Top of this page

Columbia Glacier, Alaska
Research on Tidewater Glaciers

by Robert M. Krimmel

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Fact Sheet 091-96

ABSTRACT

Columbia Glacier is one of North America's most dynamic glaciers. It has retreated nearly 10 kilometers (6 miles) in the past 12 years (as of 1996), while producing large numbers of icebergs that are a hazard to ships approaching and departing the port of Valdez, Alaska (fig. 2). During the past century, Columbia and other glaciers have been the subject of continuous research by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. The goals of this research are an improved understanding of glacier processes, assessment of glaciers as a water resource, documentation of glacier fluctuations, and assessment of glacier hazards.

Krimmel, R.M., 1996, Columbia Glacier, Alaska Research on Tidewater Glaciers: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 091-96, 4 p.

    [Full Report, Acrobat PDF (7.8 MB)]

Adobe Acrobat's .pdf (portable document file) format can be viewed using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader available for DOS, Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX. This link will allow you to get the free download and installation instructions from Adobe.

Document Accessibility: Adobe Systems Incorporated has information about PDF and the visually challenged. This information provides tools to help make PDF files accessible to the visually disabled. These tools convert Adobe PDF documents into HTML or ASCII text, which can then be read by a number of common screen reading programs that synthesize text as audible speech. In addition an accessible version of Acrobat Reader for Windows (English only), which contains support for screen readers, is available. These tools and the accessible reader may be obtained free of charge from Adobe at URL: < http://access.adobe.com/>