2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Ellyn Enderlin

Abstract

Mountain glaciers are sensitive indicators of climate variability and influence freshwater availability in alpine regions. This study examined climatic controls on glacier snow cover variability across 20 glacier sites in western North America. Glacier locations were selected using the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI), a global database of glacier outlines derived from satellite observations. Snowline upper and lower bounds were compiled from remotely sensed observations and summarized by year to identify minimum and maximum snowline elevations.

Climate variables including air temperature, precipitation, snowfall, and positive degree days (a proxy for melt) were extracted from the ERA5-Land dataset, a global atmospheric reanalysis providing gridded surface climate data. These climate records were compared with snowline variability to assess climatic drivers of glacier snow cover dynamics.

Preliminary results showed substantial interannual variability in snowline elevations, with several glaciers exhibiting elevated snowlines during warmer years associated with increased positive degree days. Lower snowline elevations corresponded to years with greater snowfall and precipitation. These findings suggest that both melt-driven and accumulation-driven processes influence glacier snow cover variability across western North America.

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