|
|
|
|
|
Ice Core Gateway |
|
|---|
| Access Data: | Listed by Project | Listed by Data Type | Search (Free Text) | Search by Variable, PI, More |
Fremont Glacier, Wyoming, USA |
|
Click here to obtain
Fremont Glacier data.
The Upper Fremont Glacier (43°07'N, 109°37'W) is located in the Wind River Range of Wyoming's Fitzpatrick Wilderness Area, and is named for Fremont Peak, one of the highest mountains in Wyoming, which borders the glacier to the West. The Upper Fremont Glacier is of interest to researchers mainly because of its ability to preserve atmospheric records in the ice. The ice preserved the records due to its average altitude of 4,100 meters. The glacier, among the highest of all the glaciers in the Wind River Mountain Range, is about 2.2 kilometers in length and 1.3 kilometers in width at the widest point. The glacier has a near-level surface gradient, which results in a small surface velocity (movement) of about 3 meters per year. The high altitude of the glacier minimizes meltwater percolation and re-freezing. Thus, the isotopic integrity of the ice tends to be preserved. David Naftz of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) took the first glacial measurements from this site in 1990-91. Also collected in 1991 was a continuous, 160-meter ice core that represented the entire depth of the glacier, from the surface down to the bedrock. The core was collected with a solar-powered, thermal drill, because the glacier is located in a designated wilderness area and the U.S. Forest Service desired the environment to be impacted as little as possible. Analysis of this ice core provided a tremendous amount of information, including the following:
In September 1997, funding was obtained to resume studies of the Upper Fremont Glacier. Three weather stations were placed either on or near the Upper Fremont Glacier. Data was collected from these stations until July of 2001, when they were removed. In July - August 1998, an expedition returned to the glacier and collected two additional ice cores, one that started at the surface and went down 50 meters, and the second that spanned the distance from the surface to the bedrock. The 1991 ice core from the Upper Fremont Glacier has been completely used up for various types of analyses. Some portions of the 1998 ice cores are still waiting to be processed and analyzed, but many sections have been analyzed for such things as tritium, 36Cl, delta 18O, and common ions. References:
Schuster, P.F., D.P. Krabbenhoft, D.L. Naftz, L.D. Cecil,
M.L. Olson, J.F. Dewild, D.D. Susong, J.R. Green, and M.L. Abbott, 2002,
Schuster, P.F., White, D.E., Naftz, D.L., and Cecil, L.D., 2000,
Naftz, D.L., D.D. Susong, P.F. Schuster, L.D. Cecil,
M.D. Dettinger, R.L. Michel, and C. Kendall. 2002. |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/icecore/trop/fremont/fremont.html Downloaded Friday, 02-Aug-2013 05:18:04 EDT Last Updated Wednesday, 20-Aug-2008 11:24:22 EDT by paleo@noaa.gov Please see the Paleoclimatology Contact Page or the NCDC Contact Page if you have questions or comments. |