morageology.com :: 2021 Glacier Area and Volume Update

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).

2021 Glacier Area and Volume Update

Mount Rainier is the most glaciated volcano in the Cascade Range of the western United States and has more glacial ice on its edifice than all other volcanoes in the Cascade Range combined. Measuring rates of glacial ice loss during warming climates are critical to understanding the future impacts to riparian areas downslope of the glaciers, sediment production to braided rivers, aquatic impacts due to increasing stream temperatures, and many other important areas for park resource management. Glacial area has been delineated many times in the last century; most importantly in 1896, 1913, 1971, 1994, 2009, and, most recently, in 2015. Each of these extents represents a snapshot of the surface area of the volcano occupied by glacial ice during those years and provides an opportunity to visualize the health of the glaciers in the park over time.

Using aerially derived Structure from Motion (SfM) data acquired in September 2021, as well as other satellite and aerial imagery, glacier area for each of the 29 named glacial features is updated for Mount Rainier and presented here. From these source data, we have mapped not only the extent of ice but estimate the volume of ice from methods developed by other researchers in the past. Overall, our data shows a continuation of gradual yet accelerating loss of glacial ice at Mount Rainier, resulting in significant changes in regional ice volume over the last century. Regional climate change is affecting all glacial features at Mount Rainier, but mostly those smaller cirque glaciers and discontinuous glaciers on the south aspect of the volcano.

This page has been provided as quick reference for the latest glacial extent and volume respository for Mount Rainier as of the 2021 delineation. Links are provided to the following: (1) Some key conclusions from the 2021 study; (2) The poster presented at the 2022 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado; (3) A Natural Resource Report (NRR) detailing the 2021 delineation effort; (4) Overall glacial extent and volume estimates; (5) Change in glacial area and volume between 2015 and 2016; and (6) Links to detailed information on individual glaciers.

Key Conclusions from the 2021 Study

As of 2021, Mount Rainier has 28 named glaciers (a decrease of one from 2015).
Analysis of changes in glacier extent and volume at Mount Rainier continues to show an overall loss of glacial ice and perennial snowfields over the last 125 years:
- Extent: -53.812 km² (-20.777 mi²), a reduction of 41.62% in area between 1896 and 2021.
- Volume: -3.742 km³ (-0.898 mi³), a reduction of 51.56% in volume between 1896 and 2021.
The rate in glacier extent loss in the last 6-year period is accelerating while glacier volume is remaining about the same over the last 125-years.
- Average rates of area loss:
  - -0.430 km²/yr (-0.166 mi²/yr) between 1896 and 2021 (125 years).
  - -0.544 km²/yr (-0.210 mi²/yr) between 2015 and 2021 (6 years).
- Average rates of volume loss:
  - -0.030 km³/yr (-0.007 mi³/yr) between 1896 and 2021 (125 years).
  - -0.029 km³/yr (-0.007 mi³/yr) between 2015 and 2021 (6 years).
Unabated regional climate warming will continue to result in loss of glacial area and volume.
Several smaller, lower-elevation (cirque) glaciers have been lost in the last few decades. This survey has officially removed the Stevens Glacier from the park's inventory. Several features including the Flett, Inter, Pyramid, Sarvent, and Van Trump Glaciers are in a critical state.
The loss of glacial ice at Mount Rainier will have severe negative implications for the health of aquatic organisms, freshwater usage, dam operations, and geologic hazards in the region.

Publications

There are two publications that are developed through this study:

POSTER:
Beason, S.R., T.R. Kenyon, R.P. Jost, and L.J. Walker, 2022, A vanishing landscape: Current trends for the glaciers of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA: Poster 23-9, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 54, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-381984.
NATURAL RESOURCE REPORT:
Beason, S.R., T.R. Kenyon, R.P. Jost, and L.J. Walker, 2023, Changes in glacial extents and estimated changes in glacial volume at Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA from 1896 to 2021: National Park Service Natural Resource Report NPS/MORA/NRR—2022/2524, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO, 63 pages, doi: 10.36967/2299328.

In Development - Check back in a few months... when the document is completed, it will be posted here.

Overall Glacial Extent and Volume Estimates (as of 2021)

Glacier	Aspect (text)	Aspect (°)	Slope (°)	Length (mi)	Length (km)	Max Elevation (ft)	Max Elevation (m)	Min Elevation (ft)	Min Elevation (m)	Area (mi²)	Area (km²)	Volume (mi³)	Volume (km³)
Carbon	North	353	20.22	5.02	8.08	12,212	3,722	3,617	1,102	2.752	7.127	0.1180	0.4919
Columbia Crest	East	96	9.99	0.43	0.68	14,393	4,387	14,146	4,312	0.067	0.172	0.0006	0.0024
Cowlitz	East southeast	121	23.18	3.48	5.59	11,137	3,395	5,232	1,595	1.423	3.685	0.0406	0.1693
Edmunds	West northwest	287	23.58	1.27	2.04	10,105	3,080	6,958	2,121	0.450	1.165	0.0067	0.0279
Emmons	Northeast	55	23.77	4.55	7.32	14,148	4,312	4,883	1,488	4.231	10.959	0.1582	0.6592
Flett	North	356	20.18	0.41	0.66	7,951	2,423	7,120	2,170	0.140	0.363	0.0017	0.0069
Fryingpan	Northeast	38	21.75	0.98	1.59	9,930	3,027	7,093	2,162	1.156	2.993	0.0223	0.0930
Ingraham	East southeast	120	25.17	3.22	5.18	14,064	4,287	6,493	1,979	1.144	2.962	0.0294	0.1224
Inter	North northeast	25	25.83	0.92	1.48	9,627	2,934	7,376	2,248	0.206	0.532	0.0025	0.0104
Kautz	South southwest	193	29.39	2.59	4.17	14,131	4,307	6,917	2,108	0.603	1.561	0.0123	0.0513
Liberty Cap	Southwest	233	28.82	1.69	2.71	14,088	4,294	10,565	3,220	0.801	2.076	0.0200	0.0833
Muir	South	183	17.70	1.18	1.89	10,077	3,071	8,219	2,505	0.318	0.823	0.0043	0.0180
Nisqually	South southeast	166	27.00	3.57	5.74	14,371	4,380	5,347	1,630	1.584	4.102	0.0434	0.1808
N. Mowich	Northwest	322	25.23	2.56	4.12	12,189	3,715	5,429	1,655	1.895	4.907	0.0502	0.2091
Ohanapecosh	East northeast	72	21.24	0.49	0.79	8,392	2,558	7,250	2,210	0.238	0.616	0.0028	0.0115
Paradise	East southeast	124	24.07	0.41	0.65	8,425	2,568	6,850	2,088	0.224	0.581	0.0027	0.0114
Puyallup	West	280	19.53	2.47	3.98	9,600	2,926	5,506	1,678	1.196	3.098	0.0317	0.1323
Pyramid	South	185	22.73	0.59	0.95	8,881	2,707	7,673	2,339	0.068	0.176	0.0006	0.0024
Russell	North northeast	28	22.03	1.70	2.74	9,675	2,949	6,663	2,031	1.045	2.706	0.0199	0.0828
Sarvent	North northeast	30	32.11	0.36	0.58	7,304	2,226	6,033	1,839	0.147	0.380	0.0016	0.0066
S. Mowich	West	272	26.08	3.78	6.08	12,839	3,913	4,897	1,493	1.400	3.626	0.0333	0.1387
S. Tahoma	Southwest	219	23.90	2.00	3.22	10,811	3,295	6,625	2,019	0.752	1.947	0.0169	0.0706
Stevens	East southeast	123	19.98	0.05	0.09	6,812	2,076	6,629	2,021	0.000	-0.001	0.0000	0.0000
Success	South	184	28.93	0.74	1.19	10,625	3,239	8,477	2,584	0.153	0.396	0.0017	0.0069
Tahoma	West southwest	243	24.45	4.00	6.44	14,334	4,369	5,510	1,679	2.484	6.433	0.0750	0.3125
Van Trump	South southeast	168	27.75	0.30	0.48	8,602	2,622	7,540	2,298	0.045	0.117	0.0003	0.0014
Whitman	Southeast	142	16.40	2.02	3.25	10,286	3,135	7,579	2,310	0.713	1.846	0.0187	0.0779
Wilson	Southeast	142	25.65	1.31	2.11	10,801	3,292	6,735	2,053	0.564	1.459	0.0117	0.0487
Winthrop	North northeast	20	24.48	4.86	7.83	14,305	4,360	4,852	1,479	3.354	8.688	0.1167	0.4865
Minimum	--	--	9.99	0.05	0.09	6,812	2,076	3,617	1,102	0.000	-0.001	0.0000	0.0000
Average	--	--	23.49	1.96	3.16	11,038	3,365	6,835	2,083	1.005	2.603	0.0291	0.1212
Maximum	--	--	32.11	5.02	8.08	14,393	4,387	14,146	4,312	4.231	10.959	0.1582	0.6592
Total	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	29.149	75.495	0.8436	3.5162

Change in Glacial Extent and Volume between 2015 and 2021 (6 years)

Glacier	Area, 2015, km²	Area, 2021, km²	Area, % Loss	Volume, 2015, km³	Volume, 2021, km³	Volume, % Loss	North or South Facing	Summit or Cirque
Carbon	7.257	7.127	-1.785	0.5042	0.4919	-2.436	North	C
Columbia Crest	0.180	0.172	-4.489	0.0025	0.0024	-6.087	South	S
Cowlitz	3.990	3.685	-7.661	0.1888	0.1693	-10.333	South	C
Edmunds	1.252	1.165	-7.013	0.0308	0.0279	-9.459	North	C
Emmons	11.027	10.959	-0.615	0.6648	0.6592	-0.841	North	S
Flett	0.406	0.363	-10.529	0.0081	0.0069	-14.118	North	C
Fryingpan	3.245	2.993	-7.744	0.1038	0.0930	-10.425	North	C
Ingraham	3.007	2.962	-1.494	0.1249	0.1224	-2.038	South	S
Inter	0.574	0.532	-7.231	0.0116	0.0104	-9.754	North	C
Kautz	1.611	1.561	-3.105	0.0536	0.0513	-4.224	South	S
Liberty Cap	2.139	2.076	-2.950	0.0868	0.0833	-4.016	North	S
Muir	0.875	0.823	-6.017	0.0196	0.0180	-8.132	South	C
Nisqually	4.192	4.102	-2.132	0.1862	0.1808	-2.905	South	S
N. Mowich	5.144	4.907	-4.614	0.2231	0.2091	-6.253	North	C
Ohanapecosh	0.669	0.616	-7.969	0.0129	0.0115	-10.727	South	C
Paradise	0.612	0.581	-5.107	0.0122	0.0114	-6.915	South	C
Puyallup	3.258	3.098	-4.919	0.1417	0.1323	-6.669	South	C
Pyramid	0.262	0.176	-32.869	0.0042	0.0024	-42.016	South	C
Russell	2.892	2.706	-6.454	0.0907	0.0828	-8.710	North	C
Sarvent	0.455	0.380	-16.327	0.0085	0.0066	-21.629	North	C
S. Mowich	3.766	3.626	-3.699	0.1460	0.1387	-5.022	South	C
S. Tahoma	2.002	1.947	-2.738	0.0733	0.0706	-3.728	South	C
Stevens	0.033	-0.001	-103.015	0.0002	0.0000	-100.441	South	C
Success	0.470	0.396	-15.689	0.0088	0.0069	-20.810	South	C
Tahoma	6.787	6.433	-5.218	0.3362	0.3125	-7.065	South	S
Van Trump	0.176	0.117	-33.578	0.0024	0.0014	-42.853	South	C
Whitman	1.939	1.846	-4.798	0.0834	0.0779	-6.512	South	C
Wilson	1.562	1.459	-6.586	0.0535	0.0487	-8.902	South	C
Winthrop	8.977	8.688	-3.215	0.5087	0.4865	-4.370	North	S

Some Interpretations of this data (Averages of the percentages):

South facing glaciers lost about 2.24x the extent of north facing glaciers (North: -6.23%, South: -13.95%)
South facing glaciers lost about 1.96x the volume of north facing glaciers (North: -8.36%, South: -16.41%)
Glaciers that start lower on the mountain lost about 4.86x as much extent as those that start near or on the summit (Summit: -2.90%, Cirque: -14.11%)
Glaciers that start lower on the mountain lost about 4.30x as much volume as those that start near or on the summit (Summit: -3.94%, Cirque: -16.94%)
Details:
- Extent:
  - North-Facing Summit: -2.26%
  - South-Facing Summit: -3.29%
  - North-Facing Cirque: -7.71%
  - South-Facing Cirque: -18.05%
- Volume:
  - North-Facing Summit: -3.08%
  - South-Facing Summit: -4.46%
  - North-Facing Cirque: -10.35%
  - South-Facing Cirque: -21.00%

Detailed Information on Individual Glaciers

Choose a Glacier:

References

Beason, S.R., 2017, Change in glacial extent at Mount Rainier National Park from 1896-2015: Natural Resource Report NPS/MORA/NRR-2017/1472, National Park Service, 98 p.
Beason, S.R., T.R. Kenyon, R.P. Jost, and L.J. Walker, 2022, A vanishing landscape: Current trends for the glaciers of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA: Poster 23-9, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 54, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-381984.
George, J.L. and S.R. Beason, 2017, Dramatic changes to glacial volume and extent since the late 19th century at Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA: Poster #158-6, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 49, No. 6, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-299694.
Driedger, C.L. and P.M. Kennard, 1986, Ice volumes on Cascade Volcanoes: Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Three Sisters, and Mount Shasta: Professional Paper 1365, United States Geological Survey, 38 p.
Nylen, T.H., 2004, Spatial and temporal variations of glaciers (1913-1994) on Mt. Rainier and the relation with climate: M.S. Thesis, Portland State University, 128 p.