Glacier-covered landscapes in Alaska's national parks strongly influence local climate, hydrologic resources, infrastructure and public safety.
In addition, glaciers are icons of the Alaskan landscape.
In order to monitor glacier status and trends, the National Park Service (NPS) requires
information on the spatial distribution, current extent and changes in glaciers over time.
The goal of this project is to provide a decadal update to the regional glacier inventory (Glacier Status & Trends, or GST) for national parks in Alaska.
The objective of Phase 1 of this project, as outlined in this agreement, is to map current glacier perimeters across all glaciated park units in Alaska; where possible improve upon the temporal frequency and spatial coverage of earlier delineations; and refine our understanding of glacier status in Alaska¿s national parks.
Updates to the glacier perimeter data are critical for resource management, scientific research and NPS interpretive programs.