8/24/2002: Glacial lake busts out

Undertoad · 08-24-2002, 02:33 PM

Modem users are going to hate me today. This is a pretty rare situation, where I'm going to post 3 pretty detailed images. I did try optimizing them, but the amazing detail of the ice was lost.

So what the heck is this? To start, it's Alaska, about where the long thin arm of the state meets the body of the state. You know, the long arm that seems to be there to steal coastline from Canada?

Up there is Yakutat Bay, and a spot where a glacier comes down and meets the ocean. There's a place where a fjord has been created, called Russell Fjord... okay, how can I describe this... best way is with a map.

The upside down Y on the map is the fjord. Now to match the map with the first image there, the water at the bottom, where the date is shown, is the bay; the water at the top is the fjord; the white is the advancing glacier. Got it? The picture is not oriented the same way the map is, but...

In that shot, the advancing glacier has cut off the fjord from the bay. The ice on the left has moved in - from left to right - until the bay and fjord were no longer connected.

But the fjord kept rising. As a result, in that picture, the water in the fjord is 60 feet higher than the water in the bay. That's why the shot is a little confusing; you expect the water levels to be the same.

It took 2 1/2 months for the water to reach that point. At that point, the summer must have taken its toll, and finally the ice dam broke. At that point, on August 14, 70 square miles of 60 foot high water desperately rushed at the bay, creating a massive river of ice and debris.

This is thought to be the second largest "glacial lake outburst" in recorded times, though who knows who is recording these things.

It took all of a day and a half for the water to find its level point, and now the fjord is connected to the bay again.

And when winter comes, the whole thing will probably start over.

08-24-2002, 02:33 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	8/24/2002: Glacial lake busts out Modem users are going to hate me today. This is a pretty rare situation, where I'm going to post 3 pretty detailed images. I did try optimizing them, but the amazing detail of the ice was lost. So what the heck is this? To start, it's Alaska, about where the long thin arm of the state meets the body of the state. You know, the long arm that seems to be there to steal coastline from Canada? Up there is Yakutat Bay, and a spot where a glacier comes down and meets the ocean. There's a place where a fjord has been created, called Russell Fjord... okay, how can I describe this... best way is with a map. The upside down Y on the map is the fjord. Now to match the map with the first image there, the water at the bottom, where the date is shown, is the bay; the water at the top is the fjord; the white is the advancing glacier. Got it? The picture is not oriented the same way the map is, but... In that shot, the advancing glacier has cut off the fjord from the bay. The ice on the left has moved in - from left to right - until the bay and fjord were no longer connected. But the fjord kept rising. As a result, in that picture, the water in the fjord is 60 feet higher than the water in the bay. That's why the shot is a little confusing; you expect the water levels to be the same. It took 2 1/2 months for the water to reach that point. At that point, the summer must have taken its toll, and finally the ice dam broke. At that point, on August 14, 70 square miles of 60 foot high water desperately rushed at the bay, creating a massive river of ice and debris. This is thought to be the second largest "glacial lake outburst" in recorded times, though who knows who is recording these things. It took all of a day and a half for the water to find its level point, and now the fjord is connected to the bay again. And when winter comes, the whole thing will probably start over.

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