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Glacier changes in southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia and contribution to sea level rise
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
U. S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
The digital elevation model (DEM) from the 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was differenced from a composite DEM based on air photos dating from 1948 to 1987 to determine glacier volume changes in southeast Alaska and adjoining Canada. SRTM accuracy was assessed at ±5 m through comparison with airborne laser altimetry and control locations measured with GPS. Glacier surface elevations lowered over 95% of the 14,580 km2 glacier-covered area analyzed, with some glaciers thinning as much as 640 m. A combination of factors have contributed to this wastage, including calving retreats of tidewater and lacustrine glaciers and climate change. Many glaciers in this region are particularly sensitive to climate change, as they have large areas at low elevations. However, several tidewater glaciers that had historically undergone calving retreats are now expanding and appear to be in the advancing stage of the tidewater glacier cycle. The net average rate of ice loss is estimated at 16.7 ± 4.4 km3/yr, equivalent to a global sea level rise contribution of 0.04 ± 0.01 mm/yr.
Received 1 June 2006; accepted 21 September 2006; published 24 February 2007.
Citation: (2007), Glacier changes in southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia and contribution to sea level rise, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F01007, doi:10.1029/2006JF000586.
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