Nisqually Glacier

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Nisqually Glacier
( Nisqually Glacier )
The Nisqually Glacier in the background in the center of the picture

The Nisqually Glacier in the background in the center of the picture

location Pierce County , Washington , USA
Mountains Cascade chain
Type Kar glacier
length 6.4 km
surface 4.7 km² 1983
Coordinates 46 ° 50 '5 "  N , 121 ° 44' 47"  W Coordinates: 46 ° 50 '5 "  N , 121 ° 44' 47"  W.
Nisqually Glacier, Washington
Nisqually Glacier
drainage Nisqually River
particularities ends in a moraine ; declining
Template: Infobox Glacier / Maintenance / Image description missing

The Nisqually Glacier is one of the larger glaciers on the southwest flank of Mount Rainier in Washington State . The glacier is one of the easiest to see on the mountain; it is accessible from the Paradise Visitor Facilities in Mount Rainier National Park . The glacier has had periods of increase and decrease since 1850, when it was much larger than it is today. He is currently in retreat. Measurements at 9,200 ft (2,804 m) altitude showed that it increased 56 ft (17 m) in thickness between 1994 and 1997, making it likely to increase in the first decade of the 21st century. The Nisqually Glacier is the source of the Nisqually River .

Perhaps the longest-studied glacier on Mount Rainier, the end point of Nisqually has been measured since 1918. In May 1970 it was determined that the glacier was moving an average of 740 mm per day.

development

The Nisqually Glacier has expanded and melted three times since the late 20th century. The current period of melting began in 1985. Over the next six years, the thickness of the glacier west of Glacier Vista decreased by 52 ft (16 m).

The glacier reached its greatest extent in 1850, as was the case with many glaciers. The 1850s are considered the Little Ice Age . The Nisqually Glacier reached a point 650 ft (198 m) to 800 ft (244 m) below the Glacier Bridge. In the west it united with the Tahoma and South Tahoma glaciers below Glacier Island along the Wonderland Trail . The Emmons Glacier to the northeast reached the White River Campground within 1.2 mi (1.9 km) .

With the end of the Little Ice Age, these glaciers began to decline slowly. After 1920 the rate of shrinkage rose sharply. In the 100 years between the height of the Little Ice Age and 1950, Mount Rainier lost about a quarter of its glacier area. From 1950 to the 1980s the large glaciers expanded slightly. Since the 1980s, many glaciers have gotten thinner and shorter.

Debris flows

Nisqually Glacier is one of four on Mount Rainier known for triggering torrents of debris . Similar currents emanate from the Winthrop Glacier , the Kautz Glacier and the South Tahoma Glacier.

swell

  • GC Giles: Nisqually Glacier, Mount Rainier, Washington, 1959  (= Progress Report). USGS , Tacoma, Washington 1960, p. 31: "open-file report"
  • AE Harrison: Fluctuations of the Nisqually Glacier, Mt. Rainier, Washington, since 1750 . In: Jour. Glaciology . 2, No. 19, 1956, pp. 675-683.
  • Walther Hofmann: The advance of the Nisqually Glacier on Mt. Rainier, USA, from 1952 to 1956 . In: Zeitschr. Glacier Science and Glacial geology . 4, No. 1-2, 1958, pp. 47-60.
  • Arthur Johnson: Nisqually Glacier, Washington, Progress Report 1946, 1947, and 1948 . USGS, Tacoma, Washington 1949, p. 3: "report on file"
  • Meier, MF, 1968, Calculations of slip of Nisqually Glacier on its bed-No simple relation of sliding velocity to shear stress: Internat. Assoc. Sci. Hydrology, Bern Assembly 1967. Pub. 79, p. 49-57.
  • Arthur Johnson: Variation in surface elevation of the Nisqually Glacier, Mt. Rainier, Washington . In: Internat. Assoc. Sci. Hydrology Bull . 19, 1960, pp. 54-60.
  • IC Russell: Glaciers of Mount Rainier  (= 18th Ann. Rept. 1896-97), Volume 2. USGS, 1898, pp. 355-415.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e DESCRIPTION: Mount Rainier Glaciers and Glaciations - Mount Rainier Glacier Hazards and Glacial Outburst Floods . USGS. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
  2. ↑ Carolyn L. Driedger: Surface Elevation Measurements On Nisqually Glacier, Mount Rainier, Wa, 1931-1998 (abstract) Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. ( PDF ) In: Washington State Department of Natural Resources (Ed.): Washington Geology . 28, No. 1/2, Olympia, Washington, United States, September 2000, ISSN  1058-2134 , p. 24. Retrieved October 8, 2007. [Source is metric .]
  3. ↑ Ice Volumes on Cascade Volcanoes . In: Geological Survey Professional Paper 1365 . United States Geological Survey. March 28, 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
  4. ^ Glaciers on Mount Rainier . In: Glaciers . National Park Service. May 6, 2004. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
  5. ↑ a b c Glaciers on Mount Rainier; CL Driedger; Glaciers on Mount Rainier; US Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC; 1993

Web links

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