MOUNT RAINIER
GEOLOGY & WEATHER
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Glacier Info - Muir Snowfield

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).

Muir Snowfield
The arm of the Nisqually Glacier upward from McClure Rock to the vicinity of Camp Muir was named Muir Snowfield for John Muir, the naturalist and writer. Muir climbed the mountain in 1888 and selected a site for his overnight camp that had previously been known as Cloud Camp by mountain climbers and is now called Camp Muir. (Reese, 2009)

Switch Glacier:

STATISTICS AS OF 2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Aerial Extent:
0.318 ± 0.019 square miles (0.823 ± 0.049 km2) (Rank: 19 of 29)
Debris Cover - Based on data from 2015 (Beason, 2017):
--No appreciable debris cover in 2015--
Estimated Glacier Volume: (See notes below)
0.0043 ± 0.0015 cubic miles (0.0180 ± 0.0063 km3)
Highest Elevation (Head):
10,077 feet (3,071 m)
Lowest Elevation (Terminus):
8,219 feet (2,505 m)
Elevation Range:
1,858 feet (566 m)
Length:
1.18 miles (1.89 km)
Average Slope:
17.70°
Average Flow Direction (direction the glacier flows towards):
South (183°)
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 0.437 0.469 0.374 0.377 0.355 0.338 0.318
Area, km2 1.132 1.216 0.968 0.977 0.920 0.875 0.823
Area Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18960.032 mi2
(0.084 km2)
-0.063 mi2
(-0.164 km2)
-0.060 mi2
(-0.155 km2)
-0.082 mi2
(-0.212 km2)
-0.099 mi2
(-0.257 km2)
-0.119 mi2
(-0.309 km2)
1913---0.096 mi2
(-0.248 km2)
-0.092 mi2
(-0.239 km2)
-0.114 mi2
(-0.296 km2)
-0.131 mi2
(-0.340 km2)
-0.152 mi2
(-0.393 km2)
1971--0.003 mi2
(0.009 km2)
-0.018 mi2
(-0.048 km2)
-0.036 mi2
(-0.093 km2)
-0.056 mi2
(-0.145 km2)
1994---0.022 mi2
(-0.057 km2)
-0.039 mi2
(-0.101 km2)
-0.060 mi2
(-0.154 km2)
2009---0.017 mi2
(-0.045 km2)
-0.038 mi2
(-0.097 km2)
2015---0.020 mi2
(-0.053 km2)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18967.39%-14.50%-13.72%-18.74%-22.68%-27.33%
1913---20.39%-19.65%-24.33%-28.00%-32.33%
1971--0.92%-4.95%-9.56%-15.00%
1994---5.82%-10.39%-15.78%
2009---4.85%-10.58%
2015---6.02%

ESTIMATED CHANGE IN VOLUME, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
PLEASE see important notes about this, below...
Glacier-specific Scaling Parameter, c:
0.021635
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Volume, mi3 0.0067 0.0074 0.0054 0.0055 0.0050 0.0047 0.0043
Volume, km3 0.0279 0.0308 0.0225 0.0228 0.0210 0.0196 0.0180
Volume Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18960.001 mi3
(0.003 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.005 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.005 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.007 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.008 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.010 km3)
1913---0.002 mi3
(-0.008 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.008 km3)
-0.002 mi3
(-0.010 km3)
-0.003 mi3
(-0.011 km3)
-0.003 mi3
(-0.013 km3)
1971--0.000 mi3
(0.000 km3)
0.000 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.003 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.004 km3)
1994--0.000 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.003 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.005 km3)
2009--0.000 mi3
(-0.001 km3)
-0.001 mi3
(-0.003 km3)
2015--0.000 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
189610.23%-19.28%-18.26%-24.69%-29.64%-35.36%
1913---26.77%-25.85%-31.68%-36.17%-41.36%
1971--1.26%-6.71%-12.84%-19.92%
1994---7.87%-13.92%-20.92%
2009---6.57%-14.17%
2015---8.13%
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 Muir Snowfield is 0.021635 (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 Muir Snowfield in 2021, you can find the following individual volumes:
Back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) Method: 0.0040 mi3 (0.0165 km3).
Back-calculated Nylen (2001) Method: 0.0047 mi3 (0.0195 km3).
Average of the two (above equation and values listed for 2021 here): 0.0043 mi3 (0.0180 km3).
Official volume estimate listed above, with error: 0.0043 ± 0.0015 mi3 (0.0180 ± 0.0063 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:

-- No Notes supplied --

RAW DATA: