MOUNT RAINIER
GEOLOGY & WEATHER
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Glacier Info - Fryingpan 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).

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)

Switch Glacier:

STATISTICS AS OF 2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
Aerial Extent:
1.156 ± 0.063 square miles (2.993 ± 0.164 km2) (Rank: 10 of 29)
Debris Cover - Based on data from 2015 (Beason, 2017):
0.049 ± 0.002 square miles (0.128 ± 0.005 km2) (Rank: 15 of 29)
Estimated Glacier Volume: (See notes below)
0.0223 ± 0.0078 cubic miles (0.0930 ± 0.0325 km3)
Highest Elevation (Head):
9,930 feet (3,027 m)
Lowest Elevation (Terminus):
7,093 feet (2,162 m)
Elevation Range:
2,838 feet (865 m)
Length:
0.98 miles (1.59 km)
Average Slope:
21.75°
Average Flow Direction (direction the glacier flows towards):
Northeast (38°)
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 1.437 2.363 1.675 1.634 1.273 1.253 1.156
Area, km2 3.722 6.121 4.339 4.231 3.297 3.245 2.993
Area Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18960.926 mi2
(2.399 km2)
0.238 mi2
(0.617 km2)
0.197 mi2
(0.509 km2)
-0.164 mi2
(-0.425 km2)
-0.184 mi2
(-0.477 km2)
-0.281 mi2
(-0.728 km2)
1913---0.688 mi2
(-1.782 km2)
-0.730 mi2
(-1.890 km2)
-1.090 mi2
(-2.824 km2)
-1.110 mi2
(-2.876 km2)
-1.207 mi2
(-3.127 km2)
1971---0.042 mi2
(-0.108 km2)
-0.402 mi2
(-1.042 km2)
-0.422 mi2
(-1.094 km2)
-0.519 mi2
(-1.345 km2)
1994---0.361 mi2
(-0.934 km2)
-0.381 mi2
(-0.986 km2)
-0.478 mi2
(-1.238 km2)
2009---0.020 mi2
(-0.052 km2)
-0.117 mi2
(-0.303 km2)
2015---0.097 mi2
(-0.251 km2)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
189664.46%16.57%13.68%-11.42%-12.82%-19.57%
1913---29.12%-30.88%-46.14%-46.99%-51.10%
1971---2.48%-24.01%-25.22%-31.01%
1994---22.08%-23.31%-29.25%
2009---1.58%-9.20%
2015---7.74%

ESTIMATED CHANGE IN VOLUME, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
PLEASE see important notes about this, below...
Glacier-specific Scaling Parameter, c:
0.016103
Units 1896 1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
Volume, mi3 0.0300 0.0593 0.0370 0.0358 0.0255 0.0249 0.0223
Volume, km3 0.1252 0.2470 0.1544 0.1492 0.1061 0.1038 0.0930
Volume Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
18960.029 mi3
(0.122 km3)
0.007 mi3
(0.029 km3)
0.006 mi3
(0.024 km3)
-0.005 mi3
(-0.019 km3)
-0.005 mi3
(-0.021 km3)
-0.008 mi3
(-0.032 km3)
1913---0.022 mi3
(-0.093 km3)
-0.023 mi3
(-0.098 km3)
-0.034 mi3
(-0.141 km3)
-0.034 mi3
(-0.143 km3)
-0.037 mi3
(-0.154 km3)
1971---0.001 mi3
(-0.005 km3)
-0.012 mi3
(-0.048 km3)
-0.012 mi3
(-0.051 km3)
-0.015 mi3
(-0.061 km3)
1994---0.010 mi3
(-0.043 km3)
-0.011 mi3
(-0.045 km3)
-0.013 mi3
(-0.056 km3)
2009---0.001 mi3
(-0.002 km3)
-0.003 mi3
(-0.013 km3)
2015---0.003 mi3
(-0.011 km3)
Percent Change Between Periods

1913 1971 1994 2009 2015 2021
189697.29%23.30%19.14%-15.27%-17.09%-25.73%
1913---37.50%-39.61%-57.05%-57.98%-62.36%
1971---3.37%-31.28%-32.76%-39.77%
1994---28.88%-30.41%-37.67%
2009---2.15%-12.35%
2015---10.42%
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 Fryingpan Glacier is 0.016103 (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 Fryingpan Glacier in 2021, you can find the following individual volumes:
Back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) Method: 0.0174 mi3 (0.0727 km3).
Back-calculated Nylen (2001) Method: 0.0272 mi3 (0.1133 km3).
Average of the two (above equation and values listed for 2021 here): 0.0223 mi3 (0.0930 km3).
Official volume estimate listed above, with error: 0.0223 ± 0.0078 mi3 (0.0930 ± 0.0325 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: