Geology topics

R.J. Motyka

Publications and source records attributed to R.J. Motyka.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2011

A complex relationship between calving glaciers and climate

Many terrestrial glaciers are sensitive indicators of past and present climate change as atmospheric temperature and snowfall modulate glacier volume. However, climate interpretations based on glacier behavior require careful selection of representative glaciers, as was recently pointed out for surging and debris-covered glaciers, whose behavior often defies regional glacier response to climate [Yde and Paasche, 2010]. Tidewater calving glaciers (TWGs)mountain glaciers whose termini reach the sea and are generally grounded on the seaflooralso fall into the category of non-representative glaciers because the regional-scale asynchronous behavior of these glaciers clouds their complex relationship with climate. TWGs span the globe; they can be found both fringing ice sheets and in high-latitude regions of each hemisphere. TWGs are known to exhibit cyclic behavior, characterized by slow advance and rapid, unstable retreat, largely independent of short-term climate forcing. This so-called TWG cycle, first described by Post [1975], provides a solid foundation upon which modern investigations of TWG stability are built. Scientific understanding has developed rapidly as a result of the initial recognition of their asynchronous cyclicity, rendering greater insight into the hierarchy of processes controlling regional behavior. This has improved the descriptions of the strong dynamic feedbacks present during retreat, the role of the ocean in TWG dynamics, and the similarities and differences between TWG and ice sheet outlet glaciers that can often support floating tongues.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗

USGS2007

Hazard assessment of the Tidal Inlet landslide and potential subsequent tsunami, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

An unstable rock slump, estimated at 5 to 10 × 10 6 m 3 , lies perched above the northern shore of Tidal Inlet in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. This landslide mass has the potential to rapidly move into Tidal Inlet and generate large, long-period-impulse tsunami waves. Field and photographic examination revealed that the landslide moved between 1892 and 1919 after the retreat of the Little Ice Age glaciers from Tidal Inlet in 1890. Global positioning system measurements over a 2-year period show that the perched mass is presently moving at 3–4 cm annually indicating the landslide remains unstable. Numerical simulations of landslide-generated waves suggest that in the western arm of Glacier Bay, wave amplitudes would be greatest near the mouth of Tidal Inlet and slightly decrease with water depth according to Green’s law. As a function of time, wave amplitude would be greatest within approximately 40 min of the landslide entering water, with significant wave activity continuing for potentially several hours.

Alaska↗

USGS2007

Glacier changes in southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia and contribution to sea level rise

The digital elevation model (DEM) from the 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was differenced from a composite DEM based on air photos dating from 1948 to 1987 to detennine glacier volume changes in southeast Alaska and adjoining Canada. SRTM accuracy was assessed at ??5 in through comparison with airborne laser altimetry and control locations measured with GPS. Glacier surface elevations lowered over 95% of the 14,580 km2 glacier-covered area analyzed, with some glaciers thinning as much as 640 in. A combination of factors have contributed to this wastage, including calving retreats of tidewater and lacustrine glaciers and climate change. Many glaciers in this region are particularly sensitive to climate change, as they have large areas at low elevations. However, several tidewater glaciers that had historically undergone calving retreats are now expanding and appear to be in the advancing stage of the tidewater glacier cycle. The net average rate of ice loss is estimated at 16.7 ?? 4.4 km3/yr, equivalent to a global sea level rise contribution of 0.04 ?? 0.01 mm/yr. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface↗

USGS1985

Stable-isotope evidence for a magmatic component in fumarole condensates from Augustine Volcano, Cook Inlet, Alaska, U.S.A.

D/H and 18O 16O ratios have been determined for fumarole condensates from Augustine Volcano, an active calc-alkaline stratovolcano in Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. The isotopic data for the condensates form a linear ?? D-?? 18O array from low-temperature fluids (< 100??C) which are essentially local meteoric water (?? D {reversed tilde equals} -150???, ?? 18O {reversed tilde equals} -19???) to high-temperature (>450??C) fluids collected at the volcano summit which are enriched in both D and 18O (?? D {reversed tilde equals} -35???, ?? 18O {reversed tilde equals} +3.5???). Several lines of evidence suggest that the D-and 18O-rich condensates likely are "magmatic" fluids released into the hydrothermal system during and immediately after the 1976 eruption. Prior to 1976, the Augustine hydrothermal system was dominated completely by local meteoric waters. Between 1976 and 1982, fumarole condensates were observed to be variable mixtures of the "magmatic" fluid and meteoric water, with the proportion of the former systematically decreasing as the hydrothermal system cooled following the 1976 eruption. ?? 1985.

Chemical Geology↗