2014-15 SEASONAL NOTES by Adam Wlostovski
Canada Glacier
Canada Glacier ablation stakes, notebook copy
11/17/2014 - Upper Canada stake measurements made with Rene N. Hiked up from LH around 0930, returned around 15:00
#41c: 138.0, 138.4, 138.0, 138.0 cm
crusty, wind blow snow accumulated locally around the stake
snow depth approximately 8cm, but only too a single depth measurement
snow is tough and crusty, uniform composition throughout
single density measurement in middle of pack: 0.34 g/cm^3
#41b: 163.1, 162, 163.6, 163.7 cm
ice surface, no snow immediately at the base of the stake. However wind-blown snow crusts are near and around the stake area. Ice surface slopes gently E-W
#42: 153.4, 153.5, 153.2, 153.1 cm
ice surface, no snow
#43: 129.3, 129.3, 129.8, 129.7 cm
ice surface, no snow
#44: 113.7, 113.7, 113.8, 113.8 cm
wind crusted snow at stake base
snow depth - 6.5 cm, but only one depth measurement was made
snow density = 0.28 g/cm^3, only one sample taken, uniform composition throughout pack
#45: 132.1, 132.3, 132.5, 132.5 cm
thin wind crust of snow around stake, but not immediately at base
depth of snow around base place: 2, 1.3, 2.0, 0 cm
no snow density measurement made, but estimated at 0.28 g/cm^3
#46: 133.7 133.5 134.3 134.5 cm
wind blow, crusty snow around base of stake
depth of snow around baseplate: 5.7, 4.4, 5.4, 1 cm
pit dug north of stake to a depth of 5.8 cm
snow density = 0.22 g/cm^3, only room for one density sample, uniform composition of pack
#47: 165.4, 165.6, 165.9, 165.6 cm
ice surface, no snow
** need to insert a new stake in January
#48 (older): 178.7, 178.5, 178.7, 178.8 cm
snow around base of stake, wind blown crust
depth of snow measured around baseplate: 18.4, 14, 13.5, 18 cm
snow pit dug. Total pit depth 18.3 cm. 0 cm @ ice surface, 18.3 cm @ top of pit
18.3 - 17 cm: unconsolidated sugary snow, not enough for density measurement, estimated to be 0.2 g/cm^3. 17.3 - 0 cm: uniform snow consistency and texture, density measurement made, density = 0.27 g/cm^3
the rather deep snow accumulation here on an east facing slope, uniform consistency, no apparent layering indicates accumulation during a single wind event frome the west.
#48 (newly inserted): 139.6, 139.6, 139.4, 139.5 cm
ice surface, no snow immediately at base of stake, but wind blown snow is noted in the area
#49: 205.9, 205.5, 205.7, 205.7 cm
no snow at stake location, but board was placed within a large cryoconite hole
depth from lip of croconite hole to frozen bottom: 5.2, 3.8, 5.8, 6,0 cm
** needs to be replaced during next vist!!
#50: 162.2, 162.0, 162.9, 162.8 cm
ice surface, no snow
#51: 191, 190.5, 190.8, 191.2 cm
stake is in a melt hole, so the board was positioned on top of the hole lying on the edges
depth from hole edges to bottom: 14, 15.5, 11.3 cm
** needs to be replaced during next vist!!
11/19/2014 - Lower portion of the Canada Glacier with Rene Nefke and Alasdair Turner
Sunny, clear skies, very beautiful day
#52: 191.9, 192.3, 192.9, 192.4 cm
snow depth: 0.8 cm of freshly fallen snow, density estimated at 0.15 g/cm^3
#53D: 201.8, 201.9, 201.8, 202.1 cm
plate divit: 0.2, 0.3, 0.1, 0 cm
snow depth 1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.5 cm
freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3
#53E (newly inserted): 120.3, 120.7, 120.8, 120.8
#54E: 139.0, 138.6, 138.5, 139.0 cm
snow depth: 0.5, 0.4, 0.5, 0.5 cm
freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3
plate divit - no remarks noted.
#55E: 127.5, 128.5, 127.9, 127.5 cm
plate divit: 0.3, 0.3, 0, 0 cm
snow depth 0.3, 0.7, 0.5, 0.5 cm
freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3
stake located in a melt channel that seems to drain towards Green Creek
#65E: 224.2, 223.9, 224.4, 224.3 cm
plate divit: 0.3, 0.1, 0, 0 cm
snow depth: 0.7, 0.6, 0.2, 0.2 cm
freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3
#65F: 27.1, 27.3, 27.5, 27.2 cm
plate divit 0, 0, 0, 0 cm
snow depth: 0.3, 0.6, 0.2, 0.2 cm
freshly fallen snow, estimated density 0.15 g/cm^3
#56F: 209.9, 210.2, 210.5, 210.0 cm
plate divit: 0.2, 0, 0, 0 cm
snow depth: 1.1, 0.8, 1.1, 0.6 cm
snow material - no comment made, but assume freshly fallen snow
#56E: 52.7, 52.7, 52.9, 53.1 cm
snow depth; 0.9, 1, 0.9, 0.9
plate divit: none
* board is not on level surface, but rather lying 7cm from the ice-stake transition. So, the board wad definitely not lying directly on the snow. How to account for this?
#64E: 59.9, 59.8, 59.8, 59.9 cm
board divit 0.2, 0, 0, 0 cm
snow depth 0.5, 0.4, 0.5, 0.2
freshly fallen snow, density estimated 0.15 g/cm^3
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Glacier ablation stake measurements - November 2014
11/18/2014 - Accumulation zone with Alisdair Turner (MCM FSTP)
#13C (shorter stake) - 17.1, 18, 17.9, 17.2 cm
#13A (?) (longer, broken stake): 64.6, 64.3, 64.5, 64.3
snow pit - surface @ 45cm, bottom @ 20cm
wind-blown crusted snow at surface
43.33.5 - unconsolidated sugar, density = 0.23 g/cm^3
33.5 - 28.0 hard slab, density = 0.23 g/cm^3
28 - bottom tough slab, density = 0.3 g/cm^3
#23B: 145.7, 145.8, 145.5, 145.0 cm
plate divit: 0.5, 0.2, 0.1, 0 cm
surface faceted crystals present on solid, crusty surface snow
snow pit - surface @ 35.3, bottom @ 0 cm
35.3 - 35 - surface facets, estimated density = 0.15 g/cm^3
35- 23 very tough, density >0.32 g/cm^3 (incomplete sample)
23 - 0 loose sugar, density = 0.28 g/cm^3
#22D: 28.9, 29.0, 28.8, 29.0 cm
plate divit: 0.7, 0, 0, 0 cm
snow pit - surface @ 35 cm, bottom @ 2cm
35-34 - surface faceting, density estimated @ 0.15 g/cm^3
24-30.5 - tough slab, density = 0.35 g/cm^3
30.5-14.5 - wind blown snow, not as tough as layer above, density = 0.29 g/cm^3
14.5-2 - tough slab, density = 0.26 g/cm^3
#20B: 28.9, 29.0, 29.3, 28.9 cm
#20C: 124.1, 123.8, 123.7, 124.2 cm
snow pit - surface @ 47cm, bottom @ 13 cm
46.7 - 47 surface facets, density estimated at 0.15 g/cm^3
46.7 - 36 tough layer, density = 0.27 g/cm^3
36 - 33 tough layer, density not measured
33 - 13 loose sugar, density = 0.26 g/cm^3
#21E: 171.5, 170.9, 171.0, 171.6 cm
plate divit: 0.1, 0, 0, 0 cm
snow pit - surface @19.8 cm, bottom at 58 cm
only one continuous layer was observed thoughout, density = 0.28 g/cm^3
* #21D was not observed, must have been buried
#19C: 55.9, 56.2, 56.3, 56.2 cm
very crusty, smooth, wind blown surface
snow pit - top @ 51cm, bottom @ 21 cm
51-50 - surface facets, density estimated @ 0.15 g/cm^3
50-44 - very tough layer, density = 0.29 g/cm^3
44-37 - consolidated sugar, density = 0.28 g/cm^3
37-21 - unconsolidated sugar, density = 0.25 g/cm^3
#18C: 58.5, 58.4, 58.8, 58.6 cm
plate divot - 0.2, 0.2, 0, 0 cm
snow pit - surface @ 18cm, bottom @ 1cm
18-15.5 surface crust, density = 0.29 g/cm^3
15.5-8 consolidated sugar, density = 0.32 g/cm^3
8-7.5 crust, no density measurement
7.5-1 consolidated sugar, density = 0.26 g/cm^3
#17B: 112.1, 112.4, 112.7, 112.1 cm
snow pit - surface @67.5 bottom @ 39 cm
67.5-59 medium consilidated sugar, density = 0.23
59-51 tough slab, density = 0.35 g/cm^3
51-39 loosely consolidated sugar, density = 0.23 g/cm^3
#15: 57.5, 57.6, 57.7, 57.5 cm
snow pit, top @ 29.5, bottom @ 0 cm
29.5-28.5 surface facets, density estimated at 0.15 g/cm^3
28.5-25 tough slab, density not measured
25-17 consolidated sugar, density = 0.24
17-6.5 poorly consolidated sugar, density = 0.19 g/cm^3
6.5-0 consolidated sugar, density not measured.
#14: 164.6, 164.9, 164.6, 164.3 cm
ice surface, windblown crust in region of stake, but not immediately at stake bottom
#12: 58.6, 58.6, 58.7, 58.7 cm
ice surface, some wind blown snow around stake but not immedately at stake bottom
11/20/2014 - Ablation zone with Alasdair Turner. Cloudy, cold (-18 C), and windy (25 mph, up valley) at the beginning of the day (started at 09:30). Clouds broke and sun came out by 11:30 or 12:00.
#11B (older): 207.2, 206.8, 206.0, 206.4 cm
plate divit: 0.5, 0.3, 0.3, 0 cm
snow depth: 4, 4.7, 3, 3 cm
snow pit dug north of stake, depth of pit = 10cm, all a single layer of windblown crusty fragmented snow
density = 0.33 g/cm^3
#11C: 89.9, 90.1, 90.3, 90.1 cm
plate divit: 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.4 cm
snow depth: 10.5, 16.0, 8.7, 8.4 cm
snow pit: top @ 12 cm, bottom @ 0cm
12-5.5, density = 0.27 g/cm^3
5.5-0, density = 0.21 g/cm^3
#10C: 93.5, 94.0, 93.5, 93.4 cm
plate divit: 0, 0.3, 0.2, 0.2 cm
ice surface is sloped from N - S
snow depth: 0.3, 0.5, 0.5, 2.4 cm - surface hoar crystals
density estimate - 0.1 g/cm^3
#10B: 204.2, 204.2, 203.6, 204.2 cm
snow depth: 1.4, 0.2, 0.2, 0.3 cm - surface hoar crystals
plate divit 0.3, 0, 0, 0 cm
ice surface slopes from W - E
#9B: 215.1, 215.9, 216.3, 215.0 cm
plate divit: 0.4, 0, 0, 0 cm
snow depth: 0.4, 0.5, 0, 0 cm - surface hoar crystals
#9C (newly installed!): 120.8, 120.8, 121.0, 120.9
located aprox 30m upslope of #9B
no snow depth measurements because snow was disturbed during drilling, however a fine layer of surface hoar crystals was observed prior to the onset of drilling.
#6: 91.4, 91.7, 91.6, 91.4 cm
plate divit: 0.4, 0.3, 0.7, 0 cm
snow depth: 11.5, 19.1, 17.5, 23.5 cm
snow pit: surface @ 9.5 cm, bottom at 0 cm
all a single layer, density = 0.32 g/cm^3
tough layer, rounded edges of grains indicate pervious melting, thin layer of surface hoar at the top.
#78: 103.4, 103.5, 103.4, 103.3 cm
plate divit: 0.5, 0, 0, 0.1 cm
snow depth: 1, 0.5, 0.4, 0.2 cm - surface hoar crystals
#8: 88.0, 88.2, 88.0, 87.8 cm
plate divit: none
snow depth: 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0 cm - surface hoar crystals
#7: 107.5 107.6, 107.6, 107.5 cm
plate divit 0.1, 0, 0, 0 cm
snow depth: 0.2 0.2, 0, 0 cm - surface hoar crystals
surface is mostly blue ice
#77: 126.4, 126.5, 126.5, 126.4 cm
no snow present, only blue ice
#5: 116.5, 116.0, 115.5, 116.0 cm
plate divit: 0, 0, 0, 0.3 cm
snow depth: 0.2, 0.5, 0.4, 0.2 cm - surface hoar crystals
Howard Glacier
Howard Glacier mass balance stake heights
November 2014
11/21/2014 with Alasdair Turner
clear skies, very sunny, little wind, -10 C
#26: 110.5, 110.6, 110.4, 110.2 cm
plate divit: 1, 1.5, 1.5, 1.0 cm
snow pit: top @ 50 cm, bottom @ 20 cm
50-48 surface facets and hoar crystals
48-45 dense tough crusty layer, density = 0.27 g/cm^3
45-42 loose sugar, density = 0.16 g/cm^3
42-39 hard crust, density = 0.27 g/cm^3
39-33 loose sugar, density not measured
#25D: 141.3, 141.3, 141.4, 141.7 cm
plate divit: 0.5, 1.0, 0.5, 1.6 cm
snow pit top @ 8.5 cm, bottom at 0 cm
* only able to dig 8.5 cm snow pit before hitting an icy layer, which we were unable to penetrate with the shovel
8.5-7.0 surface facets and hoar crystals
7-0 super dense crust, density = 0.38 g/cm^3
#25C: 23.1, 23.0, 23.0, 22.9 cm
plate divit: 1.0, 0.5, 0.3, 0.5
#24B: 97.8, 98.2, 98.2, 98.0 cm
plate divit: 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 1.0 cm
snow pit, top @ 16 cm, bottom @ 0 cm
16-14.5 surface facets and hoar crystals
14.5-7.5 very tough wind blown snow, density not sampled b/c too tough, estimate 0.38
7.5-0 loose sugar melt forms, density = 0.32 g/cm^3
#57A: 112.1, 112.0, 111.6, 111.4 cm
plate divit: 1.1, 0.9, 1.1, 0 cm
snow pit: top @ 11 cm, bottom @ 0 cm
11-8.5 surface facets and hoar crystals
8.5-6.5 lightly consolidated wind layer
combined dnesity of above layers = 0.27 g/cm^3
6.5-3.5 dense tough wind layer, density = 0.39 g/cm^3
3.5-0 light, loose sugar, density = 0.23 g/cm^4
#27A: 184.0, 183.9, 183.4, 184.0 cm
plate divit: 0.2, 0.5, 0, 0 cm
snow depths; 1, 1, 1, 2.5 cm
loose surface facets and hoar crystals
stake located within the ice snow transition zone
** beware, Alasdair considers this stake to be in a crevassed zone **
#28B: 103.9, 103.9, 104.0, 104.0 cm
plate divit: 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.2 cm
snow depth: 1, 1, 1, 1 cm
loose surface facets and hoar crystals, estimate density as 0.1 g/cm^3
#29B: 106.8, 106.8, 107.2, 107.1 cm
plate divit 0.2, 0, 0, 0 cm
snow depth: 1, 0.8, 1, 0.5 cm
loose surface facets and hoar crystals, estimate density as 0.1 g/cm^3
#30B: 124.5, 125.1, 124.4, 124.9 cm
plate divit 0.2, 0.2, 0.2, 0.2 cm
snow depth: 1, 1, 1, 1 cm
loose, wind transported fragmented snow
#31D: 220.5, 221.0, 221.2, 222.1 cm
plate divit: 1, 0.5, 0.5, 0 cm
snow depth: 1, 0.5, 1, 1 cm
loose surface facets and hoar crystals, estimate density as 0.1 g/cm^3
#31E (newly inserted): 113.9, 113.4, 113.2, 113.8 cm
newly installed stake, no snow depths taken because site was disturbed during drilling. However, the snow present before drilling was similar to that at 31D
#33C: 146.3, 145.9, 146.6, 147.2 cm
plate divit: 0.7, 0.5, 0.5, 0 cm
snow depths: 5.8, 2.5, 1, 1 cm
loose, wind transported fragmented snow
#34D: 61.0, 58.7, 61.0, 61.4 cm
plate divit: 0.5, 0, 0, 0.5 cm
snow depth: 0.7, 0.5, 0.7, 0.5 cm
#32D: 148.0, 148.0, 148.1, 148.1 cm
plate divit: 0, 0, 0.1, 0
snow depth: 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.7 cm
loose, wind blown fragments and hoar crystals
Taylor Glacier
Taylor Glacier mass balance stake observations</span></p>
November 2014
11/22/2014 with Alasdair Turner, dropped off by Paul Murphy
mostly clear skies, some high sirrus clouds, sunny, little wind down valley (12 knots), -10 C
#88D (newly inserted): 126.2, 126.2, 126.0, 125.9 cm
no divit, blue ice surface, no appreciable amount of snow
did not measure 88C as it was too bent to be worthwhile. We measured this stake last year, but never used it to inform the model.
** note, there was some minor snow accumulation at all sites within the wind formed micro-topography of the glacier surface. This snow was sugary and very mobile in the wind. Never accumulated enough to affect the position of the baseplate on the glacier surface.
#87C: 191.4, 191.6, 191.5, 191.3 cm
no divit, blue ice surface, little blown snow
** replace Jan 15
#86C: 159.0, 158.9, 159.3, 159.1 cm
no divit, blue ice surface
#85C: found this stake, which we did not find in January. The stake was melted-in and nearly completely lying on its side. We removed it from the ice and returned it to camp
#85D (newly inserted): 119.4, 119.4, 120.2, 120.0 cm
no plate divit, blue ice surface
#83E: 71.5, 71.7, 71.6, 71.6 cm
no plate divit, blue ice surface
#84D: 121.6, 121.6, 121.7, 121.5 cm
no plate divit, blue ice surface
#82E: stake not found. Last November (2013) this stake was on the cliff of a drainage channel. The stake was likely lost into the channel. Should we replace this site? Let M. Gooseff decide.