December 27, 2021
Oriental Glacier, Chile Retreats from Island Poised for Rapid Lake Expansion
Oriental Glacier in 1986 and 2021 Landsat imagery illustrating retreat from the island (I) and diminishing width and flow of tributaries at P0int A and B. A marginal lake has formed at Point M as the glaciers terminus section has thinned and narrowed. Oriental Glacier terminates in an expanding proglacial Lago Oriental at the northeastern margin of the Southern Patagonia Icefield (SPI). The glacier had terminated on an island in …
December 20, 2021
Hindle Glacier Retreat Causes Rapid Opening of Fjord, South Georgia
Hindle Fjord opening comparison in 2009, 2015 and 2021 Landsat images. Point A is the northern tributary, Point B the middle tributary, Point C separates the eastern and western tributary and Point D is Ross Glacier. Hindle Glacier enters Royal Bay on the east coast of South Georgia Island. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has been the examining glacier change on South Georgia Island, Cook et al (2010) noted a …
December 12, 2021
Steffen Glacier, Chile Drainage of Laguna de Los Tempanos
Laguna de los Tempanos full on February 9, 2021 and drained on December 6, 2021 in Sentinel 2 images. Point A marks the western margin when full. Point C marks the western margin when drained. Steffen Glacier is the south flowing glacier from the 4000 km2 Northern Patagonia Icefield (NPI). Several key research papers have reported on the spectacular retreat of this glacier in recent years. Glasser et al (2016) reported …
December 9, 2021
Swanson River Glaciers Retreat: Two Very Bad Summers in 2018 & 2019
Swanson River glaciers, British Columbia in Landsat images from 1984 and 2019. EM=East Meade Glacier, CG=Canning, red arrows=1984 terminus, yellow arrow=2019 terminus, purple dots=snowline. Points 1-8 are specific glacier locations with very limited to no retained snowcover. The Swanson River feeds into Tagish Lake in NW British Columbia. The watershed is host to dozens of glaciers. Here we exaine the retreat of the two largest glaciers in the watershed from …
November 29, 2021
How A Glacier Disappears- Lewis, Milk Lake and Colonial Glacier North Cascade Range?
Colonial Glacier in late summer false color Sentinel 2 images from 2019, 2020 and 2021. Yellow arrow indicates step that calves in 2020. Notice the ~10% of snowcover (bright white) remaining on glacier surface with more melt to come. An alpine glacier disappears when it no longer has a persistent accumulation zone (Pelto, 2010). When this occurs the glacier is typically limited in size, but still can have significant ice …
November 21, 2021
Bernardo Glacier, Chile Retreat Yields 15 km2 Lake Expansion 1986-2021
Bernardo Glacier in Landsat images from 1986 and 2021 illustrating retreat at the southern (S), middle (M) and northern (N) terminus respectively. Red arrows are 1986 terminus locations, yellow arrows are 2021 terminus locations. Separation from Tempano occurs at S, while lake expansion occurs at M and N. Bernardo Glacier is an outlet glacier on the west side of the Southern Patagonia Icefield (SPI) that currently ends in an expanding …
November 14, 2021
Field Glacier, Alaska Retreat, Separation and Rapid Lake Development 1984-2021
Field Glacier on Aug. 31, 2021 in a Sentinel image. Note former glacier junctions A and B where the glacier has separated this century. The 7.5 km2 lake did not exist when I first visited this glacier. The Field Glacier flows from the northwest side of the Juneau Icefield, and is named for Alaskan glaciologist and American Geographical Society leader William O. Field. Bill along with his work around Glacier …
November 11, 2021
Melt Severs Northern Patagonia Icefield Glacier Connections
Loss of glacier connection between HPN1 and HPN2 in Landsat images from 2000 and 202o at Point A and B. Glacier tongue retreat at Point A from HPN1 and at Point C from HPN2. Formation of 1.4 km2 lake at HPN1. HPN1, HPN2 and HPN3 drain adjacent sections of the the Northern Patagonia Icefield (NPI). HPN2 and HPN3 comprise the Acodado Glacier, with HPN1 being the next glacier to the …
November 4, 2021
Drogpa Nagtsang Glacier, China 2021 Snow Line Positions Lake Expansion
Drogpa Nagtsang Glacier, China retreat and proglacial expansion in 1993 and 2021 Landsat images. Red arrow is the 1993 terminus, yellow arrow the 2021 terminus and yellow dots are the snowline. Drogpa Nagtsang Glacier, China is 30 km west of Mount Everest terminating in an expanding proglacial lake. The glacier begins on the Nepal border at 6400 m, and its meltwater enters the Tamakoshi River that supplies the Upper Tamakoshi …
October 26, 2021
Queulat Glacer Complex, Chile Recession 1987-2021
Seven outlet glaciers of the Queulat glacier complex, Chile in 1987 and 2020 Landsat images. A=Rosselot Glacier and D=Colgante Hanging Glacier are the only ones in 1987 not terminating in a proglacial lake. The other five retreated from a proglacial lake since 1987 and Rosselot Glacier retreat has led to formation of two lakes. Nevado Queulat, Chile is the centerpiece of the Queulat National Park in the Aysen Region. This …
Dean of Academic Affairs at Nichols College and Professor of Environmental Science at Nichols College in Massachusetts since 1989. Glaciologist directing the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project since 1984. This project monitors the mass balance and behavior of more glaciers than any other in North America.