MOUNT RAINIER
GEOLOGY & WEATHER
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Glacier Info - Carbon Glacier

NOTE: The data shown here is based on the 2021 glacier update at Mount Rainier, and should be considered the most up-to-date data on glaciers at the park (2023-04-06).

Carbon Glacier
The Carbon Glacier is on the northwest side of Mount Rainier. Its name comes from the 'dirty' color of the water as it comes from the snout of the glacier when large amounts of rock and gravel are released as the ice melts. The Carbon River flows from the glacier through a valley with coal deposits that were once mined extensively. (Reese, 2009)

Switch Glacier:

STATISTICS AS OF 2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Aerial Extent:
2.752 ± 0.146 square miles (7.127 ± 0.378 km2) (Rank: 3 of 29)
Debris Cover - Based on data from 2015 (Beason, 2017):
1.870 ± 0.011 square miles (4.844 ± 0.029 km2) (Rank: 1 of 29)
Estimated Glacier Volume: (See notes below)
0.1180 ± 0.0413 cubic miles (0.4919 ± 0.1722 km3)
Highest Elevation (Head):
12,212 feet (3,722 m)
Lowest Elevation (Terminus):
3,617 feet (1,102 m)
Elevation Range:
8,594 feet (2,620 m)
Length:
5.02 miles (8.08 km)
Average Slope:
20.22°
Average Flow Direction (direction the glacier flows towards):
North (353°)
Glacier Type:
C - Cirque Glacier, or Glacier Head Starts Below Summit

CHANGE IN EXTENT, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Area, mi2 3.201 3.265 3.094 3.080 2.878 2.802 2.752
Area, km2 8.290 8.455 8.014 7.976 7.454 7.257 7.127
Area Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18960.064 mi2
(0.165 km2)
-0.107 mi2
(-0.277 km2)
-0.121 mi2
(-0.314 km2)
-0.323 mi2
(-0.836 km2)
-0.399 mi2
(-1.034 km2)
-0.449 mi2
(-1.163 km2)
1913---0.171 mi2
(-0.442 km2)
-0.185 mi2
(-0.479 km2)
-0.386 mi2
(-1.001 km2)
-0.463 mi2
(-1.199 km2)
-0.513 mi2
(-1.328 km2)
1971---0.015 mi2
(-0.038 km2)
-0.216 mi2
(-0.559 km2)
-0.292 mi2
(-0.757 km2)
-0.342 mi2
(-0.887 km2)
1994---0.201 mi2
(-0.522 km2)
-0.278 mi2
(-0.719 km2)
-0.328 mi2
(-0.849 km2)
2009---0.076 mi2
(-0.198 km2)
-0.126 mi2
(-0.327 km2)
2015---0.050 mi2
(-0.130 km2)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18961.99%-3.34%-3.79%-10.08%-12.47%-14.03%
1913---5.22%-5.67%-11.84%-14.18%-15.71%
1971---0.47%-6.98%-9.45%-11.06%
1994---6.54%-9.02%-10.64%
2009---2.65%-4.39%
2015---1.79%

ESTIMATED CHANGE IN VOLUME, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
PLEASE see important notes about this, below...
Glacier-specific Scaling Parameter, c:
0.041335
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Volume, mi3 0.1452 0.1491 0.1386 0.1377 0.1255 0.1210 0.1180
Volume, km3 0.6051 0.6216 0.5776 0.5739 0.5231 0.5042 0.4919
Volume Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18960.004 mi3
(0.017 km3)
-0.007 mi3
(-0.027 km3)
-0.007 mi3
(-0.031 km3)
-0.020 mi3
(-0.082 km3)
-0.024 mi3
(-0.101 km3)
-0.027 mi3
(-0.113 km3)
1913---0.011 mi3
(-0.044 km3)
-0.011 mi3
(-0.048 km3)
-0.024 mi3
(-0.099 km3)
-0.028 mi3
(-0.117 km3)
-0.031 mi3
(-0.130 km3)
1971---0.001 mi3
(-0.004 km3)
-0.013 mi3
(-0.054 km3)
-0.018 mi3
(-0.073 km3)
-0.021 mi3
(-0.086 km3)
1994---0.012 mi3
(-0.051 km3)
-0.017 mi3
(-0.070 km3)
-0.020 mi3
(-0.082 km3)
2009---0.005 mi3
(-0.019 km3)
-0.007 mi3
(-0.031 km3)
2015---0.003 mi3
(-0.012 km3)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18962.74%-4.54%-5.16%-13.55%-16.67%-18.70%
1913---7.08%-7.68%-15.85%-18.89%-20.86%
1971---0.64%-9.43%-12.71%-14.83%
1994---8.85%-12.14%-14.28%
2009---3.61%-5.96%
2015---2.44%
Important comments about the calculation of volume shown here

The calculation of glacial volume shown on this page is based on an analysis of two methods used at Mount Rainier in the past (Driedger and Kennard [1986]; and Nylen [2001]) as well as the most recent literature review for glacier area-volume scaling (Please review Beason et al. [2023] for an in-depth discussion about this issue). It should be noted that simply converting area to volume with an equation is extremely difficult and the values presented here have extremely large error margins (likely ± 35% or more). With that in mind, the values presented here should give you an estimate of the glacial volume and change in volume over time. Please use these data very carefully with those caveats.

The calcuation of the volume is as follows:

\[V_i = {(c_iA_i^{1.375}) + (c_nA_i^{1.36}) \over 2}\]

Where:
\(V_i\) = Average volume for the glacier in question (km3);
\(c_i\) = The glacier-specific scaling parameter (back-calculated from glacier area and volume in 1971 in Driedger and Kennard (1986); Method described in Beason et al. (2023). The value for the Carbon Glacier is 0.041335 (this is also listed above the volume graph);
\(c_n\) = The back-calculated scaling parameter from Nylen (2001) of 0.0255; and
\(A_i\) = The measured volume of the glacier in question (km2).

This is essentially an average of the back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) and Nylen (2001) methods (D&K is in the first parenthesis; Nylen in the second). For example, for the Carbon Glacier in 2021, you can find the following individual volumes:
Back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) Method: 0.1476 mi3 (0.6153 km3).
Back-calculated Nylen (2001) Method: 0.0884 mi3 (0.3686 km3).
Average of the two (above equation and values listed for 2021 here): 0.1180 mi3 (0.4919 km3).
Official volume estimate listed above, with error: 0.1180 ± 0.0413 mi3 (0.4919 ± 0.1722 km3).

As you can see, the D&K method tends to produce higher values and Nylen produces lower values; the average of these two methods probably estimates the glacial volume. Until further research is done in this area and we can develop a better method or equation to determine volumes, this is the method we are using to determine glacial volumes. For more information about this method, please read the methods section of Beason et al. (2023).

NOTES:

-- No Notes supplied --

RAW DATA: