Authors: Jana MacInnis*,
Topics: Water Resources and Hydrology, Cryosphere, Climatology and Meteorology
Keywords: hydrology, glaciers, glaciology, glacial flood, glacial outburst flood, jokulhlaup, jökulhlaup, Alaska, weather
Session Type: Poster
Start / End Time: 8:00 AM / 9:40 AM
Room: Lincoln 2, Marriott, Exhibition Level
Presentation File: No File Uploaded
Jökulhlaups originating from Suicide Basin and emptying into the Mendenhall River watershed in Juneau Alaska have been occurring regularly, sometimes multiple times per year, since 2011. To determine if there was a weather-related influence on these events, daily high temperature and daily precipitation readings were analyzed and compared to the dates of all jökulhlaups recorded in the area between 2011 and 2016. Using mean rainfall and temperature data, thresholds for heavy rain and abnormally warm daily high temperatures were calculated, then the day of as well as the three days prior to the jökulhlaup were analyzed. It was determined from this analysis that more events were preceded by heavy rain than were preceded by abnormally warm daily high temperatures. These findings are significant when considering prediction of future jökulhlaups, the placement of future stream gauges, and setting the stage for more research using weather data.