Devon Ice Cap
The Devon Ice Cap is an ice cap on eastern Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada, covering an area of over 12,000 km2 (4,600 sq mi). The highest point on Devon Island is found at the summit of the ice cap, with an elevation of 1,921 m (6,302 ft). The ice cap has a maximum thickness of 880 m (2,887 ft),[2] and has been steadily shrinking since 1985.[3]
| Devon Ice Cap | |
|---|---|
  Devon Ice Cap Location in Canada (on Devon Island) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,920 m (6,300 ft)  [1] |
| Prominence | 1,921 m (6,302 ft) [1] |
| Listing | |
| Coordinates | 75°20′52″N 82°10′26″W [1] |
| Geography | |
| Location | Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | Alfred Herbert Joy and party, 1926 |
The first ascent of the Devon Ice Cap was by Alfred Herbert Joy and his Inuit companions in 1926.[2]
Geology
The Devon Ice Cap and the Agassiz Ice Cap on the neighboring Ellesmere Island are two of the largest ice caps in the Arctic Cordillera in the Canadian Arctic, and consist of a substantial fraction of ice not locked away in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.[4] As such, should the entire Devon Ice Cap melt due to global warming, the ice will contribute approximately 1 centimeter to global sea level rise.[4]
The Devon Ice Cap has a dome-like structure and a maximum elevation of 1921 m above sea level at its summit, and the maximum ice thickness is 880 m.[2] There are two distinct regions in the Devon Ice Cap: a 12,050 km2 (4,650 sq mi) ice cap and a 1,960 km2 (760 sq mi) ice-covered region in the west that is geologically inactive.[4] Beneath the ice, two hypersaline subglacial lakes have been identified via RES in bedrock troughs.[5] Subglacial valleys have also been found, and such structures are thought to control the outflow of ice.[4]
References
- "Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut Ultra-Prominences". Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
- "Devon Ice Cap". Bivouac.com.
- "Massive Arctic Ice Cap Is Shrinking, Study Shows; Rate Accelerating Since 1985". ScienceDaily.com. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
- Dowdeswell, J.A.; Benham, T.J.; Gorman, M.R.; Burgess, D.; Sharp, M.J. (2004). "Form and flow of the Devon Island Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic". Journal of Geophysical Research. 109 (F02202). doi:10.1029/2003JF000095.
- Rutishauser, Anja; Blankenship, Donald D; Sharp, Martin; Skidmore, Mark L; Greenbaum, Jamin S; Grima, Cyril; Schroeder, Dustin M; Dowdeswell, Julian A; Young, Duncan A (April 2018). "Discovery of a hypersaline subglacial lake complex beneath Devon Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic". Science Advances (4): eaar4353. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar4353. PMID 29651462. Retrieved 9 June 2020.