You are browsing the archive for Mauri Pelto, Author at From a Glacier's Perspective.
November 20, 2023
Kanchenjunga Glacier, Nepal High Snowlines Expanding Supraglacial Ponds in 2023
Kanchenjunga Glacier in Nov. 8, 2023 false color Sentinel image. The flowlines of the six tributaries shown in green with the snowline on each at the purple dots. Percentage of glacier length above the snowline for each tributary shown as percentage. Two rapidly expanding supraglacial lakes shown at yellow arrows. Kanchenjunga Glacier is the main glacier draining west from Kanchenjunga Peak draining into the Ghunsa River. Lamsal et al (2017). report …
November 17, 2023
Continental Glacier, Wyoming Fragmentation Accelerates
Continental Glacier in 1994 Google Earth and 2016 and 2022 Sentinel images, illustrating the separation at the black arrows, into the northern middle and southern parts, with an impending separation at green arrow. Continental Glacier is a long plateau glacier draped along the continental divide in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. It drains into Torrey Creek and then the Wind River. In 1994 this glacier extended 5 km from south …
November 6, 2023
Storstrømmen Glacier, NE Greenland Retreat Releases New Islands
Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Brae in Landsat imagery from 8-23-2013 and 8-26-2023. Green dots on 2013 image is the 2023 margin. Yellow dots on 2023 image is the 2013 margin. Island A and Island B are at the glacier front in 2013 and are fully separated by 2023. R=Randsoen proglacial lake. Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Brae are large outlet glaciers in northeast Greenland that join at their terminus. The calving …
November 2, 2023
Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak Glacier, India Shrinking Accumulation Zone
Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak Glacier snowline (blue dots) on Oct. 8, 2020 (Sentinel image) mean elevation is 5350 m. T=Terminus location and blue line is flowline with distance from terminus in km. Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak Glacier are located at the headwaters of the Alaknanda River, Uttarakhand, India and have until recently shared a terminus. Glacier runoff is an important contribution to the 400 MW Vishnuprayag and 330 MW Alaknanda …
October 19, 2023
Future Prospects Vanishing: 40th Field Season North Cascade Glacier Climate Project Results
The summer of 2023 was our 40th field season observing the response of North Cascade glaciers to climate change. Each year we visit a series of glaciers on the same date to complete our annual examination. We carry all of the equipment to each field site in backpacks and camp in tents near the glacier. All the glaciers we observe, except Easton Glacier, are in Wilderness Areas. This precludes the …
October 11, 2023
Coronation Glacier New Island Development-Baffin Island
This is a portion of the island emerging from beneath the terminus with the 20-50 m high ice front in July 2023, the main portion of the island extends to the left and then out from the glacier. (Bischke/Biner/Bessen/Klemmensen) Coronation Glacier is the largest outlet glacier of the Penny Ice Cap on Baffin Island. The glacier has an area of ~660 square kilometers and extends 35 km from the edge …
October 2, 2023
Bernardo Glacier, Chile Lake Drainage as Retreat Continues
Bernardo Glacier in Landsat images from Oct. 16, 2022 and Sept. 17, 2023 illustrating the drainage of the southern end of the proglacial lake by the northern terminus (N). The lake was full in 2021, partially drained by Oct. 2022, further drained by March 2023 and has not signficantly refilled by Sept. 2023, still 8 km² of exposed lake bed. Bernardo Glacier in Landsat images from 1986 and 2021 illustrating …
September 27, 2023
From Mount Hood to Mount Robson Extremely Limited 2023 Snowcover Retained
Written by Ben Pelto, Jill Pelto and Mauri Pelto Field Sketch of Ice Worm Glacier from Aug. 13, 2023 on photograph of glacier. (Jill Pelto) It was July 5, 1981 and Juneau meteorologist Brad Coleman had just informed us that Juneau had experienced one of its warmest least snowy winter ever. I was with the Juneau Icefield Research Program and we were headed up to the icefield the next day, …
September 10, 2023
Lilliehöökbreen, Svalbard Calving Retreat and Separation 2000-2023
Lilliehöökbreen terminus in 2000 was a continuous 11 km front fed by the tributary glaciers Supan (S), Hellman (H), Bjorlykke (B), Kutte (K), Darboux (D), Becqueret (Be), Cailletet (C), Bruckner (Br) and Forbes (F). By 2023 the continuous front was 8 km long having separated from Supan, Forbes, and Bruckner. Landsat images from 2000 and 2023 indicate a 2.5 km retreat resulting in a ~17 km² fjord expansion. Lilliehöökbreen is …
September 7, 2023
35th Consecutive Year of Alpine Glacier Loss-in State of Climate 2022
For the 14th year I had the opportunity to author the Alpine Glacier section of the State of the Climate 2022 report published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorolocial Society. Below is this report with additional images. An increasing frequency of heat waves impacting glaciated mountain ranges continues to lead to large mass balance losses. In 2022 heat events in the European Alps, Svalbard, High Mountain Asia and the …
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.