Upper Fremont Glacier

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Upper Fremont Glacier
Upper Fremont Glacier.jpg
Upper Fremont Glacier on the north ridge of Fremont Peak
USA Wyoming relief location map.svg
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Upper Fremont Glacier
TypeMountain glacier
Location Fremont County, Wyoming, USA
Coordinates 43°07′52″N109°36′58″W / 43.13111°N 109.61611°W / 43.13111; -109.61611 [1]
Area690 acres (2.8 km2) (in 1990)
Length1.35 mi (2.17 km)
Thickness538 ft (164 m) (in 1998)
TerminusMoraines
StatusRetreating

Upper Fremont Glacier is in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of Shoshone National Forest in the U.S. state of Wyoming. [2] This Wind River Range alpine glacier is associated with the largest grouping of glaciers in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and lies on the north slope of Fremont Peak, the third tallest mountain in Wyoming. Upper Fremont Glacier is at an average altitude of 13,450 ft (4,100 m) and is one of the highest altitude glaciers in the American Rockies. [3]

Ice core samples were taken from Upper Fremont Glacier in 1990-1991. These ice cores were analyzed for climatic changes as well as alterations of atmospheric chemicals. In 1998 an unbroken ice core sample of 538 ft (164 m) was taken from the glacier and subsequent analysis of the ice showed an abrupt change in the oxygen isotope ratio oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 in conjunction with what is widely regarded as the end of the Little Ice Age, a period of cooler global temperatures between the years 1550 and 1850. [3] A linkage was established with a similar ice core study which had been undertaken on the Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru, which also demonstrated the same changes in the oxygen isotope ratio during the same period. The climatic implications from the ice cores taken from both sites support evidence of a sudden global climate change during the mid 19th century. [4]

The Upper Fremont Glacier ice core showed a spike in Cl from 1960s nuclear testing. Upper Fremont glacier ice cl36.gif
The Upper Fremont Glacier ice core showed a spike in Cl from 1960s nuclear testing.
Amount of atmospheric mercury deposited at Wyoming's Upper Fremont Glacier over the last 270 years Mercury fremont ice core.png
Amount of atmospheric mercury deposited at Wyoming's Upper Fremont Glacier over the last 270 years

Ice cores from the glacier also showed increased levels of Tritium (3H) and chlorine-36 around the year 1963, which coincides with the peak period of above ground nuclear testing. [3]

The same ice cores were also tested for mercury deposition from natural and human-induced activities. This is the first known instance in which ice cores have been used to determine mercury deposition from a mid-latitude glacier in North America, as all previous studies have been derived from other sources. [5] The majority of mercury deposition is by way of the atmosphere and sources of the element may be from volcanic activity or from industrialization, but volcanoes are believed to contribute a small proportion of the mercury. [5] The ice core samples from the Upper Fremont Glacier indicated that levels of mercury increased dramatically during the industrial revolution and have decreased significantly since the mid-1980s. It is believed that the decrease in mercury deposition since the 1980s coincides with the passage of the Clean Air Act. [5]

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Fremont Peak is the third highest peak in the state of Wyoming, surpassed only by Gannett Peak and Grand Teton, and straddles the boundary between Fremont and Sublette counties in the Wind River Range. It is named for American explorer John C. Frémont who climbed the peak with Charles Preuss and Johnny Janisse from August 13 to August 15, 1842. Kit Carson had been with the climbing party on its first attempt at the peak, but had gone back for supplies the day Fremont and his men reached the summit. Carson is thought by some to have been the first to climb neighboring Jackson Peak. At that time, Fremont Peak was mistakenly thought to be the highest mountain in the Rocky Mountains, although there are actually over 100 higher peaks in the Rocky Mountain range.

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Mount Sacagawea is the eighth-highest peak in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the seventh-highest in the Wind River Range. It was named after Sacagawea, the young Lemhi Shoshone woman who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition as an interpreter and guide. The Upper Fremont Glacier is located southeast and the Sacagawea Glacier is northeast of the mountain. Straddling the Continental Divide, Mount Sacagawea is one mile (1.6 km) northwest of Fremont Peak.

Heap Steep Glacier is located east of the Continental Divide in the northern Wind River Range in the US state of Wyoming. The glacier is situated in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of Shoshone National Forest, and is among the largest grouping of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains. Heap Steep Glacier is in a north facing cirque, below the summit of Sunbeam Peak. A large terminal moraine and small proglacial lake are located below the glacier.

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Sacagawea Glacier is east of the Continental Divide in the northern Wind River Range in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The glacier is located in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of Shoshone National Forest, and is among the largest grouping of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains. Sacagawea Glacier flows to the east, from a northeast facing cirque, starting near the summit of Mount Sacagawea. A large moraine and small proglacial lake are situated beyond the terminal east end of the glacier.

Lower Fremont Glacier is east of the Continental Divide in the northern Wind River Range in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The glacier is in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of Shoshone National Forest, and is among the largest grouping of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains. Lower Fremont Glacier flows to the southeast and the rapid retreat of this glacier has left behind lateral moraines and a proglacial lake. Lower Fremont Glacier is separated from the Bull Lake Glacier by a moraine and from the Upper Fremont Glacier by cliffs.

Bull Lake Glacier is located immediately east of the Continental Divide in the northern Wind River Range in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The glacier is in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of Shoshone National Forest, and is among the largest grouping of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains. Bull Lake Glacier flows to the east and starts below the summit of Jackson Peak. It is adjacent to Lower Fremont Glacier though the two are separated by a moraine.

Knife Point Glacier is on the east side Continental Divide in the northern Wind River Range in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The glacier is in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of Shoshone National Forest, and is among the largest grouping of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains. Knife Point Glacier flows to the north and starts below the summit of Knife Point Mountain.

Nangpai Gosum Glacier is a glacier located 25 km west northwest of Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Nepal. It is located at lat 28°02′N., long 86°36′E. The ice-core drilling site is situated at 5,700 m above mean sea level. In 1998, a 37-m ice core was extracted from the glacier by Cameron P. Wake of the University of New Hampshire and transported to the university for analysis. At the request of the USGS study team, radionuclide analyses were performed for 36Cl and 137Cs on selected sections of the ice core by Hans-Arno Synal at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) in Villigen, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sowers Glacier</span> Glacier in Antarctica

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References

  1. "Upper Fremont Glacier". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  2. Fremont Peak North, WY (Map). TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps). Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Cecil, L. DeWayne; David L. Naftz; Paul F. Schuster; David D. Susong; Jaromy R. Green (2010). "The Paleoenvironmental Record Preserved in Middle Latitude, High-Mountain Glaciers - An Overview of U.S. Geological Survey Experience in Central Asia and the United States" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  4. Reddy, M.M.; D.L. Naftz; P.F. Schuster. "Ice-core Evidence of Rapid Climate Shift During the Termination of the Little Ice Age". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Krabbenhoft, David; Paul Schuster. "Glacial Ice Cores Reveal A Record of Natural and Anthropogenic Atmospheric Mercury Deposition for the Last 270 Years" (PDF). USGS Fact Sheet FS-051-02. U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 8, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2012.

See also