The Response of Taku and Lemon Creek Glaciers to Climate

Criscitiello, Alison S.; Kelly, M. A.; Tremblay, Bruno

doi:10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.34

Cited by 16 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The disproportionately high mass loss from marineterminating glaciers is in stark contrast with mass loss from the adjacent Juneau Icefield to the north (e.g., Melkonian et al, 2014) where the flux from marine-terminating glaciers is essentially zero. This is in part because the only "marine-terminating" glacier on the Juneau Icefield, Taku, has developed a terminal moraine through excavation of proglacial sediments that prevents it from calving (e.g., Criscitiello et al, 2010). The lack of calving and high AAR (Accumulation Area Ratio-the fraction of the glacier that is in the accumulation zone) of Taku Glacier both contribute to mass gain and advance there (e.g., Larsen et al, 2007;Pelto et al, 2008;Truffer et al, 2009;Criscitiello et al, 2010;Melkonian et al, 2014;Larsen et al, 2015).…”

Section: Thinning At Marine Vs Land-terminating Glaciersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is in part because the only "marine-terminating" glacier on the Juneau Icefield, Taku, has developed a terminal moraine through excavation of proglacial sediments that prevents it from calving (e.g., Criscitiello et al, 2010). The lack of calving and high AAR (Accumulation Area Ratio-the fraction of the glacier that is in the accumulation zone) of Taku Glacier both contribute to mass gain and advance there (e.g., Larsen et al, 2007;Pelto et al, 2008;Truffer et al, 2009;Criscitiello et al, 2010;Melkonian et al, 2014;Larsen et al, 2015). Thus, Taku is another example of a marine-terminating glacier that has a disproportionately large effect on the total mass balance an icefield, just like the four large outlet glaciers at Stikine.…”

Section: Thinning At Marine Vs Land-terminating Glaciersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stikine Icefield Mass Loss between 2000 and 2013/2014

Melkonian¹,

Willis

Pritchard

2016

Front. Earth Sci.

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We calculate thinning rates ( dh ) at the 5800 km 2 Stikine Icefield of southeast dt Alaska from stacked digital elevation models (DEMs) acquired between 2000 and 2013/2014, and glacier velocities between 1985 and 2014 from feature tracking on optical image pairs. We find a mass change rate of −3.3 ± 1.1 Gt yr −1 between 2000 and 2014, equivalent to an area-averaged elevation change rate of −0.57 ± 0.18 m w.e. yr −1 . In 2014, land-terminating glaciers are 50% of the Stikine Icefield's glaciated area and contribute −0.9 ± 0.4 Gt yr −1 of mass change (27% of the total), while marine-terminating glaciers are only 30% of the total glaciated area, but contribute 1.5−1 − ± 0.3 Gt yr (or 45% of total mass change, with the remaining mass loss from lacustrine-terminating glaciers). We estimate the frontal ablation flux between 2000 and 2014 at the four largest marine-terminating glaciers on the Stikine Icefield (covering 90-95% of the marine-terminating glaciated area) using our glacier velocities and maps of fjord bathymetry to estimate terminus cross sections and glacier thicknesses. The combined 2014 frontal ablation flux of these four glaciers is 1.18 ± 0.14 Gt yr −1 , which may account for the difference in average mass loss between marine-and land-terminating glaciers on the Stikine Icefield. The Stikine and adjacent Juneau Icefields have very different mass loss contributions from marine-terminating glaciers (45% vs. effectively 0%), but both have area-averaged elevation change rates that are less negative than Alaska-wide estimates, which is surprising for these southernmost icefields in Alaska.

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Section: Thinning At Marine Vs Land-terminating Glaciersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thinning At Marine Vs Land-terminating Glaciersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stikine Icefield Mass Loss between 2000 and 2013/2014

Melkonian¹,

Willis

Pritchard

2016

Front. Earth Sci.

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“…Taku Glacier is noteworthy for its positive annual mass balance from 1946-1988, which resulted from the cessation of calving around 1950 (Pelto and Miller, 1990). The positive mass balance resulting from this dynamic change with calving cessation gives the glacier an unusually high AAR (accumulation area ratio: percentage of glacier in accumulation zone at end of hydrologic year) for a non-calving glacier and makes the glacier relatively insensitive to climate change (Miller and Pelto, 1999;Pelto et al, 2008;Criscitiello, et al, 2010).…”

Section: Taku Glaciermentioning

confidence: 99%

Juneau Icefield Mass Balance Program 1946–2011

Pelto

Kavanaugh

McNeil

2013

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

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“…The positive mass balance resulting from this dynamic change gives the glacier an unusually high AAR (accumulation area ratio: percentage of glacier in accumulation zone at end of hydrologic year) for a non-calving glacier and makes the glacier relatively insensitive to climate change (Miller and Pelto, 1990;Pelto et al, 2008;Criscitiello, et al, 2010). The positive mass balance is continuing to drive its advance (Pelto and Miller, 1990;Post and Motyka, 1995;Pelto et al, 2008), while all other outlet glaciers of the Juneau Icefield are retreating, and during a period when alpine glacier mass balance globally has been dominantly negative (Zemp et al, 2009).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Utility of late summer transient snowline migration rate on Taku Glacier, Alaska

Pelto

2011

The Cryosphere

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Abstract. On Taku Glacier, Alaska a combination of field observations of snow water equivalent (SWE) from snowpits and probing in the vicinity of the transient snowline (TSL) are used to quantify the mass balance gradient. The balance gradient derived from the TSL and SWE measured in snowpits at 1000 m from 1998-2010 ranges from 2.6-3.8 mm m −1 . Probing transects from 950 m-1100 m directly measure SWE and yield a slightly higher balance gradient of 3.3-3.8 mm m −1 . The TSL on Taku Glacier is identified in MODIS and Landsat 4 and 7 Thematic Mapper images for 31 dates during the 2004-2010 period to assess the consistency of its rate of rise and reliability in assessing ablation for mass balance assessment. For example, in 2010, the TSL was 750 m on 28 July, 800 m on 5 August, 875 m on 14 August, 925 m on 30 August, and 975 m on 20 September. The mean observed probing balance gradient was 3.3 mm m −1 , combined with the TSL rise of 3.7 m day −1 yields an ablation rate of 12.2 mm day −1 from mid-July to mid-Sept, 2010. The TSL rise in the region from 750-1100 m on Taku Glacier during eleven periods each covering more than 14 days during the ablation season indicates a mean TSL rise of 3.7 m day −1 , the rate of rise is relatively consistent ranging from 3.1 to 4.4 m day −1 . This rate is useful for ascertaining the final ELA if images or observations are not available near the end of the ablation season. The mean ablation from 750-1100 m during the July-September period determined from the TSL rise and the observed balance gradient is 11-13 mm day −1 on Taku Glacier during the 2004-2010 period. The potential for providing an estimate of b n from TSL observations late in the melt season from satellite images combined with the frequent availability of such images provides a means for efficient mass balance assessment in many years and on many glaciers.

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The Response of Taku and Lemon Creek Glaciers to Climate

Cited by 16 publications

References 42 publications

Stikine Icefield Mass Loss between 2000 and 2013/2014

Stikine Icefield Mass Loss between 2000 and 2013/2014

Juneau Icefield Mass Balance Program 1946–2011

Utility of late summer transient snowline migration rate on Taku Glacier, Alaska

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