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February 14, 2024
New URL Same Weekly Observations of Glacier Response To Climate Change
For a decade I have chronicled glacier change in a weekly post as part of the AGU Blogosphere. I typically examine a specific glacier or field area. shairng my specific observations of the glaciers in the images presented, usually the key changes have happened in the last few months, with reference to relevant literature. When I joined the AGU Blogosphere in 2014 I had been blogging for five years with …
January 21, 2024
Mount Everest Region Glacier Snow Line in February 2024 Remains over 6000 Meters
The snow line (yellow dots) on Mount Everest region glaciers on Feb. 3, 2024 in this Landsat image average 6040 m. This is a 200 m rise from October 22, 2023 and a 20 m rise since Jan. 10, 2024. The passes at Nangpa La and Nup La are both snow free. The snow line (yellow dots) on Mount Everest region glaciers on Jan. 10, 2024 in this Landsat image …
January 15, 2024
Upsala Glacier Retreat and Lago Guillermo Drainage January 2024
View of Lago Guillermo in true color Sentinel 2 images from Dec. 31 2023 and Jan 12 2024. Illustrating drainage of Lagor Guillermo (LG). Revealing more of the Peninsula (P). Upsala Glacier (U) had impounded this lake since formation by 1957. Lago Guillermo draining during early January 2024 as revealed by Landsat images. Notice inlet left dry at Arrow 1, Arrow 3 ad Arrow 4. New islands at Arrow 2. Lago …
December 17, 2023
Cascade Pass Area Loses Two Glaciers
The Triplets and Cascade Peak glacier in GLIMS glacier viewer with the red outlines of the 1958 and 2015 margins and the black dot indicating they are now extinct. In a 1993 Washington Geology article I noted that “In the Cascade Pass area two small glaciers in Torment Basin and two beneath the Triplets Peak and Cascade Peak have altitude ranges of less than 150 m. These glaciers in 1985, …
November 20, 2023
Kanchenjunga Glacier, Nepal High Snowlines Expanding Supraglacial Ponds in 2023
Kanchenjunga Glacier in Nov. 8, 2023 false color Sentinel image. The flowlines of the six tributaries shown in green with the snowline on each at the purple dots. Percentage of glacier length above the snowline for each tributary shown as percentage. Two rapidly expanding supraglacial lakes shown at yellow arrows. Kanchenjunga Glacier is the main glacier draining west from Kanchenjunga Peak draining into the Ghunsa River. Lamsal et al (2017). report …
November 17, 2023
Continental Glacier, Wyoming Fragmentation Accelerates
Continental Glacier in 1994 Google Earth and 2016 and 2022 Sentinel images, illustrating the separation at the black arrows, into the northern middle and southern parts, with an impending separation at green arrow. Continental Glacier is a long plateau glacier draped along the continental divide in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. It drains into Torrey Creek and then the Wind River. In 1994 this glacier extended 5 km from south …
November 6, 2023
Storstrømmen Glacier, NE Greenland Retreat Releases New Islands
Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Brae in Landsat imagery from 8-23-2013 and 8-26-2023. Green dots on 2013 image is the 2023 margin. Yellow dots on 2023 image is the 2013 margin. Island A and Island B are at the glacier front in 2013 and are fully separated by 2023. R=Randsoen proglacial lake. Storstrømmen and L. Bistrup Brae are large outlet glaciers in northeast Greenland that join at their terminus. The calving …
November 2, 2023
Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak Glacier, India Shrinking Accumulation Zone
Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak Glacier snowline (blue dots) on Oct. 8, 2020 (Sentinel image) mean elevation is 5350 m. T=Terminus location and blue line is flowline with distance from terminus in km. Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak Glacier are located at the headwaters of the Alaknanda River, Uttarakhand, India and have until recently shared a terminus. Glacier runoff is an important contribution to the 400 MW Vishnuprayag and 330 MW Alaknanda …
October 19, 2023
Future Prospects Vanishing: 40th Field Season North Cascade Glacier Climate Project Results
The summer of 2023 was our 40th field season observing the response of North Cascade glaciers to climate change. Each year we visit a series of glaciers on the same date to complete our annual examination. We carry all of the equipment to each field site in backpacks and camp in tents near the glacier. All the glaciers we observe, except Easton Glacier, are in Wilderness Areas. This precludes the …
October 11, 2023
Coronation Glacier New Island Development-Baffin Island
This is a portion of the island emerging from beneath the terminus with the 20-50 m high ice front in July 2023, the main portion of the island extends to the left and then out from the glacier. (Bischke/Biner/Bessen/Klemmensen) Coronation Glacier is the largest outlet glacier of the Penny Ice Cap on Baffin Island. The glacier has an area of ~660 square kilometers and extends 35 km from the edge …
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.