Glacier-Climate Interactions across Time: A West Greenland Case Study

Altitude-driven gradients of air temperature, humidity, wind, and surface mass balance play a critical role in understanding glacier-climate interactions, particularly in regions of rapid environmental change like the Arctic. In this study, we compare datasets from Alfred Wegener’s last expedition to the west coast of Greenland in 1930/31 with a modern measurement network established at the same locations in 2022. This unique comparison offers insights into how the atmospheric and glacial conditions have changed within a century.  
The measurement network consists of one automatic weather station at the coast over bare ground in vicinity of the outlet glacier Qaamarujup Sermia and another at 940 m a.sl. on the Greenland Ice Sheet. For both locations observations exist during the Wegener expedition and since 2022. Additionally, temperature and humidity sensors and surface mass balance measurements distributed between these two points provide high-resolution spatial data.  
The observed gradients in air temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction are analysed at multiple temporal scales, from diurnal cycles to annual variations. Preliminary results show that the air temperature gradient between the coastal and the glacier station follows a seasonal cycle by being the smallest in spring (on average –6.5 °C) and the largest in winter (on average –11°C). Although this is true in the historic and modern dataset, the gradient in spring is colder in 2023 and 2024 with –7.0°C and –6.7°C respectively versus –5.7°C in 1931. The summer gradient is warmer in the modern dataset from -8.3°C in 1930, -9.3°C in 1931 to -7.7°C in 2023 and -7.8°C in 2024.  
Our goal is to understand the key factors shaping these gradients, including the influence of large-scale atmospheric patterns such as the Greenlandic Blocking Index and North Atlantic Oscillation and the prevailing regional conditions identified through self-organizing maps. By comparing historical and modern datasets, we further examine how changes in glacier geometry and a frontal retreat of approximately 2 km since the 1930s have shaped climatic gradients. A particular focus is placed on whether this influence is more pronounced at the coastal or the glacier station.  
This work contributes to the broader understanding of how glacier-climate interactions are influenced by both local and large-scale factors and underscores the value of historic observational records in assessing climate change impacts.