From a Glacier's Perspective

October 12, 2021

Sholes Glacier, WA and a Cascade of Ologies

Watercolor painting of Sholes Glacier. The small figure is at the current terminus of the glacier, and the photo that inspired this painting was taken from where the glacier used to end about 35 years prior. By Jill Pelto Sholes Glacier is on the northeast flank of Mount Baker, WA. We have spent the last 32 years completing detailed measurments on this glacier that has revealed a story of glacier …

August 23, 2017

Observing Glacier Runoff Changes Under the Same Weather Conditions

View of Sholes Glacier on August 8th in 2015 left and 2017 right. Note difference in ratio of snow surface to ice surface exposed. Sholes Glacier is at the headwaters of Wells Creek in North Fork Nooksack River watershed in Washington. We have been measuring the mass balance of this glacier annually since 1990 and runoff in detail since 2012 (Pelto, 2015). Glacier runoff in this watershed during late summer …

October 14, 2016

2016 Field Season Results-North Cascade Glacier Climate Project

For Mount Baker, Washington the freezing level from January-April 20 was not as high as the record from 2015, but still was 400 m above the long term mean. April 1 snowpack at the key long term sites in the North Cascades was 8% above average. A warm spring altered this, with April being the warmest on record. The three-four weeks ahead of normal on June 10th, but three weeks …

July 31, 2016

Thirty-third Annual North Cascade Glacier Climate Project Field Season Underway

Base Map of the region showing main study glaciers, produced by Ben Pelto. From President Reagan to President Obama each August since 1984 I have headed to the North Cascade Range of Washington to measure the response of glaciers to climate change. Specifically we will measure the mass balance of nine glaciers, runoff from three glaciers and map the terminus change on 12 glaciers. The data is reported to the …

June 14, 2016

Harris Glacier Retreat, Kenai Fjords, Alaska

Landsat images of Harris Glacier from 1986 and 2015. The red arrow indicates 1986 terminus location, yellow arrow the 2015 terminus position. The orange arrow indicates a key eastern tributary and the pink arrow a smaller eastern tributary. Harris Glacier flows from the northwest corner of the Harding Icefield, Alaska and it drains into Skilak Lake. The glaciers that drain east toward are in the Kenai Fjords National Park, which has a monitoring program. Giffen et …

February 28, 2016

Shamrock Glacier, Alaska Loses Terminus Tongue

Shamrock Glacier comparison in 1987 and 2014 Landsat images. Red arrow 1987 terminus, yellow arrow 2014 terminus, purple arrows upglacier thinning and purple dots the snowline. The terminus tongues extending into the lake has been lost. Shamrock Glacier flows north from the Neacola Mountains into Chakachamna Lake in the Lake Clark National Park of Alaska. This lake is transited by several species of salmon, mainly sockeye, heading into spawning areas upriver. …

January 14, 2016

Murchison Glacier, New Zealand Rapid Retreat Lake Expands 1990-2015

Murchison Glacier change revealed in Landsat images from 1990 and 2015. The red arrow indicates 1990 terminus location, the yellow arrow indicates 2015 terminus location and the purple arrow indicates upglacier thinning. Murchison Glacier is the second largest in New Zealand. The glacier drains south in the next valley east of Tasman Glacier and terminates in a lake that is rapidly developing as the glacier retreats. The lower 6 km …

September 4, 2015

Visualizing Glacier Melt Impacts

Key questions emerge from the summer of 2015 in the Pacific Northwest glacier basins. That can both be visualized and quantified. With record temperatures and minimum flows in most rivers in the Cascade Range during July and August of 2015, a key question was how much did glaciers contribute in basins that are glaciated? Note the water pouring off the glacier and the lack of snowcover in the first few …

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 …