You are browsing the archive for British Columbia glacier retreat Archives - From a Glacier's Perspective.
July 25, 2019
Porcupine Glacier Major Iceberg Turns 3 Years Old, What Next?
Porcupine Glacier in Landsat images from 2016 and 2018 and 2019 Sentinel Image. Iceberg A and Ice tongue B are indicated on each. The haziness in 2019 is forest fire smoke. The yellow arrows mark the 2019 terminus location. 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 …
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 14, 2017
Swiftcurrent Glacier, British Columbia, Swiftly Retreating 1986-2015
Swifttcurrent Glacier Comparison from 1986 and 2015 Landsat images. Red arrow is the 1986 terminus, yellow arrow 2015 terminus, purple arrow significant tributaries in 1986, and purple dots the snowline. Swiftcurrent Glacier drains the southeast side of Mount Longstaff 15 km NW of Mount Robson. The glacier is near the headwaters of the Fraser River, and its retreat since 1986 has led to the formation of a new alpine lake. Here …
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 …
October 11, 2016
Shatter & Shudder Glacier Retreat, British Columbia Lakes Form
Red arrow is the 1985 terminus location and yellow arrow the 2016 terminus location. Note the formatiion of new lakes at end of both glaciers. Purple dots is the transient snowline in August of each year. Shatter and Shudder Glacier are at the eastern end of the Spearhead Range in Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia. Osborn et al (2007) mapped the Little Ice Age extent of the glaciers compared to …
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 …
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 …
November 19, 2015
Dismal Glacier, British Columbia Prospects Match Name
Landsat image comparison from 1988 and 2015, red arrow indicates 1988 terminus and yellow arrows 2015 terminus. Purple arrows indicate thinning upglacier. Dismal Glacier flows north from Mount Durrand in the Selkirk Range of British Columbia. It drains from 2500 m to 1950 m and its runoff flows into Downie Creek that is a tributary to the Columbia River and Revelstoke Lake. This lake is impounded by the BCHydro Revelstoke …
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.