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Scientists with the USGS Benchmark Glacier Project study the process and impacts of glacier change, including sea-level rise, water resources, environmental hazards and ecosystem links. At the core of this research are mass balance measurements at five glaciers in the United States. Since the 1960s, these glaciers have been studied using direct observations of glaciers and meteorology. The project also integrates remotely sensed data to enhance our understanding of how glaciers respond to changes in climate.
Our Research: Our group studies mass change at five glaciers (Gulkana, Lemon Creek, South Cascade, Sperry, Wolverine) in North America using field and remote sensing techniques. To do so, we measure snow accumulation and snow and ice melt at specific locations on the glaciers, then extrapolate those point observations across the entire glacier surface. We also measure air temperature and precipitation at each site to connect glacier and climate change.
Why this Research is Important: When paired with weather, streamflow and geochemical data, this research helps managers prepare for local, regional, and global impacts of glacier change. With a firm foundation of long-term records, the USGS Glaciology Project continues to broaden its value and impact by using new technologies and expertise.
Objective(s): This project aims to advance the quantitative understanding of glacier-climate interactions from local to regional scales. The current focus is on merging the long-term field records with newer, richer remote sensing data. The team is also working to ensure consistency and comparability between records as well as evaluating methodological sensitivities.
Methods: Glacier mass balance, climate, streamflow, and geochemical data are being collected from five U.S. glaciers. Additionally, remote sensing data from satellites is being used to study and monitor the changes the glaciers have undergone in the past sixty years.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Unusually loud ambient noise in tidewater glacier fjords: a signal of ice melt
Glacier-derived August runoff in northwest Montana
Storage and release of organic carbon from glaciers and ice sheets
Oceanic and atmospheric forcing of Larsen C Ice-Shelf thinning
Climate change and the Rocky Mountains
Assessing streamflow sensitivity to variations in glacier mass balance
Analysis of a GRACE global mascon solution for Gulf of Alaska glaciers
Surface Mass Balance of the Columbia Glacier, Alaska, 1978 and 2010 Balance Years
A complex relationship between calving glaciers and climate
Re-analysis of Alaskan benchmark glacier mass-balance data using the index method
Fifty-year record of glacier change reveals shifting climate in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, USA
Comparison of geodetic and glaciological mass-balance techniques, Gulkana Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A
Below are news stories associated with this project.
- Overview
Scientists with the USGS Benchmark Glacier Project study the process and impacts of glacier change, including sea-level rise, water resources, environmental hazards and ecosystem links. At the core of this research are mass balance measurements at five glaciers in the United States. Since the 1960s, these glaciers have been studied using direct observations of glaciers and meteorology. The project also integrates remotely sensed data to enhance our understanding of how glaciers respond to changes in climate.
Our Research: Our group studies mass change at five glaciers (Gulkana, Lemon Creek, South Cascade, Sperry, Wolverine) in North America using field and remote sensing techniques. To do so, we measure snow accumulation and snow and ice melt at specific locations on the glaciers, then extrapolate those point observations across the entire glacier surface. We also measure air temperature and precipitation at each site to connect glacier and climate change.
Why this Research is Important: When paired with weather, streamflow and geochemical data, this research helps managers prepare for local, regional, and global impacts of glacier change. With a firm foundation of long-term records, the USGS Glaciology Project continues to broaden its value and impact by using new technologies and expertise.
Objective(s): This project aims to advance the quantitative understanding of glacier-climate interactions from local to regional scales. The current focus is on merging the long-term field records with newer, richer remote sensing data. The team is also working to ensure consistency and comparability between records as well as evaluating methodological sensitivities.
Methods: Glacier mass balance, climate, streamflow, and geochemical data are being collected from five U.S. glaciers. Additionally, remote sensing data from satellites is being used to study and monitor the changes the glaciers have undergone in the past sixty years.
- Science
- Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 38Unusually loud ambient noise in tidewater glacier fjords: a signal of ice melt
In glacierized fjords, the ice-ocean boundary is a physically and biologically dynamic environment that is sensitive to both glacier flow and ocean circulation. Ocean ambient noise offers insight into processes and change at the ice-ocean boundary. Here we characterize fjord ambient noise and show that the average noise levels are louder than nearly all measured natural oceanic environments (signiAuthorsErin C. Pettit, Kevin M. Lee, Joel P. Brann, Jeffrey A. Nystuen, Preston S. Wilson, Shad O'NeelGlacier-derived August runoff in northwest Montana
The second largest concentration of glaciers in the U.S. Rocky Mountains is located in Glacier National Park (GNP), Montana. The total glacier-covered area in this region decreased by ∼35% over the past 50 years, which has raised substantial concern about the loss of the water derived from glaciers during the summer. We used an innovative weather station design to collect in situ measurements on fAuthorsAdam Clark, Joel T. Harper, Daniel B. FagreStorage and release of organic carbon from glaciers and ice sheets
Polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers, which cover roughly 11% of the Earth's land surface, store organic carbon from local and distant sources and then release it to downstream environments. Climate-driven changes to glacier runoff are expected to be larger than climate impacts on other components of the hydrological cycle, and may represent an important flux of organic carbon. A compilation ofAuthorsEran Hood, Tom J. Battin, Jason Fellman, Shad O'Neel, Robert G. M. SpencerOceanic and atmospheric forcing of Larsen C Ice-Shelf thinning
The catastrophic collapses of Larsen A and B ice shelves on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula have caused their tributary glaciers to accelerate, contributing to sea-level rise and freshening the Antarctic Bottom Water formed nearby. The surface of Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS), the largest ice shelf on the peninsula, is lowering. This could be caused by unbalanced ocean melting (ice loss) or enhanced fAuthorsP. R. Holland, A. Brisbourne, H. F. J. Corr, Daniel Mcgrath, K. Purdon, J. Paden, H. A. Fricker, F. S. Paolo, A.H. FlemingClimate change and the Rocky Mountains
Rural landscapes in the Andes are characterized by an impressive diversity of natural environments and by multiple resource assets. This is particularly the case in the tropical realm where the ecological altitudinal zones of the tierra caliente, the tierra templada, the tierra fria and the tierra heladaoffer a remarkable range of agricultural potential. This is complemented by a multitude of topoAuthorsJames M. Byrne, Daniel B. Fagre, Ryan MacDonaldAssessing streamflow sensitivity to variations in glacier mass balance
The mountains ringing the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) receive upwards of 4–8 m yr−1 of precipitation (Simpson et al.2005; Weingartner et al. 2005; O’Neel 2012), much of which runs off into productive coastal waters. The alpine landscape is heavily glacierized, and storage and turnover of water by glaciers substantially influences the regional surface water balance (Neal et al. 2010). In turn, the land-toAuthorsShad O'Neel, Eran Hood, Anthony Arendt, Louis C. SassAnalysis of a GRACE global mascon solution for Gulf of Alaska glaciers
We present a high-resolution Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mascon solution for Gulf of Alaska (GOA) glaciers and compare this with in situ glaciological, climate and other remote-sensing observations. Our GRACE solution yields a GOA glacier mass balance of –65 ± 11 Gt a–1 for the period December 2003 to December 2010, with summer balances driving the interannual variability. BetwAuthorsAnthony Arendt, Scott Luthcke, Alex Gardner, Shad O'Neel, David Hill, Geir Moholdt, Waleed AbdalatiSurface Mass Balance of the Columbia Glacier, Alaska, 1978 and 2010 Balance Years
Although Columbia Glacier is one of the largest sources of glacier mass loss in Alaska, surface mass balance measurements are sparse, with only a single data set available from 1978. The dearth of surface mass-balance data prohibits partitioning of the total mass losses between dynamics and surface forcing; however, the accurate inclusion of calving glaciers into predictive models requires both dyAuthorsShad O'NeelA complex relationship between calving glaciers and climate
Many terrestrial glaciers are sensitive indicators of past and present climate change as atmospheric temperature and snowfall modulate glacier volume. However, climate interpretations based on glacier behavior require careful selection of representative glaciers, as was recently pointed out for surging and debris-covered glaciers, whose behavior often defies regional glacier response to climate [YAuthorsA. Post, Shad O'Neel, R.J. Motyka, G. StrevelerRe-analysis of Alaskan benchmark glacier mass-balance data using the index method
At Gulkana and Wolverine Glaciers, designated the Alaskan benchmark glaciers, we re-analyzed and re-computed the mass balance time series from 1966 to 2009 to accomplish our goal of making more robust time series. Each glacier's data record was analyzed with the same methods. For surface processes, we estimated missing information with an improved degree-day model. Degree-day models predict ablatiAuthorsAshely E. Van Beusekom, Shad R. O'Nell, Rod S. March, Louis C. Sass, Leif H. CoxFifty-year record of glacier change reveals shifting climate in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, USA
Fifty years of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research on glacier change shows recent dramatic shrinkage of glaciers in three climatic regions of the United States. These long periods of record provide clues to the climate shifts that may be driving glacier change. The USGS Benchmark Glacier Program began in 1957 as a result of research efforts during the International Geophysical Year (Meier aAuthorsComparison of geodetic and glaciological mass-balance techniques, Gulkana Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A
The net mass balance on Gulkana Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., has been measured since 1966 by the glaciological method, in which seasonal balances are measured at three index sites and extrapolated over large areas of the glacier. Systematic errors can accumulate linearly with time in this method. Therefore, the geodetic balance, in which errors are less time-dependent, was calculated for comparison wiAuthorsL.H. Cox, R.S. March - Web Tools
- News
Below are news stories associated with this project.