Gletschermessungen in der Cascade Range des Staates Washington, USA, 1952

Abstract

During the autumn of 1952 the author was able to carry out glaciological investigations of the Coleman glacier, Mt. Baker, and the Nisqually glacier, Mt. Rainier, making use of terrestrial photogrammetry. The glaciers of these volcanic mountains are of quite a different type compared with the glaciers of the chain mountains: they lack a proper firnfield and are very steep and rugged throughout. In their behaviour they exhibit anomalies when compared with glaciers in other continents: to quote one example, the 1920 advance did not occur in their case. In 1944 observations were made on the Nisqually glacier of bulges occurring at 2100 m. altitude which by 1949 had moved down to 1800 m. In the case of the Coleman glacier, whose surface showed similar bulges, there has also been an advance of the glacier tongue during the past three years by approximately 300 m. Both glaciers are under regular observation by American scientists by whom a number of profiles are being surveyed using planetable methods. The author was able to make a photogrammetric survey of a great part of the Coleman glacier and of the entire Nisqually glacier. After a repetition of this survey in two or three years' time it will be possible through an analysis of the results to establish the regime of both glaciers throughout their entire surface. It is anticipated that a comparison of these results with those of surveys on other glaciers, mainly in the Alps, as these are being undertaken regularly by the Photogrammetrisches Institut of the Technische Hochschule München, will allow conclusions having a bearing on climatology to be drawn.