Recent changes of McCall Glacier, Alaska

Abstract

Detailed surveys of McCall Glacier in the Alaskan Arctic reveal changes from 1972 to 1993. The ice surface dropped everywhere, by amounts ranging from about 3 m in the highest cirques tq more than 42 m near the present terminus. The total volume loss was 3.5+ 0.2 x 10' m(, resulting in an average mass balance of 0.33 + 0.01 in a . l he terminus has retreated by about 285 m at a rale of 12_.5 ma \ Results from photogrammetry for an earlier period, 1958-71, were I.16x 10'm3 and 0.13 ma for volume change and mass balance, respectively; the mean terminus retreat rate was then 5.7 m a . The changes have to be seen in the context of McCall Glacier’s low mass-exchange rate; annual accumulation and ablation, averaged over the years 1969 72 were only +0.16 and 0.3 m a '. Cross-profiles in the ablation area, surveyed at intervals of a few years, show an increased drop rate since the late 1970s. 7 he volume-ehange data suggest a climate warming in the early 1970s. Enhanced thinning of the lower ablation region and accelerated terminus retreat seem to lag this climate change by not more than 10 years, This indicates a reaction time of McCall Glacier that is considerably shorter than its theoretic response time of about 50 70 years.