NPS Photo
Kenai Fjords Visitor Center

Climate Clues in the Ice

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A warming climate is bringing dramatic change to Kenai Fjords. Snowfall is increasingly becoming rainfall. The Harding Icefield is thinning and losing elevation. Glaciers are melting, many receding at unprecedented rates. Habitats are shifting location. As fossil fuels continue to trap heat in our atmosphere, what other effects will we see? How will our experience of the park change? Park scientists are studying the ice to find out.

A park staff member stands with equipment at the edge of a glacier entering data on a laptop computer.

(NPS Photo)


Exit Glacier terminus and outwash plain are nestled in the surrounding hilly topography. A sign marked with the year 2005 marks the location of the glacier's terminus in 2005.

Photo was taken in 2016. (NPS Photo)


Bear Glacier

Slide to see how Bear Glacier’s terminus, or end point, has receded over the planet’s recent warming trend. (U.S. Geological Survey)

1989

2001

2013

2016

Grab and slide the handle above.


Tracking Tools

Park scientists monitor the impacts of climate change. Exit Glacier’s terminus is mapped each fall. Scientists measure annual winter snow accumulation on the ice field, comparing it with how much melts each spring. Time-lapse photography documents short-term change in the park, while comparisons of past and present photographs reveal long-term change. These tools uncover trends in ice and vegetation coverage, helping us understand the local effects of a warming climate and how to protect the park in the future.


What is a glacier’s mass balance and why is it important? Travel to the top of the Harding Icefield to find out.


Discover how glacier mapping and time-lapse photography helps us understand changes at Exit Glacier.