Hubbard Glacier
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National Park Service Park News U.S. Department of the Interior Hubbard Glacier Hubbard Glacier Fact Sheet --The Hubbard Glacier is North America’s largest tidewater glacier. It is 76 miles long, 7 miles wide, and 600 feet tall at its terminal face (350 feet exposed above the waterline and 250 feet below the waterline). --The Hubbard Glacier starts at Mt. Logan (19850 ft) in the Yukon Territory. Mt. Logan is the 2nd tallest mountain on the North American continent. --The Hubbard Glacier is currently advanc- ing (last 100 years), while most Alaskan glaciers are retreating (95%). This is not in contradiction with current global tempera- ture increases. The Hubbard Glacier will advance during times of warming climate and retreat in time of colder climates. The The Hubbard Glacier (right) and the Turner Glacier looking from Russell Fjord. current rate of advance is approximately 80 feet per year. 700 years ago – advanced to fill the entire pressure applied from the snow accumulat- --The glacier’s rate of overall forward ve- Yakutat Bay ing above. locity is much higher, but the advance is due its calving. Why do glaciers advance and retreat? --Once the ice becomes more than 150 feet thick the ice can behave plastically, and --The ice you see at the terminal face is ap- --Glaciers will always try to reach a balance start to flow under the influence of gravity. proximately 450 years old and is over 2000 between the amount of ice they gain to feet thick at some locations. the amount of ice they lose (equilibrium). --The Hubbard Glacier is currently ad- Simply, when the glacier gains more ice vancing while most glaciers are retreating --The glacier was named in 1890 for than it loses, it will advance. Conversely, worldwide. The Hubbard Glacier will and Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of when a glacier loses more ice than it gains, does react in an opposite fashion to most the National Geographic Society. it retreats. glaciers in a warming climate. --Glacier position --Glaciers gain ice by accumulating snow --As the global temperature increases, more 2002 and 1986 – Gilbert Point and burying it to transform into glacial precipitation is created locally. As this 100 years ago – 2 miles east of ice. This is a four-part transformation; first precipitation hits the St. Elias Mountains, Osier Island snow, then to an ice called neve , then to a it rises and cools changing to snow. This 200 years ago – retreated past Haenke denser ice called firn, and finally to glacial increase of precipitation is what allows the Island ice. This transformation is due to burial Hubbard Glacier to advance. 300 years ago – retreated to Pt. Blizhni.