Activity 2.2 – Cryosphere: Athabasca Glacier, Canada

Original photo 1918

(Wheeler, 1918)

Second photo 2011

Image was taken in 2011 by the MLP

Google Earth view 2022

(Google Earth, 2022)

Athabasca Glacier, in Alberta, Canada 1918 to 2022

In the first picture taken by Arthur Wheeler in 1918, the glacier is mostly covered in snow and covers a great amount of area. In the second photo, 93 years later, the glacier retreated a significant amount and revealed the underneath. Nasa Earth Observatory stated that the glacier lost half of its volume in the past 125 years. In the bottom corner of the second photo, you can also see a lake. CBC came out with an article that wrote “snow is added to a glacier and then melts away, feeding rivers. . .” which is demonstrated here with the Athabasca Glacier. The Google Earth photo I screen-captured, shows what the glacier looks like today in 2022 from a similar viewpoint. Today, there is way more greenery than snow shown, the complete opposite of what was captured in 1918. The highway that can be taken beside the glacier is also seen in the Google Earth photo.

Problem

According to Parks Canada, an organization that helps tourist plan trips to the parks in Canada, The Athabasca Glacier is located within the Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park and is visited by many people every year. This glacier is retreating around 16 feet every year. Due to the melting of the glacier, tourists are able to see rocky terrain but it is dangerous to go across. Throughout the years, the snow turns into ice which then follows the gaps in the mountains that people have stepped on and fallen through.

Explanation

Patti Weeks, who toured the area, wrote an article that was published in the Universities Space Research Association that shared her experience throughout her hike. She claimed that the parking lot near the highway from the glacier used to be covered with the glacier but is now on the other side of the highway due to its retreating. There were also numerous signs posted throughout her hike that showed where the glacier was located at a certain year. Many people believe that the Athabasca Glacier will disappear within a generation based on how much the glacier has already been receding.

References

“Focus on Ice and Snow.” Mountain Legacy Project, MLP, http://mountainlegacy.ca/project/ice/. 

“Glacial Retreat.” NASA, NASA, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/7679/glacial-retreat. 

“Google Earth.” Athabasca Glacier, Canada, 2022, https://earth.google.com/web/search/Athabasca+glacier/@52.2191173,-117.23087831,1957.23426879a,0d,90y,212.54385956h,82.8603506t,0r/data=CigiJgokCV9nXAA5IEpAERHHvebCGkpAGQF5Es1KTF3AIffWzNNyT13AIhoKFjdNTlVXNmthLXQzV1JKVUwyUU1PU2cQAg. 

Kehler, Therese. “Glacier Melt Is Past the Tipping Point in the Canadian Rockies and That's a Big Problem.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 16 May 2022, https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/glacier-melt-is-past-the-tipping-point-in-the-canadian-rockies-and-thats-a-big-problem. 

Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada. “Columbia Icefield Area and the Athabasca Glacier.” Columbia Icefield Area and the Athabasca Glacier - Jasper National Park, 23 Oct. 2017, https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper/activ/itineraires-itineraries/glacier-athabasca. 

Weeks, Patti. “A Service of USRA.” EPOD, https://epod.usra.edu/blog/2018/08/the-incredible-shrinking-glacier.html. 

Wheeler, Arthur. “The Athabasca Glacier (52812 0 N, 117815 0 W) in Jasper National Park ...” The Athabasca Glacier, https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Athabasca-Glacier-52812-0-N-117815-0-W-in-Jasper-National-Park-Alberta-Canada_fig1_311549137.