CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Beedle, M.; Menounos, B.; and Wheate, R.
Date : 2010.
Title : Fluctuation of small glaciers in the Cariboo Mountains, British Columbia, Canada.
Publication : CMOS-CGU Ottawa 2010. 44th Annual CMOS Congress, 36th Annual Scientific Meeting of CGU, 3rd Joint CMOS-CGU Congress. May 31-June 4, 2010. Ottawa, Ontario.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
Small glaciers (<1 km2) are the most numerous of any size class in many mountain regions, but questions remain regarding their response to climate change. Previous studies note that small glaciers have changed little in recent times, while others report that these ice masses have undergone substantial recession over similar time intervals. Small glaciers exist at high elevations, with termini hundreds of meters above those of large glaciers. These locations are rarely free of seasonal snow cover, and frequently mapped from imagery with inadequate resolution, making accurate mapping of their extents problematic. High-resolution, aerial photographs, acquired during late summer with minimal snow cover, provide insight into the response of these small glaciers to climate change since the mid-twentieth century. We utilize such photographs to document glacier change in a portion of the Cariboo Mountains, British Columbia over 11 intervals between 1946 and 2009. The largest glaciers (5 to 20 km2), representing the largest fraction of ice cover in the region, continuously receded, losing up to 1,000 m of length and as much as 20% of their 1946 surface area. Many small glaciers receded from 1946 until the early-1950s, advanced until the mid-1980s, and receded thereafter. Some glaciers advanced by up to 100 m, their surface area increased by nearly 10%, and only recently receded back to their 1946 extent. Our analysis indicates that it is possible to assess subtle extent changes of small glaciers in response to decadal climate variability but only if suitable imagery exists. Small glaciers in the Cariboo Mountains advanced in response to cool, wet condition during the middle half of the last century. Their topographic setting and climatic sensitivity may cause them to likewise advance in the future if cool, wet conditions prevail.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology