The Canadian Arctic Archipelago constitutes a primary source of contemporary sea-level rise from glaciers and ice caps, yet glacier-scale, multi-decadal records on Baffin and Bylot Islands remain limited. This study reconstructs long-term elevation and volume change for seven glaciers, six in Auyuittuq National Park and one in Sirmilik National Park, using 1958/59 imagery from the Canadian National Air Photo Library. Historical digital elevation models were reconstructed using TanDEM-X for vertical ground control and PlanetScope imagery for horizontal ground control, with ArcticDEM supporting final co-registration and on-ice elevation-change analysis. Uncertainty was quantified from stable-terrain residuals, with normalized median absolute deviation values of – m. Specific geodetic mass balances for the Auyuittuq glaciers ranged from to m w.e. a for 1959–2021/22, while Fountain Glacier averaged m w.e. a for 1958–2022. Cumulative ice-volume change totalled m , equivalent to Gt. Auyuittuq glaciers shortened by – and lost – of their area. Spatial variability reflects glacier hypsometry, with lower-elevation glacier areas showing greater sensitivity to atmospheric warming. These results provide new glacier-scale geodetic mass-balance estimates for the Canadian Arctic Archipelago based on archival photogrammetry, although density assumptions that omit firn evolution require further refinement when estimating mass change.

Geodetic glacier mass loss in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Photogrammetric analysis of historical aerial photographs (1958–2023)
Bevan, George

