You are browsing the archive for North Cascade Glaciers Archives - Page 2 of 6 - From a Glacier's Perspective.
September 7, 2022
North Cascade Glacier 2022 Initial Observations-39th Field Season
2022 North Cascade Glacier Climate Project Field Team Science Director: Mauri S. Pelto, [email protected] Art Director: Jill Pelto, [email protected] For the 39th consecutive summer we were in the field to measure and communicate the impact of climate change on North Cascade glaciers. We completed detailed measurements on 10 glaciers, three of which are part of the World Glacier Monitoring Service reference glacier network (42 glaciers globally), which have 30+ consecutive years of …
July 29, 2022
NORTH CASCADE GLACIER CLIMATE PROJECT 2022-39th Annual Field Program
Mount Baker camp for Rainbow and Sholes Glacier (Illustration by Megan Pelto) Science Director: Mauri S. Pelto, [email protected] Art Director: Jill Pelto, [email protected] 2022 Field Season: For the 39th consecutive summer we are heading into the field to measure and communicate the impact of climate change on North Cascade glaciers. We will complete detailed measurements on 10 glaciers, three of which are part of the World Glacier Monitoring Service reference glacier network …
July 26, 2022
Deming Glacier Icefall Deceleration 2017-2022 Driven by Mass Balance Loss
Deming Glacier velocity from NASA MEaSUREs ITS_Live at four locations from below icefall at blue X to above icefall at red X. There is not a significant change in velocity above the icefall (red X), but significant deceleration in the icefall and below the icefall. The Deming Glacier drains the southwest side of the summit of Mount Baker a stratovolcano in the North Cascades of Washington, with a massive icefall …
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 …
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 22, 2021
A Tale of Two Glaciers Columbia and Easton Glacier 2021
Terminus of Columbia Glacier on left with 1984 terminus location noted. Observe the avalanche fans (A) and the relatively high snowcover on 8-2-2021. At right is Easton Glacier on 8-11-2021 with the location of the 1990 terminus indicated, 440 m of retreat to the 2021 terminus position. The glacier has only 38% snowcover at this time, which is better illustrated below. Columbia and Easton Glacier in the North Cascade Range …
July 27, 2021
NORTH CASCADE GLACIER CLIMATE PROJECT 2021 -38th Annual Field Program
A few measures of what it takes to execute a field monitoring program of glaciers for 37 years, with no helicopter support (Illustration by Megan Pelto). 2021 Field Season: For the 38th consecutive summer we are heading into the field later this week to measure the impact of climate change on North Cascade glaciers. We will complete detailed measurements on 10 glaciers, three of which are part of the World …
June 29, 2021
Pacific Northwest June 2021 Heat Wave Current and Enduring Glacier Impact
Streamflow observation site below Sholes Glacier on August 6, 2015. We have measured flow at this site for 30 years, the last 10 years in conjunction with the Nooksack Indian Tribe (Grah and Beaulieu, 2013; Pelto, 2015). The exceptional record breaking Pacific Northwest heat wave of June 2021 had an impact on snow melt both on and off glaciers in the North Cascade Range of Washington and consequently on alpine …
May 28, 2021
Vista Glacier, Glacier Peak WA Retreat and Snow Line Rise
Vista Glacier in 1998 and 2016 Digital Globe images with the the 1984 terminus red arrow and 2015 terminus yellow arrow, Point A is the rock seen below the glacier in 1994 image below and Point B is where the advance moraine reached the valley bottom. Vista Glacier is a valley glacier flowing down the northeast side of Glacier Peak (Dakobed) that drains into the Suiattle River. The glacier begins …
March 30, 2021
Art and Science on the Easton Glacier: Reflections from the NCGCP 2020 Field Season
By: Cal Waichler, Jill Pelto, and Mariama Dryak. It is the evening of Aug. 9th, 2020 and six of us are camped near the terminus of Easton Glacier. The sun has dropped below the moraine ridge above camp and a chilly breeze has forced us to put on layers. We are enjoying dinner cooked on our camp stoves, discussing what we observed on the ice today. The toll of climate …
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.