West Speel Glacier is an unnamed glacier that drains the same icefield as the Wright and Speel Glacier 45 km southeast of Juneau, Alaska. Here we examine the changes in this glacier from 1984-2013 using Landsat imagery.
Google Earth image

In 1984 the glacier ended on an outwash plain at the head of a branch of Speel River. The red arrow indicates the 1984 terminus for each image, the purple arrow the 2013 terminus and the yellow arrows tributary glaciers. In 1984 all three tributary glaciers fed West Speel Glacier and the glacier has no proglacial lake at the terminus. The eastern tributary pink arrow has some retained snowpack with three weeks left in the melt season. Each tributary indicated by yellow arrow is still contributing to the glacier. In 1997 a lake basin is beginning to develop, though it is still largely filled by ice. The eastern tributary pink arrow, has lost all of its snowpack. In 1999 the proglacial lake has formed and has length of 1 km, the lake has expanded south and north of the 1984 terminus position, and does not entirely represent glacier retreat. The noted tributaries are still all connected to the main glacier. In 2013 the glacier has retreated 1200 m from the 1984 position and the lake is still expanding. The yellow arrows indicate that none of the three tributaries are still connected to the main glacier. The glacier in a sense is losing its income flow from these subsidiaries. The eastern tributary has retained some snowcover with six weeks left in the melt season in 2013, but this is mostly gone a month later. The melt season is off to a quick start in 2014, which promises to be a poor year for this glacier. The retreat of this glacier is the same story as seen at nearby Speel, Gilkey and Norris Glacier.
1984 Landsat image

1997 Landsat image

1999 Landsat image

2013 Landsat image

Sept. 2013 Satellite image