Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

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Unlike most alpine glaciers, which have been retreating recently, the Hubbard Glacier near Yakutat Alaska “has been thickening and advancing toward the Gulf of Alaska since it was first mapped by the International Boundary Commission in 1895” [http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/hubbard/] “Hubbard Glacier is the largest of eight calving glaciers in Alaska that are currently increasing in total mass and advancing.”

The following figure shows the advance of the glacier over the last 100 years [http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-001-03/].

A study by Trabant et al (“The Slow Advance of a Calving Glacier: Hubbard Glacier, Alaska”, Annals of Geology, Vol 36, 2003) states: “the lower regions of the glacier have thickened by as much as 83 m in the last 41 years, while the entire glacier increased in volume by 14.1 cubic km. Ice speeds are generally decreasing near the calving face.”

The following figures show the monthly temperature anomalies and precipitation for Yakutat – the closest temperature station to the Hubbard Glacier.