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September 8, 2015
Rogue River Icefield Rapid Retreat, Selwyn Mountains, Yukon
The Selwyn Mountains, Yukon Territory are host to numerous small alpine glaciers that have been rapidly losing area and volume. David Atkinson, atmospheric scientist at University of Victoria has been examining the weather conditions leading to the extensive melting and higher snowlines. From 1958-2007 glaciers lost 22% of their volume in the Yukon (Barrand and Sharp, 2010). Due to the high snowlines Atkinson notes the rate of retreat has increased since then. …
September 1, 2015
Mount Caubvick Glacier Retreat, Labrador
Mount Caubvick is in the Torngat Mountains of Labrador 35 km inland of the Atlantic Ocean and south of Nachvak Fjord. Way et al (2014) identified 105 active glaciers that had flow indicators in these mountains. The mean elevation of these glaciers is quite low at 776 meters above sea level. The radiational shading and higher accumulation from protected cirque locations and proximity to the ocean are key to the low …
July 28, 2015
Auyuittuq National Park Ice Cap Downwasting, Baffin Island
Just south of the Penny Ice Cap on Baffin Island in Auyuittuq National Park there are a large number of small ice caps. We focus on three of these ice caps east of Greenshield Lake. The region has been experiencing rapid ice loss, with 50 % of the ice cap area lost in the last few decades (Miller et al, 2008). Miller et al (2008) also observe that these are thin …
June 15, 2015
Kokanee Glacier Spring 2015 Assessment, British Columbia
Guest Post by Ben Pelto Kokanee Glacier is located in the Selkirk Mountains of southeastern B.C., 30 km northeast of Nelson in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. Kokanee Glacier drains into the Joker Lakes, the uppermost of which are turquoise due to glacier flour input. Joker Creek carries the water downstream, eventually feeding into the Kootenay Lake and the Kootenay River, which flows to meet the Columbia River in Castlegar, B.C. …
June 8, 2015
Salmon Challenges From Glaciers to the Salish Sea
The Salish Sea includes Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca of Washington and British Columbia. The Salish Sea supports all seven species of Pacific salmon, chinook, chum, coho, cutthroat, pink, sockeye and steelhead. Population declines have prompted initiation of the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. This project reports that: chinook, coho, and steelhead have experienced tenfold declines in survival during the marine phase …
June 4, 2015
Big Bend Glacier, British Columbia Transitions to Alpine lake
“Big Bend” Glacier is an unnamed glacier west of Big Bend Peak north of Harrison Lake in Southwest British Columbia. In 1985 the glacier was 2.6 km long filling a low valley with a surface elevation of 1600-1800 m elevation, the topographic map indicates this basic size. Here we utilize Landsat imagery to identify the changes in the glacier from 1985-2014 due to climate change. In essence the glaciated basin …
May 1, 2015
Snow Deficit on Grinnell Ice Cap, Baffin Island, Canada
The Grinnell Ice Cap Is located on the Terra Incognita Peninsula on Baffin Island. The name suggests the reality that this is a not often visited or studied region. Two recent studies have changed our level of knowledge. Way (2015) notes that the ice cap has lost 18% of its area from 1974 to 2013 and that the rate of loss has greatly accelarated and is due to summer warming, …
April 9, 2015
Rapid Retreat of Freshfield Glacier, Alberta 1964-2014
The Freshfield Glacier is a large glacier southeast of the Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies where recent retreat has exposed a new glacier lake. Today the glacier is 9.8 km long beginning at 3070 meters and ending at 2000 m near the shore of the less than 5 year old lake. This glacier during the Little Ice Age stretched 14.3 km, one of the longest in the entire range extending …
March 16, 2015
Conway Glacier Separation and Retreat, Alberta
Conway Glacier drains east from the border with British Columbia into the Howse River. The Howse River joins the Saskatchewan River upstream of the Bighorn Hydropower project, which impounds Lake Abraham and produces 120 MW of power. The map of this area was updated based on 1990 images which indicate Conway Glacier is comprised of two lobes that join near the terminus. An inventory of glaciers in the Canadian Rockies indicate area loss …
January 31, 2015
Southwest Brazeau Icefield Retreat, Alberta
The Brazeau Icefield straddles high peaks southeast of Jasper, Alberta. The northern outlet glaciers drain into Maligne Lake and the southern outlet glaciers drain in to Brazeau Lake and the Brazeau River. The Brazeau River flows into Brazeau Reservoir a 355 MW hydropower facility, before joining the Saskatchewan River. An inventory of glaciers in the Canadian Rockies indicate area loss of 15% from 1985 to 2005 (Bolch et al, 2010). …
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.