Columbia and Yale Glaciers are tidewater glaciers in South Central Alaska. Both were last reported to be rapidly retreating. Columbia Glacier has been very well studied, as it calves icebergs into the shipping lanes to Valdez, the terminus of the Alyeska pipeline. Yale Glacier, located to the west of Columbia Glacier, has not been studied since a study by Sturm et al published in 1991.
I will be looking at RADARSAT images from 1998 and 1999 in order to determine the extent of retreat of these glaciers, whether or not Yale Glacier continues to retreat, and the flow velocity of their retreat.
This investigation will be part of my senior thesis as an undergraduate in the Atmosphere and Ocean track in the Geology and Geophysics department. I will also be investigating historical studies of these glaciers, comparing the USGS topographic maps to other studies conducted on these glaciers, and investigating the bed depth of these glaciers.