Mass Balance Factsheet for the Gulkana Glacier, Alaska
Gulkana Glacier is a multi-branched valley glacier located in a continental climate regime on the south flank of the eastern Alaska Range in central Alaska. The accumulation area consists of four adjacent cirques with east, south, and west exposures and the ablation area has a south-southwestward orientation. The near terminus area is lightly covered with rock debris. This glacier has been classified as one of the ‘reference glaciers’ by the World Glacier Monitoring Service because it has received continuous long-term observations dating back to the year 1965/66. The mean annual air temperature at the long-term ELA of 1770 m a.s.l. is -5.0 °C and the annual precipitation on the glacier is about 1600 mm, as estimated from the Gulkana weather station situated at 1480 m altitude on a lateral moraine adjacent to the glacier. For additional information on the status of the glacier and on data relating to annual mass balance and other measurements, visit the WGMS Fluctuations of Glaciers Browser.
FACTS:
- Political unit: US
- WGMS ID: 90
- Latitude: 63.25°N
- Longitude: 145.42°W
- Height min: 1160 m a.s.l.
- Height max: 2470 m a.s.l.
- Measurement types: MASS BALANCE, THICKNESS CHANGE & FRONT VARIATION
- Current Principal Investigator: SHAD O'NEEL, ROD MARCH & Colleagues
- Current Sponsoring Agency: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY – WATER RESOURCES DIVISION (FAIRBANKS, US)
Gulkana Glacier in August 2007 (by Aero-Metric, Inc; false aerial view)
Terrestrial and satellite map of Gulkana Glacier (Google Maps)
Gulkana Annual Mass Balance (WGMS, 2016)
Continuous Mass Balance (MB) measurements since 1965/66:
Additional data available: Front Variation (FV), Thickness Change (TC) and Glacier Outlines:
