WWRC 97-05aaa
Mass Balance Changes on Teton Glacier Using Historical and Contemporary Data
Abstract
Glaciers of Grand Teton National Park appear to be
in a state of continued negative mass balance.
Recent work on glaciers in the Wind River Range
of Wyoming indicates that significant portions of
the August through October flow in the Wind River
basin is derived directly from glacier melt (Charles
Love, personal communication, 1994; Marston et
al„ 1989). If glacial melt continues at the present
rate, some of the major ice bodies responsible for
this late season contribution may disappear entirely
by the turn of the century. It is useful to know if
the glaciers of Grand Teton National Park are under
a similar ice-wastage regime. Loss of glaciers and
perennial ice masses will have an effect on the
hydrology, biogeochemistry and biology of the
streams draining the regions containing ice. The
results of this study provide an important database
for hydrologists interested in regional conditions.
Reed (1963) completed detailed studies on Teton
Glacier and published the first map of the glacier
with a 1954 surface taken from aerial photographs
and a 1963 surface derived from a plane table
survey. Preliminary analysis of Reed's 1954 and
1963 map shows a loss of about 600,000 m2 of ice
during that period. Detailed contemporary studies
of the glacier began in 1994 when we used
electronic surveying equipment to map ground
control points on Teton Glacier for reference to
Reed's previous glacier surveys and to map surface
topography for a high-resolution (1040 points)
ground survey. A contour map with a 2m contour
interval was constructed from the 1994 ground
survey. Aerial photography was acquired in August
1996 and a comprehensive high-resolution surface
of the glacier will also be converted to a digital
database and co-registered to previous maps using
ARC/INFO software. A contour map with 0.5 m
contour interval will be generated from our aerial
photographs and improved ground truth. A
quantitative description, using the digital data, will
be made of the total volume and spatial distribution
of ice mass changes in the glacier between periods
of record. The 1954, 1963, 1994 and 1996 surfaces
will be compared to quantify absolute changes in
ice mass over the approximate 10, 30, and 40 year
periods. An estimation of future health of the
glacier will be made based on estimated ice mass
present climate and trends in ice wastage.
Water Resources Publications List
Water Resources Data System Library |
Water Resources Data System Homepage
