Briksdalsbreen () is one of the most accessible and best known arms of the

Jostedalsbreen Jostedal Glacier or is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is in Vestland county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Sogndal, Sunnfjord, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa a ...

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

. Briksdalsbreen is located in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Stryn Stryn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the vi ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The glacier lies on the north side of the Jostedalsbreen, in ''Briksdalen'' (''the Briks valley'') which is located at the end of the

Oldedalen Oldedalen is a river valley in Stryn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long valley runs north-south and ends at the Nordfjorden at the village of Olden. The south end of the valley reaches up to the great Jostedalsbreen glacier ins ...

valley, about south of the village of

Olden Olden may refer to: Places *Olden, Norway, a village in Stryn, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway *Olden, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Olden, Texas, a community in Eastland county, Texas, USA People *Andrew Olden, birth name of actor Andr ...

. It is located inside

Jostedalsbreen National Park Jostedalsbreen National Park () is a national park in Norway that encompasses the largest glacier on the European mainland, Jostedalsbreen. The park was established by royal decree on 25 October 1991, and then in 1998, it was enlarged to the nort ...

. Briksdalsbreen terminates in a small glacial lake, ''Briksdalsbrevatnet'', which lies above sea level. The size of Briksdalsbreen depends not only on temperature, but is also strongly affected by

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. Measurements since 1900 show small changes in the first decades, with advances in the glacier front in 1910 and 1929. In the period from 1934 to 1951 the glacier receded by , exposing the glacial lake. In the period from 1967 until 1997 the glacier expanded by and covered the whole lake, with the glacier front ending at the lake outlet. The glacier attracted international attention in the 1990s, as it was growing at a time when other European glaciers were in decline. After the year 2000, the glacier once again receded. In 2004 it had receded to behind the lake outlet and in 2007 the glacier front was on dry land behind the lake. In this regard, its position approximated the situation in the 1960s. However, glaciologists speculate that the ''size'' of the glacier was at its smallest since the 13th century. In 2008, the glacier front had only receded by since the 2007 measurement. The slower melting is explained by the glacier being completely on dry land. The winter of 2007–2008 saw an increase in glacier mass, which was expected to move the glacier front forward around 2010. This was confirmed in the fall of 2010, when measurements showed that the glacier had advanced over the last year This was however in comparison with the 2009 measurements, which saw the glacier being the most receded since measurements started in 1900. As the winter of 2009–2010 saw little snow and the summer temperature in 2010 was above average, Professor Atle Nesje predicts that further strong receding will be seen in 2013. As Briksdalsbreen is now very narrow at some stretches, it is possible that it will temporarily disconnect from the larger Jostedalsbreen.

Media gallery

Briksdalsbreen-close-18july2006.jpg, The glacier as seen from the lake in July 2006 Briksdalsbreen Norway 2003 & 2008.JPG, Briksdalsbreen Norway comparison 2003 & 2008

References

External links

*
Useful Briksdalsbreen tourist siteJostedalsbreen National Park Centre

BreheimsenteretOfficial travel guide - Destination Stryn & NordfjordDirectorate for Nature Management - National Parks
{{authority control Glaciers of Vestland Stryn