Geologic Publications for Mount Rainier

Comparative morphology of debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers in the Western United States

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Author(s): Lilianna Nunez, Jacob Baker, Claire Todd

Category: PRESENTATION
Document Type: Poster 265-3
Publisher: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs
Published Year: 2024
Volume: 56
Number: 5
Pages:
DOI Identifier: 10.1130/abs/2024AM-405245
ISBN Identifier:
Keywords:

Abstract:
Debris-covered glaciers may transition into rock glaciers as they ablate over time. In this study, we compare the morphology of debris-covered glaciers at Mount Rainier, WA (~ 46.5 °N), Mount Hood, OR (~ 45.4 °N), and Mount Shasta, CA (~41.4 °N), with rock glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, CA (~36 - 40 °N). Surface elevation profiles of glacial debris cover on Mount Rainier collected between 2018 and 2023 show glacier surface topography indicative of active ice flow and supraglacial drainage, including supraglacial meltwater channels tens of meters deep. We expect that these features are more muted on rock glaciers, given findings from glaciated regions elsewhere. We will collect additional elevation transects from the debris-covered surface of Emmons Glacier in summer 2024, and compare them to DEM-derived surface elevation profiles of debris-covered glaciers on Mount Hood and Mount Shasta, and to rock glaciers in the Sierra Nevada. By comparing debris-covered glacier and rock glacier surface topography across decreasing latitudes, we hope to learn more about how debris-covered glaciers transition to rock glaciers as equilibrium-line altitudes increase.

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Suggested Citations:
In Text Citation:
Nunez and others (2024) or (Nunez et al., 2024)

References Citation:
Nunez, L., J. Baker, and C. Todd, 2024, Comparative morphology of debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers in the Western United States: Poster 265-3, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 56, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2024AM-405245.