From a Glacier's Perspective

November 1, 2016

Desolation Valley, Alaska, Conversion from Glacier to Lake

Retreat of Desolation-Fairweather Glacier from 2010-2016 in Landsat images. The red arrow indicates 2010 terminus positions, yellow arrow the 2016 terminus. Pink arrow a delta exposed by lake level lowering. D=Desolation Glacier. Desolation Glacier flows west from the Fairweather Range into Desolation Valley where in 1986 it joined with the Fairweather Glacier flowing from the north and the Lituya Glacier flowing from the south to fill the valley with glacier …

October 6, 2015

Fingers Glacier, Alaska loses a finger to melting

Landsat comparison of terminus area of Fingers Glacier 1986 and 2015 Fingers Glacier flows from the southern end of the Fairweather Range to the coastal plain, where is expands into a segmented piedmont lobe. The southernmost finger is heavily debris covered. In the Mount Fairweather B-4 quadrangle USGS map based on 1951 aerial photographs the glacier has four prominent fingers each eroding its own basin. Here we examine Landsat imagery to …

July 31, 2014

Spotted Glacier Retreat, Katmai Region, Alaska

Spotted Glacier in USGS map before lake formation and in 2013 Landsat image. Red arrow indicates the 2013 east side of the terminus, the pink arrow a rock knob adjacent to the 1985 terminus, and the yellow arrow a peninsula that should become an island as the further retreat occurs. Spotted Glacier flows north from Mount Douglas and terminates in a developing proglacial lake. In the USGS map from 1951 …

July 27, 2014

Fourpeaked Glacier Retreat, Katmai area, Alaska

Fourpeaked Glacier drains east from the volcano of the same name in the Katmai region of southern Alaksa. The Park Service in a report (Giffen et al 2008) noted that the glacier retreated 3.4 km across a broad proglacial lake that the glacier terminates in from 1951-2986, a rate of 95 m/year. From 1986-2000 they noted a retreat of 163 m, or 13 m/year. In a more recent report with …