Climate Change

Sexton Glacier from bench below Siyeh Pass, Glacier National Park.

Piegan Glacier is one of the few glaciers in Glacier National Park that has not significantly changed since photographed in the 1930s.

Although the 2009 photo location does not exactly match the historic photo station, a comparison of relative glacial coverage can still be made. Logan Glacier is in the foreground, while Red Eagle Glacier sits beneath the pyramidal peak that bears the same name. It appears that these two glaciers were joined at the time the historic photo was taken, but recessed into their own basins as time...

At the time this historic photograph was taken in 1911, Blackfoot Glacier encompassed the current Jackson Glacier. By 1939, Blackfoot Glacier's recession had resulted in two distinct glaciers, Jackson and Blackfoot. This photo pair shows glacial recession and successive vegetation growth along Jackson Glacier's terminus.

Iceberg Glacier in Glacier National Park.

While difficult to quantify, this photo pair of Harrison Glacier exemplifies the loss of glacier volume. Comparison of the ice profile in the foreground of the photos shows a marked thinning of the glacier over the years,. Colorful layers of sedimentary bedrock are being exposed as the glacier recedes from the cliff bands.

As Grinnell Glacier retreats, vegetation establishes itself in the newly exposed surfaces. The increase in vegetation along the moraine (center) in this pair is especially obvious.

Upon close inspection of this photo pair, the viewer can appreciate the change in the volume of glacial ice that has melted from Grinnell Glacier. In the 2010 image, the glacier's terminus can be seen along the edge of Upper Grinnell Lake, a feature that did not exist in 1936.

This large boulder was used by Morton Elrod and other scientists as a baseline to measure the retreat of Grinnell Glacier’s terminus. It is now referred to as “Elrod’s Rock,” and the glacier’s terminus is no longer visible from this point.

This large boulder was used by Morton Elrod and other scientists as a baseline to measure the retreat of Grinnell Glacier’s terminus. It is now referred to as “Elrod’s Rock,” and the glacier’s terminus is no longer visible from this point.

This pair of photographs from Grinnell Glacier’s southeast edge shows the dramatic change in the glacier’s volume and area. Note the glacier’s depth along the headwall and its extent at the terminal moraine in the historic photograph.

North moraine of Grinnell Glacier. In 1924 the glacier’s ice margin was still in proximity to its lateral moraine .