Devon Ice Cap
{{Short description|Ice cap in Nunavut, Canada}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Devon Ice Cap
| photo =
| elevation_m =
| elevation_ref = [http://peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/canada/yukon.html "Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut Ultra-Prominences"]. Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
| prominence_m = 1920
| listing = {{unbulleted list
|Canada most prominent peaks 46th
|Canada most isolated peaks 23rd
}}
| map = Canada
| map_caption = Location in Canada (on Devon Island)
| map_size = 250
| label_position =
| location = Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada
| range =
| coordinates = {{coord|75|20|52|N|82|10|26|W|type:mountain_region:CA-NU_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| range_coordinates =
| type =
| age =
| first_ascent = Alfred Herbert Joy and party, 1926
| easiest_route =
}}
The Devon Ice Cap is an ice cap on eastern Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada, covering an area of over {{convert|12000|km2|abbr=on}}. The highest point on Devon Island is found at the summit of the ice cap, with an elevation of {{convert|1921|m|0|abbr=on}}. The ice cap has a maximum thickness of {{convert|880|m|0|abbr=on}},{{cite bivouac|id=265|title=Devon Ice Cap}} and has been steadily shrinking since 1985.[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100412121014.htm "Massive Arctic Ice Cap Is Shrinking, Study Shows; Rate Accelerating Since 1985"]. ScienceDaily.com. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
The first ascent of the Devon Ice Cap was by Alfred Herbert Joy and his Inuit companions in 1926.
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. 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.
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. There are two distinct regions in the Devon Ice Cap: a {{convert|12050|km2|abbr=on}} ice cap and a {{convert|1960|km2|abbr=on}} ice-covered region in the west that is geologically inactive. Beneath the ice, two hypersaline subglacial lakes have been identified via RES in bedrock troughs.{{cite journal |last1=Rutishauser |first1=Anja |last2=Blankenship |first2=Donald D |last3=Sharp |first3=Martin |last4=Skidmore |first4=Mark L |last5=Greenbaum |first5=Jamin S |last6=Grima |first6=Cyril |last7=Schroeder |first7=Dustin M |last8=Dowdeswell |first8=Julian A |last9=Young |first9=Duncan A |title=Discovery of a hypersaline subglacial lake complex beneath Devon Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic. |journal=Science Advances |date=April 2018 |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=eaar4353 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aar4353 |pmid=29651462 |pmc=5895444 |bibcode=2018SciA....4.4353R |doi-access=free }} Subglacial valleys have also been found, and such structures are thought to control the outflow of ice.{{cite journal|last1=Dowdeswell|first1=J.A.|last2=Benham|first2=T.J.|last3=Gorman|first3=M.R. |last4=Burgess|first4=D.|last5=Sharp|first5=M.J.|date=2004|title=Form and flow of the Devon Island Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|volume=109|issue=F02202|pages=n/a|doi=10.1029/2003JF000095|bibcode=2004JGRF..109.2002D|doi-access=free}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Devon-Ice-Cap "Devon Ice Cap" on Mountain-forecast.com]
{{Arctic Cordillera}}
{{Glaciers of Nunavut}}
Category:Bodies of ice of Qikiqtaaluk Region
{{QikiqtaalukNU-geo-stub}}
{{canada-glacier-stub}}