Alaskan Glacier Retreated 40 Miles By 1896

17 Responses to Alaskan Glacier Retreated 40 Miles By 1896

1. rah says:

   January 4, 2019 at 6:03 pm

   Meanwhile the glacier at Mt. St. Helens that was born after the 1980 eruption has grown. It is the youngest glacier in the US.

   Reply
2. Aaron Walker says:

   January 4, 2019 at 6:40 pm

   An algorithm has adjusted the date to 1996.

   Reply
3. Steven Fraser says:

   January 4, 2019 at 8:23 pm

   On a cruise from Alaska to Vancouver 2 years ago, we visited Glacier bay for the first time since the late ’90s. On that particular day, the members of the Huna Tlingit were returning to the upper bay by canoe in a ceremonial procession, returning to historic lands. Quite a sight.

   At one of the Glacier Bay National Park displays, I had a chance to look at a brochure about the history of the bay and its inhabitants. It described how the Tlingit occupied (in the late 1600s) the flatland area at what is now the entrance to the bay. By approximately 1750, the Glacier had advanced and carved out the flatland to the Pacific, and extended out nearly to a nearby island.

   By the time French Explorer Georges Vancouver visited the area in 1795, the glacier had already receded 5 miles into what was now the bay.

   In 1880, John Muir visited the Glaciers of the bay, and found that the ice front had receded 40 additional miles up the bay. Since then, the process of glacier retreat has continued.

   When we visited in the late ’90s, the Grand Pacific and Margerie glaciers were joined at the northern end of the Bay, forming a wall of ice which looked to be 5 miles wide and 200 feet above the water line. On the recent visit, both had retreated, and had separated, as the Grand Pacific no longer reached the tidewater. The Margerie still did, and its terminus is shown in the attached picture. If you look closely at the right hand end of it, you can see the current position of the Grand Pacific Glacier, semi-hidden within the gravel and dirt it has brought down from the valleys above.

   For more info, see the National Park Service article at

   https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/nature/glacier-bay-s-glacial-history.htm

   And comparative pictures (1880/present) at

   https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/nature/time-lapse-sliders.htm

   Reply
   • Steven Fraser says:

     January 4, 2019 at 8:25 pm

     Sorry that posted upside-down. I have no idea why.

     Reply
     • spike55 says:

       January 4, 2019 at 9:17 pm

       Its ok for me ;-)

       Reply
       • Steven Fraser says:

         January 5, 2019 at 12:03 am

         Seems to have fixed itself. It looks OK to me, too.

         Did you like the pic?

         Reply
         • John Gorter says:

           January 5, 2019 at 2:17 am

           Its still upside down for me, but then I am in Australia……
         • R2Dtoo says:

           January 5, 2019 at 4:51 am

           Me too- I was standing on my head when I clicked on it!
         • Colorado Wellington says:

           January 5, 2019 at 5:28 am

           It looks fine to me whichever way I look.
     • Stewart Pid says:

       January 4, 2019 at 10:50 pm

       Climate change is turning the world upside down (Guam even tipped over)

       Reply
   • Stewart Pid says:

     January 4, 2019 at 10:49 pm

     Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British officer of the Royal Navy, best known for his 1791–95 expedition, which explored and charted North America’s northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary British Columbia, Canada and Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, United States. He also explored the Hawaiian Islands and the southwest coast of Australia.

     A Brit not French.

     Reply
     • Steven Fraser says:

       January 5, 2019 at 12:01 am

       I am humbled by your erudition. Thanks for the correction.

       Reply
4. Mr Sir says:

   January 5, 2019 at 7:27 am

   A study showed that Antarctic Ice fell to a January low since satellite data began.

   But yeah, the ice caps aren’t melting. /s

   Reply
   • spike55 says:

     January 5, 2019 at 8:45 am

     40 years of records.. SO WHAT !!!

     Antarctic has been cooling for most of the last 2000 years.

     Looks like it was at its COLDEST during the LIA and has gradually being warming since then. THANK GOODNESS !!

     If you WANT to live in freezing cold temperatures.. move to Siberia..

     … but I BET you choose to live somewhere warmer, because you are a mindless hypocritical slur on society.

     Reply
   • spike55 says:

     January 5, 2019 at 8:51 am

     “‘But yeah, the ice caps aren’t melting.”

     Antarctic sea ice was INCREASING until the El Nino.

     So whatever is now causing the melting, it sure isn’t anything to do with human anything.

     Why keep displaying you manic brain-washed ignorance, slir?

     Reply
   • tonyheller says:

     January 5, 2019 at 3:18 pm

     Arctic and Antarctic sea ice move opposite each other. A few years ago, Antarctic sea ice was at a record high. But thanks for your ridiculous comment.

     Reply
   • Steve Keohane says:

     January 5, 2019 at 5:34 pm

     What state were the ice caps in 4Kya when the oceans were 6′ higher?

     Reply