Researchers say Alaskan glacier falling apart

The Columbia Glacier in Alaska has retreated about 8 miles over the last 18 years and is disintegrating at an increasing rate

December 6, 2000
Web posted at: 12:12 PM EST (1712 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Alaska's Columbia Glacier, which moves into the sea at a rate of up to 110 feet (34 meters) a day, is ready to disintegrate, leaving a spectacular fjord, researchers said on Tuesday.

It should eventually retreat as far as 15 miles (25 km) up the valley it has carved out to a point equal to sea level, Tad Pfeffer, University of Colorado at Boulder researcher, said.

"It should be quite a spectacular sight in the not too distant future," Pfeffer said in a statement.

The glacier, which stretches from the Chugach Mountains into Prince Williams Sound near Valdez, has retreated about 8 miles (12 km) since 1982 and thinned quite a bit.

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The glacier is breaking off new icebergs into Prince Williams Sound much faster than it is accumulating new snow, said Pfeffer, an associate professor in civil, environmental and architectural engineering.

"It is spending its capital, in effect. The glacier either will retreat rapidly up the fjord or thin rapidly and essentially disintegrate in an abrupt event."

Writing in Eos, a weekly newspaper published by the American Geophysical Union, Pfeffer and colleagues said measurements show the Columbia Glacier is about 34 miles (54 km) long, 3 miles (5 km) wide and more than 3,000 feet (1,000 meters) thick in some places.

It started moving more quickly in 1982, probably as an indirect response to the warming climate, Pfeffer said. Neighboring glaciers do not show the same dramatic changes.

"The loss of ice primarily is due to calving (breaking) rather than to thermal reasons," he said.

He said the icebergs broken off into Prince William Sound pose a potential hazard to ships, but eventually may attract more traffic to the region.

"I think we may be seeing tour boats where the glacier is presently sitting in the not too distant future," Pfeffer said.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The Alaska SAR Facility: Columbia Glacier
University of Colorado at Boulder
American Geophysical Union

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