The USGS Benchmark Glacier Project measures changes in mass balance at five benchmark glaciers: Gulkana (AK), Wolverine (AK), Lemon Creek (AK), South Cascade (WA), and Sperry (MT).
Return to Glaciers and Climate Project
Benchmark Glaciers
The USGS Benchmark Glacier Project measures changes in mass balance at five benchmark glaciers: Gulkana (AK), Wolverine (AK), Lemon Creek (AK), South Cascade (WA), and Sperry (MT). The graphics below depict the mass balance over the period of record for each glacier. The Alaskan and Washington datasets constitute the longest continuous set of mass balance data in North America (O’Neel and others, 2019). With the inclusion of Sperry Glacier in 2013, these five research sites were unified into a single project with common field and analysis methodologies to enable comparison among the glaciers. 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.
Source: O'Neel, S., McNeil, C., Sass, L., Florentine, C., Baker, E., Peitzsch, E., McGrath, D., Fountain, A., and Fagre, D. (2019). Reanalysis of the US Geological Survey Benchmark Glaciers: Long-term insight into climate forcing of glacier mass balance. Journal of Glaciology, 65(253), 850-866. doi:10.1017/jog.2019.66
Glaciers and Climate Project
Additional Research Glaciers
Wolverine Glacier
Sperry Glacier
South Cascade Glacier
Lemon Creek Glacier
Gulkana Glacier
Mass Balance Methods - Measuring Glacier Change
- Overview
The USGS Benchmark Glacier Project measures changes in mass balance at five benchmark glaciers: Gulkana (AK), Wolverine (AK), Lemon Creek (AK), South Cascade (WA), and Sperry (MT).
Return to Glaciers and Climate Project
Benchmark Glaciers
The USGS Benchmark Glacier Project measures changes in mass balance at five benchmark glaciers: Gulkana (AK), Wolverine (AK), Lemon Creek (AK), South Cascade (WA), and Sperry (MT). The graphics below depict the mass balance over the period of record for each glacier. The Alaskan and Washington datasets constitute the longest continuous set of mass balance data in North America (O’Neel and others, 2019). With the inclusion of Sperry Glacier in 2013, these five research sites were unified into a single project with common field and analysis methodologies to enable comparison among the glaciers. 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.
Source: O'Neel, S., McNeil, C., Sass, L., Florentine, C., Baker, E., Peitzsch, E., McGrath, D., Fountain, A., and Fagre, D. (2019). Reanalysis of the US Geological Survey Benchmark Glaciers: Long-term insight into climate forcing of glacier mass balance. Journal of Glaciology, 65(253), 850-866. doi:10.1017/jog.2019.66
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Each year these glaciers go through a seasonal cycle, gaining mass in the winter and losing mass in the summer, which combine as the annual change in mass. The gray bars represent the winter accumulation, the black bars represent summer ablation, and the colored bars represent the annual mass balance, expressed in meters of water equivalent.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.The cumulative mass change at each glacier, expressed in meters of water equivalent. Note that each glacier is measured relative to the start of mass balance measurements at that site. Geodetic mass balances (black squares) from photogrammetrically derived digital elevation models are used to constrain the time series. - Science
Glaciers and Climate Project
Mountain glaciers are dynamic reservoirs of frozen water closely coupled to ecosystems and climate. Glacier change in North America has major socioeconomic impacts, including global sea level change, tourism disruption, natural hazard risk, fishery effects, and water resource alteration. Understanding and quantifying precise connections between glaciers and climate is critical to decision makers...Additional Research Glaciers
Black Rapids, Columbia and Hubbard glaciers are also researched by the USGS.Wolverine Glacier
Wolverine Glacier is located in the high-latitude maritime climate regime of Alaska’s Kenai Mountains. Glacier observations began at this site in 1966.Sperry Glacier
Sperry Glacier is located along the Continental Divide within Glacier National Park, Montana. It represents the midlatitude continental or transitional climate. Glacier observations began at this site in 2005.South Cascade Glacier
South Cascade Glacier is located in the midlatitude maritime climate of the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State. Glacier observations began at this site in 1958.Lemon Creek Glacier
Lemon Creek Glacier is located in the high-latitude maritime region of Alaska, at the southernmost tip of the Juneau Icefield. Glacier observations began at this site in 1953.Gulkana Glacier
Gulkana Glacier is located in the high-latitude continental climate regime of Alaska’s Delta Mountains. Glacier observations began at this site in 1966.Mass Balance Methods - Measuring Glacier Change
Nearly all Earth's alpine glaciers are losing ice, usually expressed as loss of mass. Rates of mass loss for North American glaciers are among the highest on Earth (Gardner, 2013) and shrinking glaciers are often the most visible indicators of mountain ecosystems responding to climate change.