Year: 1995
Type: article
Abstract: a progress report EARLY ACTIVITYIn earl y Jun e 1993, we determined th a t accelerated ice fl ow was spreading from the main Bering Glacier trunk to th e upper piedmont lobe a nd that an in ci pient surge was in progress (Muller and others, 1993 ) .U.S.G.S. aerial ph otog raphs taken in M a rch 1993 bear no evid ence of this abrupt change in regime, which interrupts a general down-wasting a nd retrea t that has persisted since 1968.I ce-front a d vance currently in progress substantia tes the hypoth esis of a 20~30 year surge cycle suggested by Post (1972 ) .Bering Glacier, the largest alpine g lacier known to surgc, d escends to a coas ta l lowland fro m the Chu gach R ange wh ere it is nouri shed by the Bagley I ce Field.The Bering Glacier trunk flow s pas t O ve rrid e Rid ge, a referen ce landmark for thickening ice, tha t has in th e past signa led developing surge conditions, and Lh e western Grind le Hills as it leaves the m o untains and spread s to join Stell er Glacier (Fig. I ) .Togeth er, th ey comprise th e largest known glacier sys tem in North Ameri ca (5173 km 2 ) and form a pi ed mon t lobe second on ly in size to th a t of M a laspina Glacie r, 150 km to th e cast.Th e piedm ont lobe fronts in T siva t a nd T siu Lakes on its eastern margin a nd Vitus Lake to the so uth (Fig. 2) .Bordering the so uth ern Grindle Hills, Tsiva t Subl obe occupies T siva t Lake Basin northeas t of W ee ping Pea t and Pea t F a lls Isla nd s, which sepa rate Tsivat and T siu Lakes.Bentwood I sla nd lies between T siu and Vitu s Lakes .Th e glacier rem a ined in co ntact w. ith Peat Fa lls Island at the western sh ore of T siu L a ke until the isla nd was en tirely over-ridd en in J a nu a ry 1994.Other forela nd land masses and lake basins un covered by ice recession between 1978 and 1993 (Mull er and Fleisher, 1995 ) a re 144" OO ' W 60"30 ' N 60" 00 ' N OSlO 20 km Fleisher and others: Correspondence currently b eing re-occupied as Bering Glacier continues to press forw a rd.
Source: Journal of Glaciology
Authors: P.J. Fleisher, E. H. Muller, D. H. Cadwell, C. L. Rosenfeld, P. K. Bailey, J. M. Pelton, M. A. Puglisi
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1663566671