Glacier Monitoring

A tidewater glacier with small icebergs
A tidewater glacier terminates in a fjord.

Glaciers and glacier systems are dominant and dynamic physical features in mountain parks and are a driver of landform and ecosystem change. Glaciers are inextricably tied to climate and the hydrological cycle, providing significant hydrologic base flow to major rivers. Because land-terminating glacier systems (mountain glaciers) are regulated primarily by climate fluctuations, they provide a reliable record of long-term climate change that has already occurred. Ocean-terminating glaciers (tidewater glaciers) have more complicated dynamics influenced strongly by their interaction with the ocean.

There are multiple ways we measure and monitor glaciers. Mass balance is the net change in a glacier's mass over a balance year or fixed year. If accumulation exceeds ablation for a given year, the mass balance is positive, loss of snow and ice exceeds gains, the mass balance is negative.

Terminus mapping uses aerial and satellite imagery every decade or so to measure the extent of a glacier on the landscape. In addition, repeated measurements may be taken to measure changes in surface elevation.

Check out this video about glacier status and trends in Alaska.

Glacier Monitoring Multimedia

Glacier Monitoring

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    Last updated: December 19, 2023