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6/20/02 PM Hubbard Glacier, in Yakutat Bay
Today we saw Hubbard Glacier, in Yakutat Bay. The glacier is surging at
100 ft/day! In a few days it will block Russell Fjord whose waters flow
past the glacier. The last time the fjord was blocked, in 1986, the water
level raised 82 feet. When the glacial dam broke, it caused the largest
flood event since the ice age. Geologists are concerned that because of
the high surge rate, that the new glacier dam may increase the fjord water
height by 125 feet. If that happens, it may be possible that the water
will break out of the closed end of the fjord, and threaten the fish
hatcheries and the native Alaskan town of Yakutat.
Because Hubbard Glacier is surging so fast, there is a large amount of ice
in the bay. Also, because the flow of water from the fjord is being cut
off, the icebergs are not moving quickly towards the ocean. This
combination of events has resulted in an unusually high number of icebergs
in the upper part of the bay. Our ship couldn't get closer than five miles
to Hubbard Glacier because it was pushing an almost solid pack of
icebergs. It looked like very soon we would be locked in a continuous mass
of icebergs. At that point the captain decided to avoid damage to the ship
and we slowly (always slowly around icebergs) moved out of the ice pack
and the upper end of the bay.
This afternoon we attended lectures on plants and birds in the SE Alaska
area.
Please view the pictures by using the button links at the
top of the page.
Tomorrow is Juneau.
Continued on the next page. |
