Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: A forty-year record (1984–2023) of glacier mass balance and areal extent measurement documented the decline and loss of the Ice Worm Glacier in the North Cascade Range, Washington. After a period of minor variations from 1944 to 1986, the glacier lost 83% of its area from 1986 to 2023 and had a cumulative mass loss of −31.5 m w.e. In 2023, the area at 32,000 m2 and the majority of the ice thickness at 2–10 m was insufficient to generate movement. The bottom of the glacier was observed in all existing crevasse features, and stream channels in 2023 at depths of 2–10 m. An ice cave extended the length of the glacier in 2024 illustrating an ice thickness of less than 8 m. This glacier area loss has led to declining glacier runoff into Hyas Creek and the Cle Elum River.
Source: Water
DOI: 10.3390/w17030432
Authors: Mauri S. Pelto, Jill Pelto
Institution: Nichols College
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
OpenAlex ID: W4407141444