Hubbard Glacier
| Hubbard Glacier | |
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False color image of the Hubbard Glacier
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| Type | Tidewater/Mountain glacier AKA Valley Glacier |
| Location | Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska, U.S., Yukon, Canada |
| Coordinates | 60°18′50″N 139°22′15″W / 60.31389°N 139.37083°WCoordinates: 60°18′50″N 139°22′15″W / 60.31389°N 139.37083°W |
| Length | 122 kilometres (76 mi) |
| Terminus | Sealevel |
| Status | Advancing |
Hubbard Glacier is a glacier located in eastern Alaska and part of Yukon, Canada, and named after Gardiner Hubbard.
The longest source for Hubbard Glacier originates 122 kilometres (76 mi) from its snout and is located at about 61°00′N 140°09′W / 61.000°N 140.150°W, approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) west of Mount Walsh with an elevation around 11,000 feet (3,400 m). A shorter tributary glacier begins at the easternmost summit on the Mount Logan ridge at about 18,300 feet (5,600 m) at about 60°35′0″N 140°22′40″W / 60.58333°N 140.37778°W.
Before it reaches the sea, Hubbard is joined by the Valerie Glacier to the west, which, through forward surges of its own ice, has contributed to the advance of the ice flow that experts believe will eventually dam the Russell Fjord from Disenchantment Bay waters.
The Hubbard Glacier ice margin has continued to advance for about a century. In May 1986, the Hubbard Glacier surged forward, blocking the outlet of Russell Fjord and creating "Russell Lake." All that summer, the new lake filled with runoff; its water level rose 25 metres (82 ft), and the decrease in salinity threatened its sea life.
Around midnight on October 8, the dam began to give way. In the next 24 hours, an estimated 5.3 cubic kilometres (1.3 cu mi) of water gushed through the gap, and the fjord was reconnected to the ocean at its previous level. This was the second largest glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in recorded history, and had the equivalent flow of about 35 Niagara Falls.
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Wikipedia