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East Fork Toklat Glacier GPS Survey Data

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East Fork Toklat Glacier GPS Survey Data National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Annual Report on Vital Signs Monitoring of Glaciers in the Central Alaska Network, 2010 Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/CAKN/NRTR—2011/423 ON THE COVER Collecting GPS data on the East Fork Toklat Glacier, 09/21/2010 Photograph by: Andrew Ackerman, NPS Annual Report on Vital Signs Monitoring of Glaciers in the Central Alaska Network, 2010 Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/CAKN/NRTR—2011/423 Rob Burrows Guy Adema National Park Service Denali National Park and Preserve PO Box 9 Denali Park, AK 99755 January 2011 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Technical Report Series is used to disseminate results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series provides contributors with a forum for displaying comprehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Data in this report were collected and analyzed using methods based on established, peer-reviewed protocols and were analyzed and interpreted within the guidelines of the protocols. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government.. This report is available from the Central Alaska Network Reports and Publications website (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/cakn/reportpubs.cfm) and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/). Please cite this publication as: Burrows, R. and G. Adema. 2011. Annual report on Vital Signs monitoring of glaciers in the Central Alaska Network, 2010. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/CAKN/NRTR— 2011/423. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado NPS 953/106533, January 2011 ii Contents Page Figures............................................................................................................................................. v Tables ............................................................................................................................................ vii List of Acronyms ........................................................................................................................... ix List of Variables ............................................................................................................................. ix Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... xi Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................ xiii Introduction: Background ............................................................................................................... 1 Methods........................................................................................................................................... 1 Extent ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Comparative Photography .................................................................................................. 1 GPS Survey Mapping .......................................................................................................... 2 Index Station Measurements .................................................................................................... 2 Mass Balance ...................................................................................................................... 2 Equilibrium Line Altitude ................................................................................................... 5 Glacier Motion .................................................................................................................... 5 Glacier Surface Height ....................................................................................................... 6 Surging Glacier Observations .................................................................................................. 6 Results ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Extent ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Comparative Photography ................................................................................................ 11 GPS Survey Mapping ........................................................................................................ 11 Equilibrium Line Altitudes ................................................................................................ 11 Index Station Measurements .................................................................................................. 16 iii Mass Balance .................................................................................................................... 16 Glacier Motion and Surface Height .................................................................................. 16 Surging Glacier Observations ................................................................................................ 16 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 19 East Fork Toklat Glacier ........................................................................................................ 19 Index Station Data ................................................................................................................. 19 Other Research Conducted .................................................................................................... 22 Waste Monitoring on the Southeast Fork of Kahiltna ...................................................... 22 Kahiltna Mass Balance Characterization ......................................................................... 22 Repeat Laser Altimetry ..................................................................................................... 22 Muldrow Volume Change Analysis ................................................................................... 23 Glacier Assessment in the Kichatna Range ...................................................................... 23 Plans for Coming Year and Recommendations ............................................................................ 25 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................. 27 Appendix A –Panoramas for 2010 ................................................................................................ 29 Appendix B – East Fork Toklat Glacier GPS Survey data ........................................................... 43 Appendix C – 2010 Index Data .................................................................................................... 49 Appendix D- Index Data Summary .............................................................................................. 57 Appendix E– Report for CAKN 2010 Program Highlights .......................................................... 59 Appendix F – Report for DENA Current Resource Projects ........................................................ 61 Appendix G – Report for Research Permit Reporting System ..................................................... 67 Appendix H – Report for Superintendent’s Annual Report .......................................................... 69 Appendix I – Logistics Notes ....................................................................................................... 71 iv Figures Figure 1. An illustration of the measurements taken and instruments used at an index stake. See text and protocol for further explanation ................................................................................. 3 Figure 2. The Kahiltna Glacier system and surrounding glaciers from 2000 Landsat imagery and associated mapped glacier margin. The glacier equilibrium line altitude (ELA) is approximate, based on almost 20 years of long term mass balance monitoring. The laser profile refers to the path flown and line measured for repeat surface elevation surveys by UAF researchers.............................................................................................................................
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