Switch Glacier:
Fryingpan Glacier
Fryingpan Glacier is on the east central slope of Mount Rainier. There are two stories for the origin of the name; one that some campers lost a frying pan in the creek or two, that the glacier itself is shaped like a frying pan. F. G. Plummer calls this glacier Urania to honor the Urania Society of New York. (Reese, 2009)
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STATISTICS AS OF 2015 (Beason, 2017):
Aerial Extent:
1.25 ± 0.06 square miles
(3.24 ± 0.16 km2)
(Rank: 10 of 29)
Debris Cover:
0.05 ± 0.00 square miles
(0.13 ± 0.01 km2)
(Rank: 11 of 29)
Highest Elevation (Head):
9,940 feet
(3,030 m)
Lowest Elevation (Terminus):
7,161 feet
(2,183 m)
Elevation Range:
2,779 feet
(847 m)
Length:
1.23 miles
(1.97 km)
Average Slope:
24°
Average Flow Direction (Flows towards):
Northeast (34°)
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CHANGE IN EXTENT, 1896-2015 (Beason, 2017):
Units |
1896 |
1913 |
1971 |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
Area, mi2 |
1.44 |
2.36 |
1.68 |
1.63 |
1.27 |
1.25 |
Area, km2 |
3.72 |
6.12 |
4.34 |
4.23 |
3.30 |
3.24 |
Area change between periods
|
1913 |
1971 |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
1896 |
0.93 mi2 (2.40 km2) |
0.24 mi2 (0.62 km2) |
0.20 mi2 (0.51 km2) |
-0.16 mi2 (-0.43 km2) |
-0.18 mi2 (-0.48 km2) |
1913 |
-- |
-0.69 mi2 (-1.78 km2) |
-0.73 mi2 (-1.89 km2) |
-1.09 mi2 (-2.82 km2) |
-1.11 mi2 (-2.88 km2) |
1971 |
|
-- |
-0.04 mi2 (-0.11 km2) |
-0.40 mi2 (-1.04 km2) |
-0.42 mi2 (-1.09 km2) |
1994 |
|
-- |
-0.36 mi2 (-0.93 km2) |
-0.38 mi2 (-0.99 km2) |
2009 |
|
-- |
-0.02 mi2 (-0.05 km2) |
Percent change between periods
|
1913 |
1971 |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
1896 |
64.5 % |
16.6 % |
13.7 % |
-11.4 % |
-12.8 % |
1913 |
-- |
-29.1 % |
-30.9 % |
-46.1 % |
-47.0 % |
1971 |
|
-- |
-2.5 % |
-24.0 % |
-25.2 % |
1994 |
|
-- |
-22.1 % |
-23.3 % |
2009 |
|
-- |
-1.6 % |
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ESTIMATED CHANGE IN VOLUME, 1896-2015 (George and Beason, 2017):
PLEASE see important notes about this, below...
Units |
1896 |
1913 |
1971 |
1981* |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
Volume, mi3 |
0.0753 |
0.1317 |
0.0894 |
0.0646 |
0.0870 |
0.0657 |
0.0645 |
Volume, km3 |
0.3138 |
0.5489 |
0.3728 |
0.2694 |
0.3624 |
0.2738 |
0.2689 |
* = 1981 was the only year that glacial volumes have been measured. See note below.
Basal Shear Stress (τ): 2,871.23 lbs/ft2
Volume change between periods
|
1913 |
1971 |
1981 |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
1896 |
0.0564 mi3 (0.2351 km3) |
0.0142 mi3 (0.0590 km3) |
-0.0106 mi3 (-0.0444 km3) |
0.0117 mi3 (0.0486 km3) |
-0.0096 mi3 (-0.0400 km3) |
-0.0108 mi3 (-0.0448 km3) |
1913 |
-- |
-0.0422 mi3 (-0.1761 km3) |
-0.0671 mi3 (-0.2795 km3) |
-0.0447 mi3 (-0.1865 km3) |
-0.0660 mi3 (-0.2751 km3) |
-0.0672 mi3 (-0.2799 km3) |
1971 |
|
-- |
-0.0248 mi3 (-0.1034 km3) |
-0.0025 mi3 (-0.0104 km3) |
-0.0238 mi3 (-0.0990 km3) |
-0.0249 mi3 (-0.1039 km3) |
1981 |
|
-- |
0.0223 mi3 (0.0930 km3) |
0.0011 mi3 (0.0044 km3) |
-0.0001 mi3 (-0.0005 km3) |
1994 |
|
-- |
-0.0213 mi3 (-0.0886 km3) |
-0.0224 mi3 (-0.0935 km3) |
2009 |
|
-- |
-0.0012 mi3 (-0.0049 km3) |
Percent change between periods
|
1913 |
1971 |
1981 |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
1896 |
74.9 % |
18.8 % |
-14.1 % |
15.5 % |
-12.7 % |
-14.3 % |
1913 |
-- |
-32.1 % |
-50.9 % |
-34.0 % |
-50.1 % |
-51.0 % |
1971 |
|
-- |
-27.7 % |
-2.8 % |
-26.6 % |
-27.9 % |
1981 |
|
-- |
34.5 % |
1.6 % |
-0.2 % |
1994 |
|
-- |
-24.5 % |
-25.8 % |
2009 |
|
-- |
-1.8 % |
With the exception of data in 1981, all values here are calculated estimates based on work by Driedger and Kennard (1986), which calculates glacier volumes with the following equations:
If Glacier Length (L) > 8,500 ft:

If Glacier Length (L) < 8,500 ft:

Basal shear stress (τ) is calculated as:

Where V is the calculated volume of the glacier (ft3), A is the calculated area of the glacier (ft2), ρ is the density of ice (1.779 slug/ft3), g is the acceleration of gravity (32.178 ft/s2), and α is the average slope of the glacier.
If you need a really good research project, recalculating the glacier volumes at Mount Rainier is the way to go!
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NOTES:
Data References:
Beason, 2017,
George and Beason, 2017,
Reese, 2009, and
Driedger and Kennard, 1986