Celebrating the UN’s International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation with Karl Ricker!
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To celebrate the UN’s International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, we’re highlighting Karl Ricker, a member and volunteer of the Whistler Naturalists.
Karl has measured the shrinking Wedgemount Glacier in Garibaldi Park every year since 1973 until his retirement in 2023. He documented 700 metres of recession on Wedgemount Glacier over his 50 years of surveys.
He also measured the Overlord Glacier in Garibaldi Park for 38 years, which has been receding at a slower rate than Wedgemount Glacier. Karl’s glacier monitoring work has been critical in helping to document the rapid retreat of local glaciers.
Why monitor glaciers? Glaciers will grow or shrink in response to a changing climate. Tracking their movements provides researchers with information that can be used to predict future changes and impacts on ecosystems and water availability. Here’s a look at Wedgemount Glacier over the years from 1978-2024.
Read on for a Q&A with Karl and find out why these two glaciers that are so close together are behaving differently.
Q: Wedgemount Glacier is retreating at a faster rate than Overlord Glacier. Why might glaciers that are so close together be acting so differently?
A: The biggest factor is the size of the catchment basin. Overlord is a much bigger glacier, so it collects more snow and melts more slowly. Wedgemount seems to be in a bit of a moisture shadow so that might factor in as well. Even though Wedgemount is facing a colder aspect (faces north while Overlord faces west) and is at a higher elevation than Overlord, it is receding faster.
Q: Can you share a memory that brings you joy when you look back at your surveying work over the past 50 years?
A: When I first saw Wedgemount Glacier from the top of Wedge Mountain in the summer of 1965. I was leading a trip where we climbed the west shoulder of Wedge and camped at tree line. The next day we ascended on the south-facing slope. On the summit we saw the glacier floating on the lake. At that time there was no established trail to Wedgemount Lake.
Q: What is one of the biggest surprises you’ve encountered in your 50 years of surveying glaciers?
A: When I saw Overlord Glacier for the first time in 1986, it was advancing so I got to see the last of the big event. It advanced 175 m between 1950 and 1986 before receding again (there were small advances more recently as well). Another surprise was the good group of volunteers over the years. At least 50 in the last 50 years! Finally, we have multi-generation family members joining the annual surveys. I started this project with Bill Tupper and Don Lyon. Now both of their sons and grandchildren are involved, which is great for keeping this project going. Bill’s son Rob is a survey engineer and well-suited to take over leadership of the project.
