The World's Glaciers

[knocker]

Carbon Lake Glacier Retreat, Alaska

[knocker]

Multidecadal Recession of Grinnell and Terra Nivea Ice Caps, Baffin Island, Canada

 

Multi-temporal satellite imagery and historical aerial photography reveal that two southern Arctic ice caps on Baffin Island have shrunk considerably over the past several decades. Satellite remote sensing shows that over the past three decades, the Grinnell and Terra Nivea ice caps, the southernmost ice caps in the eastern Canadian Arctic, have decreased in area by 18% and 22% respectively, which corresponds to a total area decline of 68 km2 since the inventory done in the late 1950s. Cumulative ice loss since the mid-1970s has occurred at a rate of −1.69 km2/yr. The Grinnell ice cap has declined in area by −0.57 km2/yr, while the larger Terra Nivea ice cap has lost ice at a rate of −1.1 km2/yr. Interior thinning has led to the exposure of nunataks far from ice margins, and outlet glaciers have retreated substantial distances up-valley. The rapid reduction in ice area is linked directly to increasing summer air temperatures and suggests that these ice caps are in disequilibrium with current climate. Projections suggest that if the observed ice decline continues to AD 2100, the total area covered by ice at present will be reduced by more than 57%.

 

http://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/view/4461

[Gray-Wolf]

I've just run back through this thread and am struggling to find any 'balance' to what appears absolutely obvious?

 

If the impacts of AGW are so 'lean' then why do we not see the 'balance' in nature showing in the worlds mountain Glacier destruction?

 

Never mind deniers! Mountain glaciers just starve crops/people of water they do not flood Global cities. Ice sheets do that.

 

We do not see many posts from deniers over on the Greenland/Antarctica threads concerning the losses driving rapid sea level hikes either...... odd that?

[knocker]

Retreat of Carbon Lake Glacier near Sitka, Alaska 1986-2014 with new lake forms.

 

Carbon Lake Glacier Retreat, Alaska

[knocker]

Zongo Glacier, Bolivia 220 m retreat 1994-14 in  images. Higher freezing levels < melting,

 

Zongo Glacier Retreat, Bolivia 1994-2014.

[knocker]

Neat little video

 

Published on Nov 26, 2014

Alpine glaciers have been shrinking for more than one century. This trend is expected to continue if the global warming progresses. This film shows how mathematicians and glaciologists work together to produce realistic estimates of the future evolution of glaciers.

 

[knocker]

Cordillera Lago General Carrera Glacier Retreat, Chile

 

 

You know southern Chile has lots of glaciers when an icefield with an area of 132 square kilometers has no named glaciers.  Davies and Glasser (2012) referred to this icefield as Cordillera Lago General Carrera, since it drains into that lake, the icefield is just east of the Northern Patagonia Icefield.   Davies and Glasser (2012)  noted that the icefield has a mean elevation of 1670 m and has declined from an area of 190 square kilometers in 1870, to 139 square kilometers in 1986, and 132 square kilometers in 2011.  They further noted that the area loss of Patagonia glaciers has been most rapid from 2001 to 2011.  Paul and Molg (2014) observed a more rapid retreat of 25% total area lost from glaciers in northern Patagonia from 1985-2011, the study area was north of the Northern Patagonia Icefield. Lago General Carrera drains into the Baker River, which is fed by most glaciers on the east side of the Northern Patagonia Icefield.  This river had a series of proposed hydropower projects that have now been cancelled by the Chilean government.

[knocker]

Demise of Antler Glacier, Juneau Icefield, Alaska

 

 

What is wrong with this map?†. Was my first comment about the Antler Glacier in 1981, while surveying the geology in the region with the Juneau Icefield Research Program, during light snow flurries in August.  The map I had was the most up to date USGS topographic map based on 1948 images, indicating Antler Glacier terminating in a small lake.  By 1981 the lake was quite long and the glacier no longer reached it, though this was not perfectly evident  through the snow flurries. If I returned to the same location today, looking  at the updated USGS topographic map from 1979 my comment would be the same.  Climate is changing our glaciers and our maps of these regions. The Antler Glacier is an outlet glacier of the Juneau Icefield. It is actually a distributary glacier of the Bucher Glacier. It splits from the Bucher Glacier 8.5 km above where the Bucher Glacier joins the Gilkey Glacier as a tributary. In 1948 it spilled over the lip of the Antler River valley from the Bucher Glacier and flowed 6 kilometers downvalley to end in a proglacial lake. The glacier was 6200 m long in 1948, red arrow is 1984 terminus, yellow arrow indicates 2014 terminus.  Here we examine satellite imagery from 1984 to 2014 to identify changes in the Antler and other small glaciers in the area.

Edited March 13, 2015 by knocker

[knocker]

Conway Glacier Separation and Retreat, Alberta

 

 

Conway Glacier drains east from the border with British Columbia into the Howse River. The Howse River joins the Saskatchewan River upstream of the Bighorn Hydropower project, which impounds Lake Abraham and produces 120 MW of power. The map of this area was updated based on 1990 images which indicate Conway Glacier is comprised of two lobes that join near the terminus.   An inventory of glaciers in the Canadian Rockies indicate area loss of 15% from 1985 to 2005 (Bolch et al, 2010).  The more famous Columbia Icefield, 50 km north, has lost 23 % of its area from 1919-2009 with ice loss at a minimum during the 1970′s (Tennant and Menounos, 2013). Here we examine Landsat imagery from 1986 to 2014 to see the impact of recent climate change.

Edited March 16, 2015 by knocker

[knocker]

India’s diesel fumes fuel glacier melt

 

As India’s economy expands, so does pollution, particularly in the country’s major cities. Kieran Cooke, one of Climate News Network’s editors, has recently been in Kolkata, one of the country’s biggest and most polluted population centres: he says increasing pollution is not only harming Kolkata’s citizens – it’s also a likely contributor to climate change taking place in the Himalayan region.

 

http://www.eco-business.com/news/indias-diesel-fumes-fuel-glacier-melt/?utm_content=buffer17deb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[knocker]

Downwasting Tributary-Glacier Dammed Lake Formation at HPN4 Glacier, Patagonia, Chile

 

We often are more concerned with what is happening at the terminus of a glacier; however, often key changes are happening up glacier some distance. This is the case with the following example. The Northern Patagonia Icefield (Hielo Patagónico Norte, HPN) is one of the two main icefields in Patagonia.  The remoteness of the region is evidenced by the number of significant lakes and glaciers that remain unnamed.  This remoteness has led to several valuable detailed recent studies utilizing satellite imagery on glacier extent (Davies and Glasser, 2012), glacier thickness change (Willis et al, 2012) and glacier velocity (Mouginot and Rignot, 2015)  Here we focus on a downwasting tributary to an unnamed glacier listed as HPN4 Glacier  in the aforementioned studies. Davies and Glasser, (2012)  identify this region of the icefield as retreating faster from 2001-2011 than during any measured period since 1870.    Willis et al, (2012) in their Figure 2, seen below,  identify this an area of pronounced thinning, approximately 5 m/year from 2000 to 2011. Why such rapid thinning in an area without calving?   Mouginot and Rignot, (2015) indicate that this area is not an area of rapid flow, and given the thinning it should be an area of diminishing flow.  Here we examine changes from 1987 to 2014 using Landsat imagery.

[knocker]

Massive amounts of fresh water, glacial melt pouring into Gulf of Alaska

 

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Incessant mountain rain, snow and melting glaciers in a comparatively small region of land that hugs the southern Alaska coast and empties fresh water into the Gulf of Alaska would create the sixth largest coastal river in the world if it emerged as a single stream, a recent study shows.

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/osu-mao031915.php

 

[knocker]

Widespread Retreat Gilkey Glacier System, Alaska

 

Gilkey Glacier drains the west side of the Juneau Icefield and has experienced widespread significant changes since I first worked on the glacier in 1981.    Here we examine the changes from the August 17, 1984 Landsat 5 image to the August 21, 2014 image from newly launched Landsat 8.  Landsat 5 was launched in 1984, Landsat 8 launched in 2013. The Landsat images have become a key resource in the examination of the mass balance of these glaciers (Pelto, 2011). The August 17th 1984 image is the oldest Landsat image that I consider of top quality. I was on the Llewellyn Glacier with the Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) on the east side of the icefield the day this image was taken. JIRP was directed by Maynard Miller at that time and by Jeff Kavanauagh now. The Gilkey Glacier is fed by the famous Vaughan Lewis Icefall at the top of which JIRP has its Camp 18 and has monitored this area for 60 years. Here I examine changes both in images and text below. The same analysis in a more depth is contained in the screen capture video of the same images.  Choose the format you prefer and let me know which works for you.

[knocker]

As Himalayan Glaciers Melt, Two Towns Face the Fallout

 

 

For two towns in northern India, melting glaciers have had very different impacts — one town has benefited from flowing streams and bountiful harvests; but the other has seen its water supplies dry up and now is being forced to relocate.

 

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_himalayan_glaciers_melt_two_towns_face_the_fallout/2858/

[knocker]

Leroux Bay Glacier Retreat-Island Formation, Antarctic Peninsula

 

Leroux Bay is on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in Graham Land.  Numerous glacier drain from the Antarctic Peninsula into the ocean along this coast, and as they retreat the coastline is changing.    Air temperatures rose by 2.5°C in the northern Antarctic Peninsula from 1950 to 2000, which has led to recession of 87% glaciers and ice shelves on the Peninsula in the last two decades (Davies et al.,2012). Most spectacularly has been the collapse of Jones, Larsen A, Larsen B, Prince Gustav and Wordie Ice Shelves since 1995 (Cook and Vaughan, 2010). This has opened up our ability to examine sediments that had accumulated beneath the floating ice shelves.   The LARISSSA Project has been pursuing this option and utilized the Korean icebreaker ARAON to explore and map the bathymetry of Leroux Bay.  Last week Antarctica recorded its highest temperature at  the Argentine Base Esperanza on March 24th, 2015 located near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula reported a temperature of 17.5°C (63.5°F). Here we examine the changes from 1990 to 2015 of glacier on the north side of Leroux Bay.

Edited March 30, 2015 by knocker

[knocker]

Majestic glaciers in Alaska: Then and now

 

If you're looking at something but don't have anything to compare it to, it's hard to know what's really going on. Maybe you meet someone for the first time and think they look a little sick, so you think they're not doing too well. But if you had met them a year ago when they were terminally ill, you'd think that today’s health was a huge improvement. Everything's relative. It's all about your frame of reference.

 

That's the idea behind repeat photography. Some things change fairly slowly, like glaciers that may take thousands of years to form or melt, so comparing photos taken at many years' interval is the best way to see how things are evolving. The U.S. Geological Survey has been doing exactly that with a series of photos of glaciers from Alaska. Most were shot in the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park and the northwestern Prince William Sound area of the Chugach National Forest.

 

The change between past and present is striking. See for yourself:

 

 

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/majestic-glaciers-in-alaska-then-and-now

[knocker]

A few more That advert is bloody annoying

 

Before-and-After Glacier Photos Show Devastating Climate Change Effects

http://www.weather.com/science/environment/news/glaciers-then-and-now

Edited April 5, 2015 by knocker

[knocker]

Western Canada to lose 70 percent of glaciers by 2100

 

Seventy per cent of glacier ice in British Columbia and Alberta could disappear by the end of the 21st century, creating major problems for local ecosystems, power supplies, and water quality, according to a new study by University of British Columbia researchers.

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/uobc-wct040215.php

[knocker]

31 years of observations on Retreating Columbia Glacier, Washington

 

For the last 31 years the first week of August has found me on the Columbia Glacier in the North Cascades of Washington. Annual pictures of the changing conditions from 1984 to 2014 are illustrated in the time lapse video below. This is the lowest elevation large glacier in the North Cascades. Columbia Glacier occupies a deep cirque above Blanca Lake and ranging in altitude from 1400 meters to 1700 meters. Kyes, Monte Cristo and Columbia Peak surround the glacier with summits 700 meters above the glacier. The glacier is the beneficiary of heavy orographic lifting over the surrounding peaks, and heavy avalanching off the same peaks. This winter has been the lowest year for snowpack in the North Cascades in the 32 years we have worked here.  Below is a comparison from August 1, 2011 with Blanca Lake below the glacier still frozen and a beautiful scene on April 4, 2015 with the lake not frozen taken by Karen K. Wang.  The winter in the region was unusually warm, but not as dry as in California; however, in the snowmelt and glacier fed river basins summer runoff will be low this year.

 

http://blogs.agu.org/fromaglaciersperspective/2015/04/07/31-years-of-observations-on-retreating-columbia-glacier-washington/

[knocker]

Published on Apr 10, 2015

Earth from Space is presented by Kelsea Brennan-Wessels from the ESA Web-TV virtual studios. Discover the glaciers of Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park in the one hundred fortieth edition.

[knocker]

Rapid Retreat of Freshfield Glacier, Alberta 1964-2014

 

The Freshfield Glacier is a large glacier southeast of the Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies where recent retreat  has exposed a new glacier lake.  Today the glacier is 9.8 km long beginning at 3070 meters and ending at 2000 m near the shore of the less than 5 year old lake. This glacier during the Little Ice Age stretched 14.3 km, one of the longest in the entire range extending beyond Freshfield Lake, which was a glacier filled basin. By 1964 the glacier had retreated 1900 meters exposing Freshfield Lake. From 1964-1986 the glacier retreated up this lake basin losing another 1200 meters of length. A comparison of a 1964 photograph from Austin Post and as close to the same view as I could get in Google Earth illustrates the 50 years of retreat. The red line halfway up the lake is the 1964 terminus and the red line at the edge of the lake the terminus location in the topographic map from the 1980′s.  Here we examine Landsat images from 1986 to 2014 to further illustrate the changes. Clarke et al (2015) published this week indicates that it is likely that 70% of glacier volume in western Canada will be lost by 2100. In their Figure 4, three of the four scenarios show Freshfield Glacier as surviving to 2100. The adjacent Conway Glacier is also retreating leading to new lake formation.

[knocker]

Menlung Glacier Rapid Retreat & Lake Expansion, Tibet, China 1992-2014

 

 

Menlung Glacier is one valley north of the China/Tibet border with Nepal and on the south side of Menlungste Peak. Menlung Glacier has a glacier lake at its terminus that is dammed by the glacier’s moraine. The glacier began to withdraw from the moraine and the lake began to develop after the 1951 expedition to the area. The glacier lake is at 5050 meters, the glacier descends from 7000 meters with the snowline recently around 5500 meters. The lower section of the glacier is heavily debris covered, which when the debris is more than several centimeters thick as in most areas here, reduces the rate of glacier melt. Melt is highest around the supraglacial lakes (shallow lakes on glacier surface), which can lead to the lakes expanding and coalescing. Benn (2001) examined the process on nearby Ngozumpa Glacier, Nepal. This region has experienced significant mass loss of -0.25 m/year from 2000-2010 (Gardelle et al, 2013). The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency has a side by side 1996 and 2007 satellite imagery that indicates the Menlung Glacier Lake developing in 1996 that still has remnant glacier ice in it, that is melted by 2007. Here we use Landsat imagery and Google Earth imagery to identify the changes from 1992-2014.

[knocker]

On thin ice: the farmers adapting to Peru's melting glacier

 

rip by drip the Pastoruri glacier is melting before the eyes of the decreasing number of tourists who visit it. Water runs down the ice wall which, if you listen closely, you can hear creak as it gradually disappears.

Peru is home to 70% of the world’s tropical glaciers, but 40% of their surface area has disappeared since the 1970s. The Pastoruri glacier has shrunk by half in the last 20 years, according to the glaciology unit of Peru’s National Water Authority (ANA).

 

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/apr/15/peru-glacier-melt-metals-farmers-adaptation-pastoruri

[knocker]

Langfjordjokulen, Norway Retreat-Thinning

 

Langfjordjokulen is in the Finnmark region of northern Norway. This is a plateau glacier with a valley glacier extending east toward Langfjordhamm. The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate has monitored the length change and mass balance of this glacier from 1989-2014. The mean mass balance has been significantly negative averaging -0.7 m/year, with every year being a net loss since 1997. This is no way to sustain a glacier or a business. Retreat of the glacier has averaged 27 m/year from 2000-2014. Here we examine Landsat imagery of the glacier from 1989-2014 to identify key changes.

[knocker]

Dzhikiugankez Glacier Poised to Melt Away, Mount Elbrus, Russia.

 

 

Dzhikiugankez Glacier (Frozen Lake) is a large glacier on the northeast side of Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in the Caucasus Range. The primary portion of the glacier indicated in the map of the region does not extend to the upper mountain, the adjoining glacier extending to the submit is the Kynchyr Syrt Glacier. The glacier is 5 km long extending from 4000 m to 3200 m. Shahgedanova et al (2014) examined changes in Mount Elbrus glaciers from 1999-2012 and found a 5% area loss in this short period and accelerated retreat from the 1987-2000 period. As examination of Landsat images indicates Dzhikiugankez Glacier has the lowest percent of overall snowcover, as seen in the satellite image from August 2013 with the transient snow line shown in purple. The amount of blue ice is apparent on Dzhikiugankez Glacier (D). The main changes in this glacier are not at the terminus, but along the lateral margins, indicating substantial vertical and lateral thinning. Here we examine Landsat imagery from 1985 to 2013 to identify changes. In each image the red arrow indicates bedrock on the western margin, the yellow arrow bedrock on the eastern margin, Point A an area of glacier ice extending to the upper eastern margin, the purple arrow a medial moraine exposed by retreat and the green arrow the 1985 terminus of the glacier.