Compiled Input Data and Glacier-Wide Mass Balances

This data release includes compiled input data and glacier-wide mass balance data collected on various North American glaciers under various projects and funding sources. Vocabulary used is defined herein and follows Cogley and others (2011) Glossary of Glacier Mass Balance. Input data are of three types: 1) time-variable area altitude distribution (AAD); 2) time series of point mass balance; 3) weather data from glacier-adjacent USGS operated weather stations and nearby long term weather stations operated by others (FAA, USDA) and retrieved from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Output data represent conventional glacier-wide estimates of surface mass balance which are bias corrected with geodetic calibration. Mass balances are calculated as mass divided by area and are reported in water equivalent depth (e.g., meter water equivalent, m w.e.). Whenever possible, site mass balances average multiple field measurements to account for local surface roughness and limit the influence of individual measurement errors. Additional data are available in the larger USGS Glacier Project Comprehensive Data Collection available at https://doi.org/10.5066/P9AGXQSR

The most recent year of mass balance estimates are preliminary because ablation after the date of the fall visit is modeled rather than measured. During subsequent field visits, ablation that occurred over the winter season (winter ablation) is measured and used to revise the previously modeled estimate of mass balance.