MOUNT RAINIER
GEOLOGY & WEATHER
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Glacier Info - Success Glacier

NOTE: The data shown here is based on the 2021 glacier update at Mount Rainier, and should be considered the most up-to-date data on glaciers at the park (2023-04-06).

Success Glacier
This glacier is on the northwest arm of the Kautz Glacier. It is divided from the South Tahoma Glacier by Success Cleaver and is below Point Success. (Reese, 2009)

Switch Glacier:

STATISTICS AS OF 2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Aerial Extent:
0.153 ± 0.010 square miles (0.396 ± 0.025 km2) (Rank: 23 of 29)
Debris Cover - Based on data from 2015 (Beason, 2017):
0.030 ± 0.001 square miles (0.078 ± 0.004 km2) (Rank: 16 of 29)
Estimated Glacier Volume: (See notes below)
0.0017 ± 0.0006 cubic miles (0.0069 ± 0.0024 km3)
Highest Elevation (Head):
10,625 feet (3,239 m)
Lowest Elevation (Terminus):
8,477 feet (2,584 m)
Elevation Range:
2,148 feet (655 m)
Length:
0.74 miles (1.19 km)
Average Slope:
28.93°
Average Flow Direction (direction the glacier flows towards):
South (184°)
Glacier Type:
C - Cirque Glacier, or Glacier Head Starts Below Summit

CHANGE IN EXTENT, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Area, mi2 -- 0.253 0.261 0.248 -- 0.181 0.153
Area, km2 -- 0.655 0.677 0.641 -- 0.470 0.396
Area Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896------------
1913--0.008 mi2
(0.022 km2)
-0.005 mi2
(-0.014 km2)
---0.072 mi2
(-0.186 km2)
-0.100 mi2
(-0.259 km2)
1971---0.014 mi2
(-0.036 km2)
---0.080 mi2
(-0.207 km2)
-0.108 mi2
(-0.281 km2)
1994-----0.066 mi2
(-0.171 km2)
-0.095 mi2
(-0.245 km2)
2009------
2015---0.028 mi2
(-0.074 km2)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896------------
1913--3.32%-2.15%---28.31%-39.55%
1971---5.29%---30.61%-41.50%
1994-----26.73%-38.23%
2009------
2015---15.69%

ESTIMATED CHANGE IN VOLUME, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
PLEASE see important notes about this, below...
Glacier-specific Scaling Parameter, c:
0.023702
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Volume, mi3 -- 0.0033 0.0035 0.0032 -- 0.0021 0.0017
Volume, km3 -- 0.0138 0.0144 0.0134 -- 0.0088 0.0069
Volume Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896------------
1913--0.000 mi3
(0.001 km3)
0.000 mi3
(0.000 km3)
---0.001 mi3
(-0.005 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.007 km3)
1971--0.000 mi3
(-0.001 km3)
---0.001 mi3
(-0.006 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.007 km3)
1994-----0.001 mi3
(-0.005 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.006 km3)
2009------
2015--0.000 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
1896------------
1913--4.57%-2.92%---36.55%-49.76%
1971---7.16%---39.32%-51.95%
1994-----34.64%-48.24%
2009------
2015---20.81%
Important comments about the calculation of volume shown here

The calculation of glacial volume shown on this page is based on an analysis of two methods used at Mount Rainier in the past (Driedger and Kennard [1986]; and Nylen [2001]) as well as the most recent literature review for glacier area-volume scaling (Please review Beason et al. [2023] for an in-depth discussion about this issue). It should be noted that simply converting area to volume with an equation is extremely difficult and the values presented here have extremely large error margins (likely ± 35% or more). With that in mind, the values presented here should give you an estimate of the glacial volume and change in volume over time. Please use these data very carefully with those caveats.

The calcuation of the volume is as follows:

\[V_i = {(c_iA_i^{1.375}) + (c_nA_i^{1.36}) \over 2}\]

Where:
\(V_i\) = Average volume for the glacier in question (km3);
\(c_i\) = The glacier-specific scaling parameter (back-calculated from glacier area and volume in 1971 in Driedger and Kennard (1986); Method described in Beason et al. (2023). The value for the Success Glacier is 0.023702 (this is also listed above the volume graph);
\(c_n\) = The back-calculated scaling parameter from Nylen (2001) of 0.0255; and
\(A_i\) = The measured volume of the glacier in question (km2).

This is essentially an average of the back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) and Nylen (2001) methods (D&K is in the first parenthesis; Nylen in the second). For example, for the Success Glacier in 2021, you can find the following individual volumes:
Back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) Method: 0.0016 mi3 (0.0066 km3).
Back-calculated Nylen (2001) Method: 0.0017 mi3 (0.0072 km3).
Average of the two (above equation and values listed for 2021 here): 0.0017 mi3 (0.0069 km3).
Official volume estimate listed above, with error: 0.0017 ± 0.0006 mi3 (0.0069 ± 0.0024 km3).

As you can see, the D&K method tends to produce higher values and Nylen produces lower values; the average of these two methods probably estimates the glacial volume. Until further research is done in this area and we can develop a better method or equation to determine volumes, this is the method we are using to determine glacial volumes. For more information about this method, please read the methods section of Beason et al. (2023).

NOTES:

This glacier flows into the Kautz Glacier. Extent of this glacier in 1896 and 2009 was included with the combined Kautz/Success Glacier system. See Kautz Glacier for extent change over time.

RAW DATA: