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March 9, 2012
McDonald Glacier, Montana Retreat
McDonald Glacier is in the Mission Range of the Montana southeast of Flathead Lake. It is the largest and one of only two significant glaciers in this range. The glacier is tucked under the north side of McDonald Peak. The glacier was over 1 kilometer long in the 1966 USGS map of the region. By 2005 the glacier has lost 45% of its area, retreating 200 meters on average and …
March 1, 2012
Snowshoe Peak Glacier Retreat, Yukon
There was the Yukon Gold Rush and then there are a number of surging glaciers in the Yukon. These two have drawn our attention. In Kluane National Park, besides the large surging outlet glaciers draining the St. Elias Mountains (Donjek, Lowell, Kaskawulsh etc.) there are numerous smaller alpine glaciers in ranges just east of the St. Elias. In a recent ice core study in the Eclipse Icefield it was found …
February 11, 2012
Samudra Tupa Glacier Retreat and Himalaya glacier mass losses
Samudra Tupa Glacier is one of the largest in the Chenab Basin, India. Pink arrow indicates the terminus in a glacier lake and A mark the accumulation zone with the red line indicating the equilibrium line in 1998. In a glacier inventory in the basin by Kulkarni et al (2007) the 466 glaciers in the basin were observed to have lost 21% of their total area from 1962 to 2001. …
January 31, 2012
Icemantle Glacier Retreat, British Columbia
Icemantle Glacier is on the north side of Greenmantle Peak just north of Snowcap lake in southern British Columbia, viewed from the northeast in the Google Earth image below. It is not an often visited area and the glacier has not been previously assessed for its response to climate change. Other glaciers in the area have, the outlet glaciers of Snowcap Iceļ¬eld lost 17% of there area in from 1987-2007. …
January 26, 2012
Index of posts 2009-Jan. 2012
Glacier Index List Below is a list of the individual glacier posts examining our warming climates impact on each glacier. This represents the first 2.5 years of posts, 166 total posts, 152 different glaciers. I have worked directly on 39. The others are prompted by fine research that I had come across, cited in each post or inquiries from readers and other scientists. I then look at additional often more …
June 2, 2011
Columbia Glacier Past, Present and Future
For the last 27 years the first week of August has found me on the Columbia Glacier in the North Cascades of Washington. Annual visit pictures up to 2008 can be seen at bottom of post. This is the lowest elevation large glacier in the North Cascades. Columbia Glacier occupies a deep cirque above Blanca Lake and ranging in altitude from 1400 meters to 1700 meters. Kyes, Monte Cristo and …
March 3, 2011
Presena Glacier Italy, Needs a Blanket
The Presena Ski Resort in Italy utilizes the Presena Glacier for its upper lifts and to extend its season. The warm summer of 2012 has been hard on this glacier. In 2008 this resort followed the example of Stubai, Austria and Les Arcs, France in utilizing an insulating blanket to reduce melting. Presena Glacier has lost a third of its volume since 1993. This led to adoption of wrapping the …
December 17, 2010
Seco Glacier Retreat in Southern Patagonia, Argentina
Seco Glacier descends magnificently towards Lago Argentina and is a site enjoyed by many visitors to the region from boats. A new website is being developed on the Glaciers of Argentina that features this view. The glacier has retreated 1050 meters in the last century exposing a still barren rock landscape. The terminus is still heavily crevassed indicating considerable movement at the tongue. The recently deglaciated terrain that extends one …
December 3, 2010
Glacier Retreat creates Amsler Island Palmer Station Antactica
In mountain ranges around the world glacier retreat is leading to the formation of new lakes. In the Antarctic and Greenland retreat is leading to the formation of some new islands. Palmer Station on Anvers Island just off the Antarctic Peninsula is largely surrounded by glaciers. It has been called ground zero for climate change. Hard to argue, except I have seen that term applied to many other locations, that …
July 8, 2010
The Lower Curtis Glacier on Mount Shuksan advanced from 1950-1975 and has retreated 150 meters from 1987-2009. A longitudinal profile up the middle of the glacier indicates that it thinned 30 meters from 1908-1984 and 10 m from 1984-2008. Compare the 1908 image taken by Asahel Curtis (glacier named for him) in 1908 and our annual glacier shot in 2003. The thinning has been as large in the accumulation zone …
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.