Image of the Day: Pinnacles of Ice

While exploring McGinnis Glacier in the Central Alaska Range on a recreational snowmachining trip, Martin Truffer a professor at Geophysical Institute of University of Alaska Fairbanks, noticed that its lower portion was covered in cracks, crevasses and pinnacles of ice. This all points to the fact that the glacier has slid forward at rates higher than normal.

"This was a glacier that you could walk up to," Truffer said. "Now it's a 200 to 300 foot cliff."

But Truffer doesn't think global warming has anything to do with it. Instead, the eight-mile-long glacier is probably just going through its natural cycle. A surging glacier is nothing but a glacier that starts to experience an increase in flow rate. This happens because snow and ice build up high on the glacier and start moving down soon after.

"It's a slow buildup, but once it gets to a critical stage, it's a fast discharge," Truffer explained.

The surges can take 50 to 100 years to build up, and although are well known, they are rare events.

"I'll never see one in my life again," Truffer said. "It's exciting to see nature change so quickly. It's quite dramatic."

--Sara Goudarzi

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Credit: Martin Truffer, Geophysical Institute of University of Alaska Fairbanks