From a Glacier's Perspective

December 11, 2015

Climate Driven Retreat of Mount Baker Glaciers and Changing Water Resources

We have spent 300 nights in a tent just on this mountain collecting data from 1984-2015 in this study that the book documents. This post has the same title as a book released last month as part of the Springer Briefs in Climate Studies series. The nice thing about publishing research emerging from 30 years of field research in a book is that I had a chance to include 104 …

May 21, 2015

Nooksack River: Glacier Runoff Maintains Suitable Aquatic Conditions for Salmon

Illustration from Megan Pelto above left Sholes Glacier from our runoff measurement station above right. Glaciers are a critical water resource in the North Cascades of Washington for hydropower, irrigation , municipal supply and aquatic life. In dry summers glaciers play an even larger role in the overall water budget and maintaining suitable aquatic conditions. The summer of 2015 will pose particular challenges due to the drought emergency that is likely to …

October 5, 2014

Rainbow Glacier: Record Ablation in 2014 for 1984-2014 Period

From 1984-2014 we have monitored the mass balance of the Rainbow Glacier on Mount Baker, North Cascade Range, Washington. This entails detailed monitoring of snowpack depth in July and August, and subsequent ablation to the end of the melt season. On July 13th the glacier was completely snowcovered. By August 10th the snowline had risen to 1575 m, with 1.4 m of ablation since July 13th. We measured the snowdepth …

May 6, 2014

Nooksack River Glacier Runoff Importance

If glaciers did not change in response to climate, we would not have to think about their role in water resources in the watersheds that they reside. During the last two years in an ongoing study with the Nooksack Indian Tribe we have been working on quantifying the role glaciers play in that watershed. Glaciers comprise the headwaters of the Nooksack River and are a critical source of summer discharge …

December 27, 2012

Roosevelt Glacier Retreat, Mount Baker, Washington

Roosevelt Glacier is on the northwest side of Mount Baker, Washington with its accumulation zone joined with the Coleman Glacier. My first visit to Roosevelt Glacier was in 1984, when the glacier had just completed a 30 year period of advance from 1949-1979. Since 1979 the glacier has been retreating, image below. This post examines Google Earth imagery from 1993, 2003 and 2009 along with field observations from the glacier. …

July 20, 2012

Mount Baker Glacier Mass Balance

Just published in Hydrologic Process is a paper from our 28 years of research on Mount Baker. “Mass Balance Loss of Mount Baker, Washington glaciers 1990-2010” Mass balance is really the annual bank account for the glacier. Deposits are snow accumulation, withdraws are melting. A glacier that has greater income has a positive mass balance and increases in volume. Greater melting leads to losses in volume. Mount Baker,North Cascades, WA …

May 24, 2012

Deming Glacier Terminus Retreat

The reduction in width and crevassing in the Deming Glacier Icefall indicates a reduced flow into the terminus reach of the Deming Glacier. This post examines the retreat of the Deming Glacier from 1984-2010. The glacier has retreated significantly as have all 47 glaciers we observe in the field. The retreat parallels that of other Mount Baker glaciers, Boulder Glacier and Easton Glacier (Pelto,2006). Each year since 1990 we have …

July 22, 2011

Mazama Glacier Retreat, North Cascades, Washington

Mazama Glacier flows down the north side of Mount Baker, a strato volcano in the North Cascades of Washington. The glacier begins at the summit plateau, 3260 meters, and terminates at the head of Wells Creek 1470 meters. This is a glacier we visit briefly each summer since 1984, but is not a focus of detailed observations. In 2010 we descended from its divide with Rainbow Glacier at 2100 meters …