), mountain north of Kangaasarsuup Sermia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Akullersuaq (Akugdlerssuaq), semi-nunatak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28 Akullersuup Sermia (Akugdlerssûp semia), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 17, 22, 28, 29, 31, 56 Alanngorlia (Alángordlia), fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 43, 45 Allumersat (Agdlumersat), also Bjørnesund, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 37, 42, 43, 44 Ameralik, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 21, 23, 25, 49, 55 Ameralla (Ameragdla), fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 21–23 Amitsuarsuk, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 11 Anavik, see Ujarassuit, ruin group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 13 Arsuk Bræ, glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ataneq, river south-east of Saqqap Sermersua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 52 ‘Auaitsirksarbik’ (Giesecke 1910, pp. 257–258), not located . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Austmannadalen (Norwegian name, Nansen 1890), valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 11, 15–19, 21–24, 28 Baals Revier (Bals Revier), see Nuup Kangerlua, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 18 Baffin Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Bjørnesund, see Allumersat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37, 44 Buksefjorden, see Kangerluarsunnguaq, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 48 Camp Century, former station on the Inland Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 54, 55 Dalager Nunatakker (Danish name), nunataks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39, 41 Davis Strait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 38, 42 Disko, island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 12, 38 Disko Bugt, bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 11 DYE-3, former station on the Inland Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 55 Eastern Settlement (Østerbygd), Norse name for the settled area in South Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat, now called Qajuuttap Sermia, glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Eqalorutsit Killiit Sermiat (Eqalorutsit kitdlît sermiat), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Eqaluit, bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 18 Frederikshåb Isblink (Danish name), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 37–43, 54, 56, 58 Godthåb (Danish name), see Nuuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 12, 13, 38, 56 Index to place names This is an index to place names used in the text, together with the former spelling used in the original texts. Many place names have been spelled in different ways over the years, in particular before 1851. After the Greenlandic grammar was published by S. Kleinschmidt (1851), the spelling of the Greenlandic language was standardised, and Kleinschmidt’s spelling was commonly used until 1973, when the present spelling was introduced. In this index, the place names show the 1973 spelling, followed by the Kleinschmidt spelling, if different (in brackets). Pre- Kleinschmidt spellings and un-official names are in quotation marks. In addition, the feature relating to the names is given (mountain, glacier etc.). The exact location of old place names is often difficult to determine from old maps. The original spelling for stratigraphical and other geological terms is retained. Thus the current spelling of a settlement is ‘Kapisillit’, but the name for the local moraine stade is the Kapisigdlit stade. Similarly, the place name Narsarsuaq is spelled so today, but we retain the spelling for the Narssarssuaq stade. The location of ruin groups is seen in Figs 3 and 7. The list does not show all the versions of spellings used by various authors. Page numbers in bold refer to figures and tables. 6666 Godthåbsfjord (Danish name), see Nuup Kangerlua, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 37 Gytjesø (Danish name), lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 11 Ikerasaap Sullua (Ikerasaup suvdlua), Qarajaq Isfjord, icefjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Illorsuit (Igdlorssuit), ruin group 13a, on newer maps: Illorssuakasiit (Igdlorssuakasit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 13, 24 Indlandsisen (Danish place name), Inland Ice, the Greenland ice sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 20, 21, 23, 59 Isortuarsuk (Isortuarssuk), lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 17, 50 Isortuarsuup Sermia (Isortuarssûp sermia), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 37, 45, 47, 48, 56, 59 Isortuarsuup Tasia (Isortuarsûp tasia), lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45, 47 Isua, see Isukasia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 52 Isukasia, area at the Inland Ice margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 51, 56 Isunnguata Sermia (Isúnguata sermia), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Isvand (Norwegian name, Nansen 1890), former ice-dammed lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 10, 16, 17, 21–23, 28, 56 Itilleq (Itivdleq), passage or fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 13 Ivisaartoq (Ivisârtoq), semi-nunatak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 34 Iviangiusarsuit (Iviangiussarssuit), earlier called Ivianguisat, mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45, 46 J.A.D. Jensen Nunatakker (Danish name), nunataks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39, 40, 41, 42 Jakobshavn Isbræ (Sermeq Kujalleq), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 37, 38 54, 55, 57 Jakobshavn Isfjord (Kangia), icefjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Johannes Iversen Sø (Danish name), lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 11, 12, Kangaarsarsuk (Kangârsarssuk), ruin group 55 (Bruun 1917, p. 102, Roussell 1941, pp 13–14), called Nûgasârsuaq by Roussell . . 8, 13, 49 Kangaasarsuaq (Kangaussarssuaq), land area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Kangaasarsuup Sermia (Kangaussarssûp sermia), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 22, 28, 37, 49, 50, 56 Kangaarsuup Tasersua (Kangârssûp tasersua), lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 43 Kangerluarsunnguaq (Kangerdluarssunguaq), Buksefjorden (Danish name), fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 48 Kangerluarsunnguup Tasersua, lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Kangerlussuaq (Kangerdlugssuaq), Søndre Strømfjord (Danish name), fjord and airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 38, 55 Kangersuneq, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 9, 10, 12–15, 18, 19–21, 23–26, 27, 29, 30–33, 36 Kangia, Norse settlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Kangiata Nunaata Sermia (Kangiata nunâta sermia), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 9, 10, 14–17, 21–29, 31, 37, 38, 49, 56–59 Kangilinngua (Kangilíngua), mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 36 Kangilinnguata Sermia (Kangilínguata sermia), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 34, 35, 36, 49, 54, 56 Kapisillit (Kapisigdlit), settlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 21, 26, 29 Kapisillit Kangerluat (Kapisigdlit kangerdluat), fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 12, 18, 25, 26 Karra (Karra), mountain, lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10 Kilaarsarfik (Kilârsarfik, Roussell 1941: Kilaussarfik), ruin group 51, ‘Sandnes’ (Norse name) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 13, 15, 17 Kilunngaat (Kilúngait), area at the Inland Ice margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Kuussuaq (Kûgssuaq), river in Austmannadalen, called ‘Laxeelv’ by Thorhallesen (p. 8.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 ‘Lake 8 m’, name used by Iversen (1953) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ‘Lake 710 m’, ice-dammed lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47, 48 Langvand (Norwegian name, Nansen 1890), ice-dammed lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 16, 17, 21 22, 28 ‘Laxeelv’ or Laxelv (Danish name), see Kuussuaq, river in Austmannadalen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 18 Majorariaq, river . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39, 42 Naajannguit (Naujánguit), head of a fjord, bird cliff?,‘Naviangoæt’ (Bobé in Thorhallesen 1914) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 35 Naajat Kinginnerat (Naujat kingingnerat), mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 36 Naajat Kuuat (Naujat kûat), ‘Storelv’ (Danish name), river . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 18, 49, 50, Nakkaasorsuaq (Nákâssorssuaq), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 37, 38, 42, 43, 44, 56 Nansens Teltplads (Danish name) (Nansenip Tupeqafia), Nansen’s camp site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 11 Narsaq (Narssaq), ruin group 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 24, 32, 33 Narsap Sermia (Narssap Sermia), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 24, 26, 32, 33, 34, 56, 58, 59 Narsarsuaq (Narssarssuaq), large plain, airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 54 Navianguat or Naviangoæt, see Naajannguit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32, 34, 35, 36 Nikku (Nivko), ‘Nikok’ used by Jensen 1889, mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 19 67 Nipaatsoq (Nipaitsoq), ruin group 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 13, 49 Nordre Qipisarqo Bræ, glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Nordre Sermilik, icefjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 NorthGRIP, ice core on the Inland Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Nunataarsuk (Nunatârssuk), semi-nunatak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 21, 25, 26, 28 Nunatarsuaq (Nunatarssuaq), semi-nunatak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 21, 24, 28 Nuuk (Nûk), Godthåb (Danish name), capital of Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 12, 13, 17, 23, 38, 48, 53, 56 Nuup Kangerlua (Nûp kangerdlua), Godthåbsfjord (Danish name), ‘Baals Revier’, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 29, 50 Nuussuaq (Nûgssuaq), peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Paakitsup Ilorlia (Pâkitsup ilordlia), fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Paamiut (Pâmiut), town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Pisissarfik (Pisigsarfik), mountain, sometimes also used for the nearby fjord (Kapisillit Kangerluat) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 20, 25 Puilasoq (Puilassoq), ruin group 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 13, 35, 37 Qajuuttap Sermia (Qajûtap sermia), glacier, earlier Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Qalerallit Sermia, outlet from the Qassimiut lobe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 57 Qamanaarsuup Sermia (Qamanârssûp sermia), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–10, 14, 17, 24, 25, 26, 28–32, 56 Qaqqatsiaq (Qáqatsiaq), mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Qarajaq Isfjord, see Ikerasaap Sullua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Qassertup Nuua (Qassertup nûa), headland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Qassimiut lobe, lobe from the Inland Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 37, 38, 54, 57 ‘Qipisarqo Lake’, lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Qorlortoq (Qordlortoq), water fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39, 42 ‘Sandnes’, see Kilaarsarfik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 15 Saqqannguaq (Sarqánguaq), ruin group 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 13, 33 Saqqap Sermersua, glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 38 Saqqarsuaq (Sarqarssuaq), ruin group 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 13, 14, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 ‘Saqqarsuaq lake’, suggested name for former ice-dammed lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25, 29, 31, 32 Sermeq, also called ‘Sermilik glacier’ (after the icefjord Sermilik), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 12, 37, 38, 43, 45, 46, 47, 56, 58, 59 Sermeq, situated in South Greenland in Søndre Sermilik fjord, glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sermeq Kujalleq, Jakobshavn Isbræ (Danish name), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Sermersuaq, ‘Sermersoaq’ (Giesecke 1910), used for an extensive glacier cover, varying from minor ice caps to the Inland Ice . . . . . . . . . 19 ‘Sermilik glacier’, see Sermeq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 12, 37, 38, 43, 45, 46, 47, 56, 58, 59 Sermilik, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sioraq, sandy beach, land area in front of Frederikshåb Isblink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39, 42 Sisimiut, town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7, 15 Summit, research station (the highest point on the Inland Ice) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Søndre Isortoq, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Søndre Qoornoq Bræ (Søndre Qôrnoq Bræ), glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Søndre Sermilik, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ‘Storelv’, see Naajat Kuuat, river . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 18, 50 Tasersuaq (Taserssuaq), lake near Saqqap Sermersua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 52, 53 Tasersuaq (Taserssuaq), lake on north side of Frederikshåb Isblink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Torsukattak (Torssukátak), fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 55 Tummeralik (Tungmeralik), ruin group 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 13, 19, 28 Tummerallip Tasersua (Tungmeragdlip taserssua), lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 19 Ujarassuit (Ujaragssuit), Anavik (Norse name), ruin group 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 13, 35 Ujarassuit (Ujaragsluit), Ujarachsoach, fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 18, 29, 35 Ujarassuit Nunaat (Ujaragssuit nunât), area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Ujarassuit Paavat (Ujaragssuit pâvat), fjord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9, 10, 15, 17, 35, 36, 50 Umiivik (Umîvik), ruin group 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 12, 24, 28, 29 ‘Umiviarsuit’, head of Ameralla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 6868 Vatnahverfi, Norse site in South Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Western Settlement, Vesterbygd (Norse name), the settled area in the Godthåbsfjord region in southern West Greenland . . . . . . . . . 6, 24 1CG14004, un-named glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8, 10, 37, 47, 48, 49, 56 1CG14033, un-named glacier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1CH02002, Inland Ice margin at Isukasia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 _GoBack Abstract Introduction Setting Notes on the Holocene history of the area Geological, archaeological and historical information on glacier fluctuations and sea-level changes Data from aerial photographs and satellite images Glacier changes in the Kangersuneq area The former ice-dammed lake Isvand Evaluation The Kangiata Nunaata Sermia glacier system Evaluation Qamanaarsuup Sermia Evaluation Narsap Sermia Evaluation Kangilinnguata Sermia Evaluation Comparisons with regional glacier fluctuations South of Kangersuneq to Frederikshåb Isblink Frederikshåb Isblink Nakkaasorsuaq Sermeq in Sermilik icefjord Isortuarsuup Sermia 1CG14004 Kangaasarsuup Sermia North of Kangersuneq to Saqqap Sermersua The ice-sheet margin at Isukasia Saqqap Sermersua Discussion Older Neoglacial (6500–2000 years BP) Younger Neoglacial (2000 years BP – present) Concluding remarks Acknowledgements References Index to place names