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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Brief Communication: Recent Estimates Of Glacier Mass Loss For Western North America From Laser Altimetry, Brian Menounos, Caitlyn Forentine, Alex A. Gardner, Andrew G. Fountain
Brief Communication: Recent Estimates Of Glacier Mass Loss For Western North America From Laser Altimetry, Brian Menounos, Caitlyn Forentine, Alex A. Gardner, Andrew G. Fountain
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Glaciers in western North American outside of Alaska are often overlooked in global studies because their potential to contribute to changes in sea level is small. Nonetheless, these glaciers represent important sources of freshwater, especially during times of drought. Differencing recent ICESat-2 data from a digital elevation model derived from a combination of synthetic aperture radar data (TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X), we find that over the period 2013–2020, glaciers in western North America lost mass at a rate of 12:3+3:5 Gt yr-1. This rate is comparable to the rate of mass loss (11:71:0 Gt yr1) for the period 2018– 2022 calculated …
Glacialwater: A Dynamic Microbial Medium, Gilda Varliero, Pedro H. Lebre, Andrew G. Fountain, Beat Frey, Alexandre M. Anesio, Don A. Cowan
Glacialwater: A Dynamic Microbial Medium, Gilda Varliero, Pedro H. Lebre, Andrew G. Fountain, Beat Frey, Alexandre M. Anesio, Don A. Cowan
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Microbial communities and nutrient dynamics in glaciers and ice sheets continuously change as the hydrological conditions within and on the ice change. Glaciers and ice sheets can be considered bioreactors as microbiomes transform nutrients that enter these icy systems and alter the meltwater chemistry. Global warming is increasing meltwater discharge, affecting nutrient and cell export, and altering proglacial systems. In this review, we integrate the current understanding of glacial hydrology, microbial activity, and nutrient and carbon dynamics to highlight their interdependence and variability on daily and seasonal time scales, as well as their impact on proglacial environments.
Glacier Recession And The Response Of Summer Streamflow In The Pacific Northwest United States, 1960–2099, Chris Frans, Erkan Istanbulluoglu, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Andrew G. Fountain, Jon L. Riedel
Glacier Recession And The Response Of Summer Streamflow In The Pacific Northwest United States, 1960–2099, Chris Frans, Erkan Istanbulluoglu, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Andrew G. Fountain, Jon L. Riedel
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
The Pacific Northwest is the most highly glacierized region in the conterminous United States (858 glaciers; 466 km2). These glaciers have displayed ubiquitous patterns of retreat since the 1980s mostly in response to warming air temperatures. Glacier melt provides water for downstream uses including agricultural water supply, hydroelectric power generation, and for ecological systems adapted to cold reliable streamflow. While changes in glacier area have been studied within the region over an extended period of time, the hydrologic consequences of these changes are not well defined. We applied a high‐resolution glacio‐hydrological model to predict glacier mass balance, glacier area, and …
The Geography Of Glaciers And Perennial Snowfields In The American West, Andrew G. Fountain, Bryce Glenn, Hassan J. Basagic
The Geography Of Glaciers And Perennial Snowfields In The American West, Andrew G. Fountain, Bryce Glenn, Hassan J. Basagic
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
A comprehensive mid-20th century inventory of glaciers and perennial snowfields (G&PS) was compiled for the American West, west of the 100° meridian. The inventory was derived from U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000 topographic maps based on aerial photographs acquired during 35 years, 1955–1990, of which the first 20 years or more was a cool period with little glacier change. The mapped features were filtered for those greater than 0.01 km2. Results show that 5036 G&PS (672 km2, 14 km3) populate eight states, of which about 1276 (554 km2, 12 km3) are glaciers. …
Glacier Status And Contribution To Streamflow In The Olympic Mountains, Usa, Jon L. Riedel, Steve Wilson, William Baccus, Michael Larrabee, T.J. Fudge, Andrew G. Fountain
Glacier Status And Contribution To Streamflow In The Olympic Mountains, Usa, Jon L. Riedel, Steve Wilson, William Baccus, Michael Larrabee, T.J. Fudge, Andrew G. Fountain
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
The Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA, currently holds 184 alpine glaciers larger than 0.01 km² and their combined area is 30.2 ± 0.95km². Only four glaciers are >1km² and 120 of the others are -¹ (1900–80) to 0.54 km² a-¹ (1980–2009). Thinning rates on four of the largest glaciers averaged nearly 1ma-¹ from 1987 to 2010, resulting in estimated volume losses of 17–24%. Combined glacial snow, firn and ice melt in the Hoh watershed is in the range 63–79 ± 7 × 106m3, or 9–15% of total May–September streamflow. In the critical August–September …
A Data Set Of Worldwide Glacier Length Fluctuations, Paul W. Leclercq, Johannes Oerlemans, Hassan J. Basagic, Christina Bushueva, A. J. Cook, Raymond Le Bris
A Data Set Of Worldwide Glacier Length Fluctuations, Paul W. Leclercq, Johannes Oerlemans, Hassan J. Basagic, Christina Bushueva, A. J. Cook, Raymond Le Bris
Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Glacier fluctuations contribute to variations in sea level and historical glacier length fluctuations are natural indicators of past climate change. To study these subjects, longterm information of glacier change is needed. In this paper we present a data set of global long-term glacier length fluctuations. The data set is a compilation of available information on changes in glacier length worldwide, including both measured and reconstructed glacier length fluctuations. All 471 length series start before 1950 and cover at least four decades. The longest record starts in 1535, but the majority of time series start after 1850. The number of available …