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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Alaskan National Park Glaciers - Status and Trends Fourth Progress Report Natural Resource Data Series NPS/AKRO/NRDS—2014/607 ON THE COVER Bering Glacier, in the foreground, drains the massive Bagley Icefield in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Mt. Logan is visible in the far distance. July 21, 2011. Photograph by: JT Thomas Alaskan National Park Glaciers - Status and Trends Fourth Progress Report Natural Resource Data Series NPS/AKRO/NRDS—2014/607 Anthony Arendt, Chris Larsen Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks 903 Koyukuk Drive Fairbanks, AK 99775 Michael Loso Environmental Science Dept Alaska Pacific University 4101 University Drive Anchorage, AK 99508 Nate Murphy, Justin Rich Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks 903 Koyukuk Drive Fairbanks, AK 99775 January 2014 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are 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 Data Series is intended for the timely release of basic data sets and data summaries. Care has been taken to assure accuracy of raw data values, but a thorough analysis and interpretation of the data has not been completed. Consequently, the initial analyses of data in this report are provisional and subject to change. 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. 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 Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/). To receive this report in a format optimized for screen readers, please email [email protected]. Please cite this publication as: Arendt, A., C. Larsen, M. Loso, N. Murphy, and J. Rich. 2014. Alaskan National Park glaciers - status and trends: Fourth progress report. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/AKRO/NRDS— 2014/607. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 953/123451, January 2014 ii Contents Page Figures............................................................................................................................................. v Tables ............................................................................................................................................. xi Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... xv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Project Overview ..................................................................................................................... 1 Project Deliverables and Timeline ........................................................................................... 1 Scope of Progress Report 4 ...................................................................................................... 2 Study Areas ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Kenai Fjords National Park ................................................................................................. 5 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve .................................................................. 7 Methods-Mapping ........................................................................................................................... 9 Data .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 9 Methods-Elevation Change ........................................................................................................... 13 Data ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 13 Methods-Focus Glaciers ............................................................................................................... 17 Focus Glacier Selection ......................................................................................................... 17 Summary of Field Efforts ...................................................................................................... 17 Results-Mapping ........................................................................................................................... 21 Kenai Fjords NP .................................................................................................................... 21 Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P ...................................................................................................... 23 iii Contents (continued) Page Results-Elevation Change ............................................................................................................. 29 Kenai Fjords NP .................................................................................................................... 29 Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P ...................................................................................................... 32 Results-Focus Glaciers.................................................................................................................. 33 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 33 Report Design ........................................................................................................................ 33 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Preliminary Highlights ........................................................................................................... 39 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................. 41 Appendix A: Data Sources for Mapping-Map Date ..................................................................... 43 Appendix B: Data Sources for Mapping-Modern ......................................................................... 47 Appendix C: Data Products Exported From Extent Mapping ...................................................... 55 Appendix D: Close-up Maps of Glacier Extent Changes ............................................................. 57 Appendix E: Elevation and Volume Change Analyses ................................................................ 63 iv Figures Page Figure 1. Kenai Fjords National Park. Blue polygons are map date glacier coverage ................... 6 Figure 2. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve ............................................................... 8 Figure 3. Workflow for the generation of glacier inventory data for NPS glaciers...................... 10 Figure 4. Aerial oblique imagery (from the south viewing Tokositna and Ruth Glaciers, Denali NP&P) demonstrating generation of glacier inventory data for NPS glaciers. ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 5. Existing laser altimetry profiles (red lines) in Kenai Fjords NP (upper panel) and Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P (lower panel) as of January 2011 ................................................. 16 Figure 6. Overview of focus glacier locations (red dots) .............................................................. 18 Figure 7. Changes in glacier area between map date and modern in Kenai Fjords NP ................ 22 Figure 8. Histograms of changes in number of individual glaciers by area-weighted mean elevation (left) and area (right) in Kenai Fjords NP between map date (1950- 1951) and modern (2005-2007). ................................................................................................... 23 Figure 9. Total area of glacier-covered terrain in Kenai Fjords NP by elevation between map date (1950-1951) and modern (2005-2007).