Date of Award
Spring 5-2020
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science - Environmental Sciences
Department
Environmental Science
First Advisor
Dr. Daniel Unger
Second Advisor
Dr. Kenneth Farrish
Third Advisor
Dr. I-Kuai Hung
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Christopher Sams
Fifth Advisor
Dr. Kevin Stafford
Abstract
Digital remote sensing and geographic information systems were employed in performing area and volume calculations on glacial landscapes. Characteristics of glaciers from two geographic regions, the Intermountain Region (between the Rocky Mountain and Cascade Ranges) and the Pacific Northwest, were estimated for the years 1985, 2000, and 2015. Glacier National Park was studied for the Intermountain Region whereas Mount Rainier National Park was representative of the glaciers in the Pacific Northwest. Within the thirty year period of the study, the glaciers in Glacier National Park decreased in area by 27.5 percent while those on Mount Rainier only decreased by 5.7 percent. The differences in these percentages can be attributed to the warmer temperatures of the Intermountain Region coupled with lower amounts of snowfall when compared to the Pacific Northwest. Volume loss calculations were also performed, but digital remote sensing and GIS were less successful at estimating this glacial parameter.
Repository Citation
Clark, Brianna, "Applications of Digital Remote Sensing to Quantify Glacier Change in Glacier and Mount Rainier National Parks" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 311.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/311
Creative Commons License
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