Area change of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 1919 to 2006

Glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains constitute an important freshwater resource. To enhance our understanding of the influence climate and local topography have on glacier area, large numbers of glaciers of different sizes and attributes need to be monitored over periods of many decades. We use...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: C. Tennant, B. Menounos, R. Wheate, J. J. Clague
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1541-2012
https://doaj.org/article/cf6671264f9d4c50bf591cc002952947
id ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:cf6671264f9d4c50bf591cc002952947
record_format openpolar
spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:cf6671264f9d4c50bf591cc002952947 2023-05-15T18:32:30+02:00 Area change of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 1919 to 2006 C. Tennant B. Menounos R. Wheate J. J. Clague 2012-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1541-2012 https://doaj.org/article/cf6671264f9d4c50bf591cc002952947 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1541/2012/tc-6-1541-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-6-1541-2012 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/cf6671264f9d4c50bf591cc002952947 The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 6, Pp 1541-1552 (2012) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1541-2012 2022-12-31T04:39:44Z Glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains constitute an important freshwater resource. To enhance our understanding of the influence climate and local topography have on glacier area, large numbers of glaciers of different sizes and attributes need to be monitored over periods of many decades. We used Interprovincial Boundary Commission Survey (IBCS) maps of the Alberta–British Columbia (BC) border (1903–1924), BC Terrain Resource Information Management (TRIM) data (1982–1987), and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) imagery (2000–2002 and 2006) to document planimetric changes in glacier cover in the central and southern Canadian Rocky Mountains between 1919 and 2006. Over this period, glacier cover in the study area decreased by 590 ± 70 km 2 (40 ± 5%), 17 of 523 glaciers disappeared and 124 glaciers fragmented into multiple ice masses. Glaciers smaller than 1.0 km 2 experienced the greatest relative area loss (64 ± 8%), and relative area loss is more variable with small glaciers, suggesting that the local topographic setting controls the response of these glaciers to climate change. Small glaciers with low slopes, low mean/median elevations, south to west aspects, and high insolation experienced the largest reduction in area. Similar rates of area change characterize the periods 1919–1985 and 1985–2001; −6.3 ± 0.6 km 2 yr −1 (−0.4 ± 0.1% yr −1 ) and −5.0 ± 0.5 km 2 yr −1 (−0.5 ± 0.1% yr −1 ), respectively. The rate of area loss, however, increased over the period 2001–2006; −19.3 ± 2.4 km 2 yr −1 (−2.0 ± 0.2% yr −1 ). Applying size class-specific scaling factors, we estimate a total reduction in glacier cover in the central and southern Canadian Rocky Mountains for the period 1919–2006 of 750 km 2 (30%). Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 6 6 1541 1552
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Geology
QE1-996.5
spellingShingle Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Geology
QE1-996.5
C. Tennant
B. Menounos
R. Wheate
J. J. Clague
Area change of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 1919 to 2006
topic_facet Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Geology
QE1-996.5
description Glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains constitute an important freshwater resource. To enhance our understanding of the influence climate and local topography have on glacier area, large numbers of glaciers of different sizes and attributes need to be monitored over periods of many decades. We used Interprovincial Boundary Commission Survey (IBCS) maps of the Alberta–British Columbia (BC) border (1903–1924), BC Terrain Resource Information Management (TRIM) data (1982–1987), and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) imagery (2000–2002 and 2006) to document planimetric changes in glacier cover in the central and southern Canadian Rocky Mountains between 1919 and 2006. Over this period, glacier cover in the study area decreased by 590 ± 70 km 2 (40 ± 5%), 17 of 523 glaciers disappeared and 124 glaciers fragmented into multiple ice masses. Glaciers smaller than 1.0 km 2 experienced the greatest relative area loss (64 ± 8%), and relative area loss is more variable with small glaciers, suggesting that the local topographic setting controls the response of these glaciers to climate change. Small glaciers with low slopes, low mean/median elevations, south to west aspects, and high insolation experienced the largest reduction in area. Similar rates of area change characterize the periods 1919–1985 and 1985–2001; −6.3 ± 0.6 km 2 yr −1 (−0.4 ± 0.1% yr −1 ) and −5.0 ± 0.5 km 2 yr −1 (−0.5 ± 0.1% yr −1 ), respectively. The rate of area loss, however, increased over the period 2001–2006; −19.3 ± 2.4 km 2 yr −1 (−2.0 ± 0.2% yr −1 ). Applying size class-specific scaling factors, we estimate a total reduction in glacier cover in the central and southern Canadian Rocky Mountains for the period 1919–2006 of 750 km 2 (30%).
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author C. Tennant
B. Menounos
R. Wheate
J. J. Clague
author_facet C. Tennant
B. Menounos
R. Wheate
J. J. Clague
author_sort C. Tennant
title Area change of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 1919 to 2006
title_short Area change of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 1919 to 2006
title_full Area change of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 1919 to 2006
title_fullStr Area change of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 1919 to 2006
title_full_unstemmed Area change of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 1919 to 2006
title_sort area change of glaciers in the canadian rocky mountains, 1919 to 2006
publisher Copernicus Publications
publishDate 2012
url https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1541-2012
https://doaj.org/article/cf6671264f9d4c50bf591cc002952947
genre The Cryosphere
genre_facet The Cryosphere
op_source The Cryosphere, Vol 6, Iss 6, Pp 1541-1552 (2012)
op_relation http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/1541/2012/tc-6-1541-2012.pdf
https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416
https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424
doi:10.5194/tc-6-1541-2012
1994-0416
1994-0424
https://doaj.org/article/cf6671264f9d4c50bf591cc002952947
op_doi https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1541-2012
container_title The Cryosphere
container_volume 6
container_issue 6
container_start_page 1541
op_container_end_page 1552
_version_ 1766216611499343872