Calving on LeConte Glacier is amplified by submarine melting

Roman Motyka of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute held a presentation on the effects of submarine melting on LeConte Glacier.

LeConte Glacier is located approximately 21 miles east of Petersburg and is the Northern Hemisphere's southernmost tidewater glacier and flows southwest to the head of LeConte Bay.

“Submarine melting can contribute to ice loss at the terminus of a temperate tidewater glacier, especially deep-water systems,” Motyka said. “In the case of LeConte Glacier in late summer, we have found that melting was at least as significant as calving.”

Motyka, along...