Documenting Changes in Alaskan Glaciers with Historic Photography

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Documenting Changes in Alaskan Glaciers with
Historic Photography

Bruce F. Molnia U.S. Geological Survey
926A National Center Reston, VA
20192 bmolnia_at_usgs.gov
703-648-4120
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If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what
is the value of the information content of a pair
of photographs that span a century, both taken
from the same location, and both showing the same
field of view?
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Documenting Changes in Alaskan Glaciers with
Historic Photography

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• More than 1,000 late-19th-century and
  early-20th-century photographs have been
  collected that show landscape features, including
  glacier termini throughout Alaska.
• The earliest of these photographs predates 1890.
• This photographic record spans about half of the
  Post-Little-Ice-Age period.

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The primary objective of this investigation is to
document more than a century of landscape
evolution and changes in glaciers, vegetation,
hydrology, and sedimentation within selected
Alaskan National Parks using historical
photography.
Objectives
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The objective of this presentation is to present
examples of the types of information that results
from this on-going investigation and to
demonstrate that the same approach can be equally
successful in many other National Parks.
Objectives
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Parks Currently Involved
Denali National Park Glacier Bay
National Park Kenai Fjords National Park
Parks That Could Become Involved
Aniakchak National Monument Gates of the Arctic
National Park Katmai National Park Lake Clark
National Park Wrangell St Elias National Park
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ALASKA

Sites with Historical Photos
Current Field Investigations
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In the past five years, more than 100 locations
from which historical photographs had been made
were revisited and rephotographed.
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• Photographic comparisons clearly document
• advance and retreat of larger glaciers
• short-term fluctuations of smaller glaciers
• transitions from tidewater termini to
  land-based, debris- covered termini
• rapid vegetative development and succession
• fiord sedimentation and erosion
• development of outwash and talus features and
• many other dramatic changes.

Key Findings
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1
McCarty Glacier 1909
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August 2004
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McCarty Glacier 1909
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McCarty Glacier - 1909
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August 2004
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McCarty Glacier 1909 - 2004
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Holgate Glacier - 1909
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August 2004
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Holgate Glacier - 1909 - 2004
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Pedersen Glacier 1909
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August 2004
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Pedersen Glacier 1909 2004
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East Teklanika Glacier - 1919
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August 2004
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East Teklanika Glacier 1919 - 2004
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Muir Inlet Glacier 1941
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August 2004
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Muir Inlet Glacier - Riggs Glacier 1941-2004
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Carroll Glacier 1906
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September 2003
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Carroll Glacier 1906 2003
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Carroll Glacier 1906
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June 2004
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Carroll Glacier 1906 2004
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Lamplugh Glacier 1941
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September 2003
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Lamplugh Glacier 1941 2003
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Muir Glacier 1899
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September 2003
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Muir Glacier 1899 2003
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Muir Glacier 1976
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September 2003
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Muir Glacier 1976 2003
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• FY 05 Field Work KEFJ and GLBA
• Desire to expand study to other SWAN Parks and
  WRST (We are seeking other interested parks in
  which to work.)
• Cooperators performing similar studies at
  several lower 48 Parks. Met with ROMO resource
  managers and will begin preliminary evaluation in
  summer FY05
• Recommend this approach to all glacierized Parks
  with historical photographic record.

Future Plans
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Toboggan Glacier 1909
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September 2000
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Toboggan Glacier 1909 -2000