Glacier-Derived August Runoff in Northwest Montana

Clark, Adam M.; Harper, Joel T.; Fagre, Daniel B.

doi:10.1657/aaar0014-033

Cited by 6 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…Glacier loss in GNP is occurring more rapidly than in other regions of the western United States over similar time periods; e.g., Sierra Nevada, CA, −55 percent from 1903-2004 (Basagic and Fountain 2011); and Wind River Range, WY, −47 percent from 1900-2006 (DeVisser and Fountain 2015). While Clark, Harper, and Fagre (2015) demonstrated that most glaciated basins in GNP do not currently contribute significantly to stream flow, our estimate of glacier area and volumetric loss over time suggests that they likely did in the past. The percent change in glacier area from LIA to 2005 ranged from little change at Gem Glacier (−6.75 percent) to −89.24 percent at Thunderbird Glacier (Table 4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…A longer record of the magnitude of glacier retreat helps scale the ongoing loss of ice, and provides important historical context for landscape managers. Such information is critical to understand potential past variations in hydrological dynamics across the region (Fountain and Tangborn 1985;Jansson, Hock, and Schneider 2003), and provides a contrast to current mountain water storage as ice (Fagre et al 1997;Brittain and Milner 2001;Clark, Harper, and Fagre 2015). Threatened and rare alpine species (e.g., Bull Trout, Salvelinus confluentus; Meltwater Stonefly, Lednia tumana; Ptarmigan, Lagopus muta) and local human communities have depended upon the mountains as the "water towers" of the Northern Rockies for millennia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Glacier recession since the Little Ice Age: Implications for water storage in a Rocky Mountain landscape

Martin-Mikle

Fagre

2019

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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Glaciers have significant influence on hydrology, vegetation, and wildlife in mountainous regions, and are receding globally. To quantify the impacts of sustained glacier loss, we mapped a complete set of glacier areas from the Little Ice Age (LIA) using very high-resolution satellite imagery (30 cm) within Glacier National Park (GNP), Montana, a region that encompasses 4098.81 km 2 in the northwestern United States. We measured glacier change across the park using LIA glacier area as a baseline and then estimated change in glacier area and volume over time. An estimated 146 glaciers existed within the current boundaries of GNP during the LIA. By 2005, only fifty-one (35 percent) persisted. Nearly 90 percent of LIA glaciers had lost more than 50 percent of their area by 2005. This decrease in glacier area equates to an estimated ice volume loss of 1.52 km 3 , or 1.37 km 3 of water storage, roughly equivalent to 90 percent of Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park. Understanding rates of deglaciation and implications for water storage and use can assist local resource managers and downstream communities in planning for change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glacier recession since the Little Ice Age: Implications for water storage in a Rocky Mountain landscape

Martin-Mikle

Fagre

2019

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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“…A. M. Clark et al: Sperry Glacier, Montana, USA, years 2005-2015 of five glaciers in GNP by 2030 with continued warming (Hall and Fagre, 2003). Another process-based model that specifically examines Sperry Glacier suggests the glacier may last until about 2080 given the current climate and glaciological conditions (Brown et al, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Another process-based model that specifically examines Sperry Glacier suggests the glacier may last until about 2080 given the current climate and glaciological conditions (Brown et al, 2010). The retreat of glaciers in GNP has had and will continue to have hydrologic and ecological effects in the region's mountain ecosystems and some degree of economic effect for its human communities (Clark et al, 2015). It is widely accepted that the regional retreat of glaciers has been driven by climate change (Roe et al, 2016), at least some of which is anthropogenic (IPCC, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Glaciological measurements and mass balances from Sperry Glacier, Montana, USA, years 2005–2015

Clark

Fagre

Peitzsch

et al. 2017

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

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Abstract. Glacier mass balance measurements help to provide an understanding of the behavior of glaciers and their response to local and regional climate. In 2005 the United States Geological Survey established a surface mass balance monitoring program on Sperry Glacier, Montana, USA. This project is the first quantitative study of mass changes of a glacier in the US northern Rocky Mountains and continues to the present. The following paper describes the methods used during the first 11 years of measurements and reports the associated results. From 2005 to 2015, Sperry Glacier had a cumulative mean mass balance loss of 4.37 m w.e. (water equivalent). The mean winter, summer, and annual glacier-wide mass balances were 2.92, −3.41, and −0.40 m w.e. yr−1 respectively. We derive these cumulative and mean results from an expansive data set of snow depth, snow density, and ablation measurements taken at selected points on the glacier. These data allow for the determination of mass balance point values and a time series of seasonal and annual glacier-wide mass balances for all 11 measurement years. We also provide measurements of glacier extent and accumulation areas for select years. All data have been submitted to the World Glacier Monitoring Service and are available at doi:10.5904/wgms-fog-2016-08. This foundational work provides valuable insight about Sperry Glacier and supplies additional data to the worldwide record of glaciers measured using the glaciological method. Future research will focus on the processes that control accumulation and ablation patterns across the glacier. Also we plan to examine the uncertainties related to our methods and eventually quantify a more robust estimate of error associated with our results.

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Groundwater in catchments headed by temperate glaciers: A review

Vincent

Violette²,

Ađalgeirsdóttir

2019

Earth-Science Reviews

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Catchments headed by temperate glaciers are severely impacted by climate change, and extensively studied from glaciological and surface hydrology perspectives. However groundwater in the same catchments is much more seldom mentioned, and even less studied.The few available studies found in the scientific literature tend to show a particularly high recharge of aquifers by glacial meltwater, a strong connection between surface and ground waters, and quite high hydraulic permeability in moraines and tills aquifers. New and more systematic studies could confirm and details these results. Such characteristics suggest that groundwater in coastal catchments headed by temperate glaciers could feed offshore fresh groundwater stocks. The role of potential deeper aquifers in fractured bedrock remains completely unknown.The numerous examples of natural hazards and of the sensitivity of water resources to the water cycle in catchments headed by temperate glaciers underline the importance of the study of hydrogeology, and of socioeconomic aspects, in these catchments where population is glacier-dependant.The study of groundwater in catchments headed by temperate glaciers is just at the start and there is much to be studied.

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Glacier-Derived August Runoff in Northwest Montana

Cited by 6 publications

References 40 publications

Glacier recession since the Little Ice Age: Implications for water storage in a Rocky Mountain landscape

Glacier recession since the Little Ice Age: Implications for water storage in a Rocky Mountain landscape

Glaciological measurements and mass balances from Sperry Glacier, Montana, USA, years 2005–2015

Groundwater in catchments headed by temperate glaciers: A review

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