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The Hubbard Glacier ice margin has continued to advance for about a century. In May 1986, the Hubbard Glacier surged forward, blocking the outlet of Russell Fjord and creating Russell Lake. All that summer, the new lake filled with runoff; its water level rose 25 metres (82 ft), and the decrease in salinity threatened its sea life. [2]
The glacier is close to sealing off Russell Fjord (top) from Disenchantment Bay (below). A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a type of outburst flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake. An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a jökulhlaup.
Hubbard Glacier still has a calving front. [13] [14] The glacier will then expand until the AAR is between 60 and 70 and equilibrium of the non-calving glacier is achieved. The glacier is not very sensitive to climate during the advance as its AAR is quite high, when the terminus shoal is limiting calving.
Several features are particularly notable. The Malaspina Glacier is the largest piedmont glacier in North America, Hubbard Glacier is at 75 miles (121 km) the longest tidewater glacier in Alaska, and the Nabesna Glacier is the world's longest valley glacier, at more than 53 miles (85 km). [51] Glaciers in Wrangell–St. Elias are mostly in retreat.
The Hubbard Glacier separates Mount Hubbard from Mount Vancouver to the west, while the Lowell Glacier lies to the east of the peak. Mount Hubbard is the eighth-highest peak in the United States, and the twelfth-highest peak in Canada. It is also notable for its large rise above local terrain.
In modern times, the Hubbard Glacier regularly blocks the mouth of Russell Fjord at 60° north on the coast of Alaska. [4] A similar event takes place after irregular periods in the Perito Moreno Glacier, located in Patagonia. Roughly every four years the glacier forms an ice dam against the rocky coast, causing the waters of the Lago Argentino ...
A glacier with a sustained negative balance loses equilibrium and retreats. A sustained positive balance is also out of equilibrium and will advance to reestablish equilibrium. Currently, nearly all glaciers have a negative mass balance and are retreating. [13] Glacier retreat results in the loss of the low-elevation region of the glacier.
Glacier morphology, or the form a glacier takes, is influenced by temperature, precipitation, topography, and other factors. [1] The goal of glacial morphology is to gain a better understanding of glaciated landscapes and the way they are shaped. [ 2 ]