. The glacier has gone through a rapid retreat since its maximum position at the mouth of Glacier Bay in 1780, scaling back more than 12km between 1941 and 2004 alone. Photographs of the Muir Glacier taken in 1941 and 2004 showing the retreat of the glacier. August 13, 1941; August 4, 1950; and August 31, 2004. click image for more information. Carroll Glacier 1906 – 2004. Global warming causes sea level to rise in two ways. —Credit: Photographs by William Osgood Field (1941) and Bruce F. Molnia (2004). The 3 pictures have the same field of view and record the changes that occurred during the 63 years separating 1941 and 2004. USGS. Muir Glacier and Inlet, 1890s – 2005. Originally uploaded in Cutting Edge:Topics:Climate Change. The ice thickness is more than 700 meters. Pingback: 2.2 Hydrosphere/Cryosphere-Muir Alaskan Glacier. 16.7k members in the the_meltdown community. 464 votes, 154 comments. "Forty-six gigatons of ice from Alaskan glaciers was lost on average each year from 2003 to 2010" (Source). 9 • Melting glaciers, which supply drinking and irrigation water for hundreds of millions of people around the world, will be lost. Muir and Riggs Glaciers 1941-2004 The upper Muir Inlet in the east arm of Glacier Bay has been completely transformed in 60 years. The Riggs glacier is now disconnected to the Muir and has retreated by 0.25km. In the 1941, the terminus of the glacier is on the lower right corner of the photo. For Muir, the movement of glaciers represented a key indicator of their status as what he called “living glaciers”, as detractors like Whitney routinely argued that Muir was confusing the presence of unmelted snowfields leftover from the winter for glaciers. In 1794, the explorer Captain George Vancouver found that most of Glacier Bay was covered by an enormous ice sheet, some 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) in places. Three repeat photos of the Muir Glacier, Alaska taken on 13 August 1941, 4 August 1950 and 31 August 2004 . Such photographic evidence makes it hard to argue against climate change. 1941-2004 comparison: Glacier Bay National Park and Reserve's White Thunder Ridge as seen on August 13, 1941 (left) and August 31, 2004 (right). While historical photos like these show change over many decades, satellites are giving us a better understanding of how Earth’s ice cover has changed in the more recent past. See the copyright page for more information. The images below show Muir Glacier, also in southern Alaska, first in August 1941 (left) and again in August 2004 (right). "Forty-six gigatons of ice from Alaskan glaciers was lost on average each year from 2003 to 2010" (Source). July 30, 1909 and August 11, 2004. click image for more information. The 3 pictures have the same field of view and record the changes that occurred during the 63 years separating 1941 and 2004. AS BG CL CR ESSI G GD GM GMPV HS NH NP OS SM SSP SSS ST TS. In places, a thickness of more than two-thirds of a mile of ice had been lost. Selected Answer: a. global climate change Correct Answer: a. global climate change Muir Glacier was more than 2,000 feet thick in 1941 (2004 USGS photograph by Bruce Molnia.) 15 Muir Glacier, Alaska (August 1941/August 2004) While comparing the two photos of the Muir Glacier in Alaska, there has been an appalling transformation of the landscape within the past nineteen years. In places, more than a 1.0 kilometer (0.62 mile) thickness of ice had been lost. Shown above is an image taken of the Muir glacier in Alaska in the year 1941, followed by an image of the glacier taken in 2004. Muir Glacier and Inlet (1950) This photo from August 1950 is the first of two repeat photos to document the significant changes in the 9 years since the 1941 shot. Muir Glacier has undergone very rapid, well-documented retreat since its maximum position at the mouth of Glacier Bay around 1780. How small changes can make a big difference: tipping points in Antarctica, Running a live stream of proglacial processes. Between 1941 and 2004 the glacier retreated more than seven miles in distance and thinned by over 2625 feet by its thickness. Photo 1: W. O. Alaska’s Muir Glacier, like many Alaskan glaciers, has retreated and thinned dramatically since the 19th century. Muir Glacier has retreated 20 km (12 miles) between 1941 and 2004 (lower), and 45 km (28 miles) since 1899. (W.O. Just under 90 miles from Juneau, Muir Glacier was a popular stop for many tourists in the late 19th century, and still is today. This northeast-looking photograph, on the southeastern side of White Thunder Ridge ,shows the lower reaches of Muir Glacier, then a large tidewater calving valley glacier, and its tributary Riggs Glacier. From 1941 to 2004, the glacier receded over 7 … Muir Glacier, Alaska, in 1880 (left) and 2005 (right). Are glaciers changing? Please get in touch with the editor, Violaine Coulon. Selected Answer: d. estuary Correct Answer: d. estuary Question 7 4 out of 4 points The photos of the Muir Glacier taken in 1941 (left) and 2004 (right) demonstrate the consequences of____. Ocean water has … In 1941 (left), Muir Glacier filled this valley in Glacier National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The 3 pictures have the same field of view and record the changes that occurred during the 63 years separating 1941 and 2004. Just under 90 miles from Juneau, Muir Glacier was a popular stop for many tourists in the late 19th century, and still is today. Muir Glacier, Alaska, in 1941 (left) and 2004 (right). Muir Glacier, 2004. Blue water in foreground, glacier in background, large amount of rock exposed. Muir Glacier, in 1941, was drowning in heaps of white snow. 9 years later, in 1950, the Muir Glacier has retreated by more than 3 km, is more than 100m thinner but is still connected to Riggs Glacier. 33 shares Martynas Klimas . First, over the last 50 years, the oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the heat that has been added to the climate system due to the build-up of heat-trapping gases. This contrasting and disturbing image spoke louder than any words had ever spoken before about this issue. Muir Glacier has retreated nearly 2 miles, exposing Muir Inlet, and thinned by more than 300 feet. Here is a photo of Alaska's Muir Glacier, pictured in August 1941 (left) and August 2004 (right). The aim of the blog is to get you, the reader, excited about all things related to ice, whether it be the tiniest ice crystals, snow drifts, beautiful mountain glaciers or the vast polar ice sheets. It shows the lower reaches of Muir Glacier, then a large, tidewater calving valley glacier and its tributary, Riggs Glacier. Image … Grinnell Glacier from Overlook 1940 – 2006. 1941 to 2004 comparison: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve's White Thunder Ridge as seen on August 13, 1941 (left) and August 31, 2004 (right). According to a 1914 book from the National Geographic Society, the Muir Glacier was 25 to 40 miles further south in 1794 than the early 1900s. Photographs of the Muir Glacier taken in 1941 and 2004 showing the retreat of the glacier. For nearly two centuries prior to 1941, Muir Glacier had been retreating. Does anyone have a current photo taken at the same location? Click on thumbnail on the left below to view the Muir Glacier in Google Earth and click on the thumbnail on the right below to see how Muir Glacier changed from 1941 to 2014. The photo comes from and the text is inspired from the section “Repeat photography of the Alaskan Glaciers” on U.S. Geological Survey website. Writes like a mad dervish, rolls to dodge responsibility, might have bitten the Moon once. The Muir is a valley glacier (Alaska) that has significantly retreated over the last 2 centuries. From 1941 to 2004, the glacier receded over 7 … Thumbnail Medium Original. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey, Sophie Berger is a postdoc at the Alfred Wegener Institut, Germany. Detailed Description. She is using various remote sensing data and techniques to investigate the dynamics and stability of the ice shelves in Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica). Unless otherwise indicated, the content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). By 2004, the Muir glacier has retreated further inland and its terminus is no longer visible on the picture. Be sure to catch Muir on your cruise through Glacier Bay! Field, # 41-64, courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Archive. Muir Glacier, 1941. Glacier covers most of photo, no water visible. Muir and Riggs Glaciers, Muir Inlet, Alaska - 1941 (Public domain.) The Muir is a valley glacier (Alaska) that has significantly retreated over the last 2 centuries. This northeast-looking photograph, on the southeastern side of White Thunder Ridge ,shows the lower reaches of Muir Glacier, then a large tidewater calving valley glacier, and its tributary Riggs Glacier. Muir Glacier, Alaska, August 13, 1941, photo by B.F. Molnia. All glacier images are all from Alaska, U.S. and were published by the National Snow and Ice Data Center - World Data Center for Glaciology (www.nsidc.org) Page numbers listed above correspond to the numbers on the following pages. She tweets as, Cryospheric Sciences | Image of the Week : 63 years of the Muir Glacier’s retreat, The photo comes from and the text is inspired from the section “Repeat photography of the Alaskan Glaciers” on. Alaska. Field, # 41-64, courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Archive. From 1941 to 2004, the front of the glacier moved back about seven miles while its thickness decreased by more than 2,625 feet, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. June 24, 2019, 1:15 am. Muir and Riggs Glaciers 1941-2004 The upper Muir Inlet in the east arm of Glacier Bay has been completely transformed in 60 years. Muir Glacier had been retreating since the mid-eighteenth century, with maximum retreat exceeding 50 kilometers. Muir Glacier, Alaska. The Muir is then a tidewater glacier up to 700m thick and is well connected to its tributary, the Riggs Glacier (upper right part of the photo). The Columbia Glacier near Valdez in Prince William Sound has retreated 15 km (9.3 mi) in the last 25 years. Muir Glacier in 1941 and 1950 In places, more than a kilometer thickness of ice had been lost. Muir Glacier in Alaska, as seen in 1941 and 2004 Credit: Photo courtesy of William Field (1941) and Bruce Molnia (2004) and the National Snow and Ice Data Center , University of Colorado, Boulder. It was a tidewater glacier, meaning that it flowed out onto the ocean. Muir and Riggs Glaciers filled Muir Inlet. Q18: How does the change in the Muir Glacier compare to changes in glaciers in the Alaska region as a whole? Muir and his partner, Galen Clark, discovered that the Maclure Glacier was moving at an inch per day. Once the highlight attraction of Glacier Bay, the Muir Glacier filled the entire east arm of the bay. By 2004 (right), Muir Glacier had retreated 12 kilometers (7 miles) and thinned by more than 800 meters (2,600 feet). Between the mid-1920s and early 1940s, and August 10, 2005. click image for more information. However, it still is connected with tributary Riggs Glacier. – Environmental Science-1301-Krystal Rocha, Your email address will not be published. McCarty Glacier, Alaska. In the 1941, the terminus of the glacier is on the lower right corner of the photo. Would you like to write a blog entry about your research? Photo 2 : W. O. Unfortunately, Muir Glacier is rapidly receding. All in all, Muir documented 65 such living glaciers over … The once frozen Muir Glacier with snow-peaked mountains nearby in 1941 had turned into a lake having green trees around it by 2004. A place to share meltdowns from your friends, family, fellow Redditors … Muir Glacier, Alaska, in 1941 (left) and 2004 (right). This 1941 photograph shows the lower reaches of Muir Glacier, then a large, tidewater calving valley glacier, and its tributary, Riggs Glacier. In the 1941, the terminus of the glacier is on the lower right corner of the photo. Field), Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Data. It's always struck me as a bit ironic that Alaska, … Got wisdom to pour? Photo 1: W. O. Iceberg Glacier ~1940 – 2008. Education in glaciology: Witnessing the death of a glacier, 2.2 Hydrosphere/Cryosphere-Muir Alaskan Glacier. In 1941 (upper) the ice was about 1000m (3000 feet) deep, and 3 km (1.8 miles) wide. Unfortunately, Muir Glacier is rapidly receding. Photo 2 : W. O. She completed her PhD at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium. Photographs from the 1940s to the 2000s show the … Here, the latest fieldwork programmes, research projects or scientific results will be showcased by bloggers from the cryospheric community. These photographs are from the National Snow and Ice Data Center's repeat photography project. The Muir is a valley glacier (Alaska) that has significantly retreated over the last 2 centuries. The séracs in the lower right-hand corner of the photograph mark Muir Glacier’s terminus. USGS Photo o Show More Show Less 6 of 7 USGS-01-Muir … Muir Glacier, Alaska, in 1880 (left) and 2005 (right).