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October 22, 2019
Falcon Glacier, British Columbia Wings Clipped by Climate Change
Falcon Glacier in 1985 and 2019 Landsat images indicating the 2000 m retreat. Red arrow is 1985 terminus location, yellow arrow the 2019 terminus location. I=icefall locations joining the glacier. Falcon Glacier in southwest British Columbia drains east from the Compton Neve into the Bishop River, which then joins the Southgate River. The Southgate River is one of three major watersheds emptying into the head of Bute Inlet. The Southgate …
October 6, 2017
Klinaklini Glacier, British Columbia Retreat Generates Large Icebergs
Klinaklini Glacier comparison in Landsat images from 1987 and 2017. Red arrow 1987 terminus, yellow arrow 2017 terminus and snowline at purple dots. Klinaklini Glacier is the largest glacier in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia between Vancouver and Prince Rupert. The glaier drains west and south from Mt. Silverthrone. There is significant accumulation area above 2500 m and the glacier terminates at 300 m. GLIMS noted the area in …
August 14, 2017
Canadian Columbia River Basin Winter 2016-2017: A Late Rally
Guest Post by Ben Pelto, PhD Candidate, UNBC Geography, [email protected] As the summer ticks by and the fall glacier field season approaches, I’ve realized that I never put out a winter 2016-2017 synopsis, so, like the snowfall this year, it’s arrived late. May 2017, Jesse Milner of the ACMG on the Nordic Glacier in front of the “meteor strike” a newly exposed rock face that spalls ice regularly. Photo by …
April 12, 2017
Beautiful British Columbia Land of Many Mountains & Dwindling Glaciers
British Columbia is host to many mountain ranges; Purcell, Monashee, Bugaboo, Selkirk, Cariboo, Coat Range, Kootenay, Kwadacha are just some of the diverse mountain ranges that host glaciers and span climate zone. A shared characteristic today regardless of climate zone or mountain range is dwindling glacier size and volume. Bolch et al (2010) found that from 1985-2005 Alberta glaciers lost 25% of their area and BC glaciers 11% of …
March 17, 2017
Bridge Glacier Terminus Collapse, BC, 4 km retreat 1985-2016
Bridge Glacier comparison in 1985 and 2016 Landsat Images. Red arrow is the 1985 terminus, yellow arrow the 2016 terminus and purple arrows indicate locations where tributaries have separated between the two dates. Bridge Glacier is an 17 km long outlet glacier of the Lillooet Icefield in British Columbia. The glacier ends in a rapidly expanding glacial lake and had an observed retreat rate of 30 m per year from …
March 15, 2017
Klippi Glacier Retreat Causes Separation, British Columbia
Klippi Glacier in Landsat images of 1987 to 2016. Red arrows indicate 1987 terminus, yellow arrows 2016 terminus and purple dots the transient snowline. The glacier beings at 2600 m sharing a divide with Klinaklini Glacier, flowing northwest from Silverthrone Mountain and terminating at 1040 m in 1987. Klippi Glacier drains into the Machmell River, Owikeno Lake and then River Inlet on the British Columbia Coast. The Machmell River is …
December 28, 2016
Canadian Columbia Basin Glacier Fall 2016 Field Season
Guest Post by Ben Pelto, PhD Candidate, UNBC Geography, [email protected] Figure 1. An illustration of the glacier mass balance sum. Mass balance is equal to the amount of snow accumulation and the amount of ice melt over time. Traditionally, this is reported as annual mass balance (how much mass a glacier gained or lost in a particular year) and is reported in meters water equivalent (mwe). The Columbia Basin Glacier …
September 22, 2016
Porcupine Glacier, BC 1.2km2 Calving Event Marks Rapid Retreat
Landsat images from Sept. 2015 and Sept. 2016. Red arrow is the 1988 terminus and the yellow arrow the 2016 terminus. I marks an icefall location and point A marks the large iceberg. Porcupine Glacier is a 20 km long outlet glacier of an icefield in the Hoodoo Mountains of Northern British Columbia that terminates in an expanding proglacial lake. During 2016 the glacier had a 1.2 square kilometer iceberg …
June 23, 2016
Canadian Columbia Basin Glacier Spring 2016 Field Season (winter 2015-2016 Assessment)
Guest Post by Ben Pelto, PhD Candidate, UNBC Geography, [email protected] During the spring season we visited our four study glaciers (Figure 1), which form a transect of the Columbia Mountains from the Kokanee Glacier in the Selkirk Range to the south, to the Conrad (Purcells) and Nordic (Selkirks) in the center, to the Zillmer of the Premier Range in the north. This post will explore the snowpack of winter 2016 across …
March 22, 2016
Kiwa Glacier Retreat, British Columbia 1986-2015
Kiwa Glacier retreat from 1986 to 2015 in Landsat images. Red arrow is 1986 terminus and yellow arrow 2015 terminus location. Purple arrow indicates upglacier thinning where more bedrock is exposed. Purple dots indicate the transient snowline Kiwa Glacier is the longest glacier, at 9 km, in the Cariboo Mountains of British Columbia. The glacier drains northwest from Mount Sir Wilfred Laurier and is near the headwaters of the Fraser …
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.