CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : DeBeer, C.; and Sharp, M.
Date : 2006.
Title : Recent glacier retreat within the Southern Canadian Cordillera.
Publication : Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Geophysical Meeting, May 14-17, 2006. Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta. Abstracts Volume.
Issue :
Page(s) : 35.
Abstract
Detailed investigations of mass balance and frontal variations have been carried out for a few select glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and Coast Mountains (e.g. Peyto, Athabasca, and Place Glaciers), but there is a need for a regional summary of recent changes in glacier surface area and volume. The objective of this research is to quantify the net change in these variables over the past ~50 years at a regional scale in the Canadian Cordillera, focusing on areas between 50–51° N, and 116–125° W. Area and volume changes will be determined by comparing remotely sensed imagery (i.e. aerial photography and Landsat 7 ETM+) and map information from different time periods using GIS techniques. This research also aims to identify spatial variability in the rates of change across the study area and to seek out possible explanations for observed patterns, which may include gradients in the nature and magnitude of climate forcing over the region, as well as differences in the intrinsic sensitivity, geometric and geographic characteristics, and response times of individual glaciers to climate forcing. Preliminary results show significant regional differences in the rate and magnitude of glacier retreat. Over a ~38 year time period (1963/64–2001), glaciers within the Coastal Ranges have experienced an average area loss of ~7% (corresponding to 0.5 – 2 km2 loss) and show a spatially uniform pattern of retreat. This contrasts with glaciers in the Interior Ranges and Rocky Mountains, where the average area loss over a ~50 year time period (1951/52–2001) has been approximately 10 and 20% respectively. These glaciers are generally much smaller than those of the Coast Mountains however, and actual area loss is on the order of 0.1 – 0.5 km2. The area change of individual glaciers in these regions is highly variable, ranging from +2 to –70%, which suggests that the intrinsic sensitivity of glaciers is important in explaining the pattern of retreat here.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology