glacier measurements and the wind

I spent this past week conducting glacier mass balance measurements. This is a formal was of saying that I measured the height of bamboo stakes (in mm) that are positioned on surface of the glaciers. I also dig snow pits to determine the loss or gain of snow on the glaciers. Joining me were Liz Bagshaw (Bristol, UK) and Dylan Taylor, our field mountaineer. The weather had been cold (-20 C) and cloudy leading up to our measurements. The day Liz and Dylan joined me the sky cleared. We have had 7 days of clear blue sky. Check out Dylan's blog to hear more about our week (click here).

The temperatures have also improved (-12 C) but the winds have been strong. A katabatic wind blew down valley for 12 hours, gusting up to 42 knots. Today the up-valley (coastal) winds have been arguing with the down-valley (polar plateau) winds. The flags around camp and on the glaciers appear to be the referees. We people seem to get caught in the middle.

I made the best of the first katabatic wind storm by grabbing the kite Rhonda gave me for graduation. I have named the kite Schmitz. After bundling myself up, I headed out to Lake Hoare. Schmitz took to the air at once. I haven’t had consistent strong winds this good since the first time Rhonda and I took the kite out to Hood River. I flew for about 20 minutes before I decided that the sound generated from the kite might be keeping people awake in their tents. Looking forward to the next flight.

White River Glacier Station 983

The deep canyon below White River Glacier is the product of fire and ice. Volcanic eruptions, bulldozing glaciers, and lahars have created a raw and dynamic landscape on the southeast slope of Mount Hood. How fast is the landscape changing? Glacial moraines, often used to indicate past glacial extents, are heavily eroded or completely absent. Repeat historical photographs offer a view to how the canyon and the glacier has changed over the past 120 years. Harry F. Reid took two photographs from either side of the White River Glacier in 1901. These photos have the potential to assist with mapping the historical glacier perimeter but finding the location of the eastern photograph, frame 983, had vexed me during two previous visits. The photograph features the glacier terminus as viewed from the east with the top of the mountain obscured by clouds. In the foreground are two tree stumps, likely remnants of the ghost forest that formed by the Old Maid eruption in the late-1700s. The ty...

Glacier Rephotos from Mount Rainier

I posted a new batch of glacier repeat photos from Mount Rainier . Mount Rainier was quite an undertaking as it’s glaciers have been studied for a long time and there were many established photo stations. Last September I traveled to the mountain as part of the Glacier Rephoto Database Project to document the photo stations and acquire new repeat photographs to record the changes. Last year was focused on the Glacier-clad Volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest. Nisqually Glacier, Station 5 Mount Rainier is a big mountain compared to the other volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest and equally big is the quantity of ice. The grandeur of the mountain and expanse of ice has attracted numerous glacier studies over the past century including a number of repeat photography projects. Perhaps the most studied is the Nisqually Glacier. The glacier has undergone many changes over the past century. The three comparison photos from Station 5 illustrate the glacier a...

Rephotos of Mount Shasta Glaciers

I visited Mount Shasta on September 7, 2012 to reoccupy glacier photo stations established by Phil Rhodes in 1974. Phil is an expert on Mount Shasta’s glaciers and photographed the glaciers for several decades. I was fortunate to meet up with Phil for the first day of photographic surveys on Hotlum Glacier. Phil was invaluable in describing routes to stations and sharing his observations. I visited 10 of his stations at Hotlum, Bolam, Whitney, and Wintun glaciers over several days to record the station locations and rephotograph the scenes. Bolam Glacier: 1977 to 2012 The photo comparisons reveal the complex changes that have been occurring on Mount Shasta since the 1970s. Bolam Glacier receded, the Lower Wintun Glacier advanced, while others appear fairly stable. Past research has shown Whitney Glacier advancing since the 1950s through the early 2000s. The surface of Whitney Glacier appears to have lowered over the past 30 years from a photo station at 10,000 ft eleva...

basagix field notes

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