Reconstruction of past temperatures for Arctic glaciers subjected to intense subsurface melting

Many glaciers are subject to melting due to high summer air temperatures. Here, the presence of meltwater in the subsurface layers of the glacier bulk, and its subsequent percolation and refreezing are implemented in the calibration of a paleothermometer. Accounting for the melt feature index and the measured oxygen-isotope ratio allows for calibration of the paleothermometer and comparison of different climatic proxies. The results of reconstructions agree with previous reconstructions at the depth of attenuation of the seasonal climate signals, which supports the validity of the paleothermometer calibration. The sensitivity of the reconstruction to variations of the model parameters was also studied. It was found that most likely snow–firn sequence and temperature fields were subjected to significant change due to current warming. Temperature changes in the snow–firn thickness of Akademii Nauk (Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic) and Austfonna (Svalbard) ice caps exceed by ∼6˚C the average Arctic temperature anomalies for the last 150 years. The reconstruction of the past surface temperatures and the parameters of the subsurface heat source due to refreezing of meltwater lead to the conclusion that meltwater spreads inside two to four annual layers for Akademii Nauk and Austfonna ice caps, respectively.