You are browsing the archive for British Columbia glacier retreat Archives - Page 2 of 4 - From a Glacier's Perspective.
November 17, 2015
Cummins Glacier Fragmentation, British Columbia
Comparison of the Cummins Glacier from 1986 to 2015. Purple arrows indicate upglacier thinning and disconnection. Red arrow indicates 1986 terminus position. Note the lack of snowcover in 2015. The Cummins Glacier is part of the Clemenceau Icefield Group in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. The Cummins Glacier via the Cummins River feeds the 430 square kilometer Kinbasket Lake, on the Columbia River. The lake is impounded by the 5,946 MW Mica …
October 8, 2015
Yoho Glacier, British Columbia Accumulation Zone Woes
Yoho Glacier in 2005 no accumulation zone in sight. Yoho Glacier is the largest southern outflow draining the south from the Wapta Icefield in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. It flows 6.5 km from the 3125 m to a terminus at 2200 m. The glacier terminus reach is thin, gently sloping and uncrevassed poised for continued retreat. An exploration of Mount Balfour in 1898 a party led by Professor …
June 4, 2015
Big Bend Glacier, British Columbia Transitions to Alpine lake
“Big Bend” Glacier is an unnamed glacier west of Big Bend Peak north of Harrison Lake in Southwest British Columbia. In 1985 the glacier was 2.6 km long filling a low valley with a surface elevation of 1600-1800 m elevation, the topographic map indicates this basic size. Here we utilize Landsat imagery to identify the changes in the glacier from 1985-2014 due to climate change. In essence the glaciated basin …
July 10, 2014
Sittakanay Glacier Retreat, British Columbia
Sittankanay Glacier drains the north side of the small icefield that feeds the retreating Wright, Speel and West Speel Glacier. The 10 km long glacier is the headwaters of the Sittkanay River, a tributary to the Taku River. Here we utilize Landsat images from 1984-2013 to identify the recent changes in the glacier. The glacier begins at 2000 m and ends in a lake at 250 m, the terminus has …
May 30, 2014
Haworth Glacier Retreat, Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia
Haworth Glacier in the northern Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia drains into Palmer Creek, which flows into Kinbasket Lake, and then the Columbia River. This glacier is often visited by climbers as the Canadian Alpine Club has a summer base camp near the terminus of the glacier. The glacier has a low slope and limited crevassing that makes it a good training ground for climbing. Menounos et al (2008) noted …
May 28, 2014
Kwadacha Provincial Park Glacier retreat, British Columbia
Kwadacha Wilderness Provincial Park in Northern British Columbia is host to numerous glaciers. Here we focus on an unnamed glacier that drains north into the Kechika River, which joins the Laird River. This glacier straddles both a watershed divide. The map of the glacier indicates the three separate termini of this glacier. Bolch et al (2010) noted that this area of BC lost 15% of its glacier area from 1985 …
February 13, 2014
West Hoboe Glacier Retreat, British Columbia
On the east margin of the Juneau Icefield is a small, compared to other glaciers, 7 km long unnamed valley glacier, here identified as West Hoboe Glacier. Here we use Landsat imagery to identify changes from 1984 to 2013. This glacier is just east of the retreating Hoboe Glacier and Llewellyn Glacier. The glacier flows from 2000 m down to 1250 m and drains into Atlin Lake at the headwaters …
December 1, 2013
Bromley Glacier Retreat, NW British Columbia
Bromley Glacier is the largest outlet glacier of the Cambria Icefield near Stewart, BC. The glacier drains north into the Bear River. Dan Smith and his graduate students of the University of Victoria have been busy searching for fossil wood as it emerges from beneath the rapidly retreating glaciers of British Columbia. They have found numerous pieces from former forest that have emerged in the last decade after being buried …
November 27, 2013
Nass Peak Glacier Retreat, Coast Mountains, British Columbia
“Nass Peak” Glacier is a 5 km long unnamed valley glacier that feeds Coast Mountain Creek and then Nass River. The closest community is Kitsault, BC on the north side of the small icefield from which the glacier originates. Here we examine changes in the is glacier in Landsat imagery from 1986 to 2013. In 1986 the glacier terminated at the red arrow, this is also approximately the mapped terminus …
September 19, 2013
Toby Glacier Retreat, Purcell Range, British Columbia
Toby Glacier is in the Purcell Mountains of southern British Columbia, part of the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Park. Here we examine retreat of this glacier from 1998 to 2014 using Landsat imagery and Google Earth images. The map image indicates the Little Ice Age advance moraine (LIA_on other imagers) at 1960 m, a lower lake (LL)at 2060 m, an upper lake (UL) at 2280 m, the former ELA at a …
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.