Operational Management: Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan; Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada
Purpose/Scientific Focus: Peyto Glacier is a long-term reference mass balance glacier, contributing to the World Glacier Monitoring Service (https://wgms.ch/), with records dating from 1965 and other glaciological observations since the nineteeth century. It is the only long-term reference mass balance glacier in the Canadian Rockies. The site has had a long history of scientific research on glacier surface energy and mass exchanges and meteorology, glacier change detection from remote sesning, glacier hydrology, and hydrological model testing and development.
Characteristics
Location (Physiographic Region): Located in the Park Ranges (Waputik Mountains) of the Canadian Rockies. Peyto Glacier is an outlet glacier on the northern end of the Wapta Icefield.
Area: 23.6 km2
Elevation: Min. 1,951 m a.s.l. to Max. 3,180 m a.s.l.
Description (Physical–Ecological–Climatic Characteristics): The basin is a high relief headwater basin along the continetal divide of North America with significant glacier cover. Peyto Glacier has been losing mass and retreating since at least the 1920s, but in recent years it has undergone a considerable acceleration of shrinkage. A proglacial lake ("Lake Munroe") formed at the terminus in the last decade, and continues to grow larger as the glacier retreats.
Drainage/River System: Peyto Glacier contributes runoff to the Mistaya River basin, a headwater of the North Saskatchewan River, which eventually reaches Hudson Bay via the Nelson River.
Site History/Historical Context: The first geophysical record of Peyto Glacier goes back to a photograph taken by Walter D. Wilcox in 1896, followed by subsequent photographs and a map from the Alberta-British Columbia Interprovincial Boundary Commission Survey. Significant research on the glacier began in 1965, when it was selected as one of the research sites for the International Hydrological Decade (IHD). The scope and observational resources have varied since then, with more recent advances and restoration of observations. See https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2875-2021 for further details.
Glacierized Area (% and year(s) measured):
Main Land Cover(s): The basin is mostly barren alpine (rock, alpine grasses/shrubs, small lakes and tarns) with signifiant glacier cover.
Lithology/Soils: Predominantly sedimentary geological region, with surrounding mountains formed from hard, resistant dolomite.
Water Survey of Canada gauge 05DA008; 1967 to 1977
Notes
Historical data at other stations are available since 1965. See https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2875-2021 for a detailed description of all stations/sensors available and the respective data repositories.
Field Observation Campaigns and Other Measurements
Measurement
Instrument Description
Spatial/Temporal Resolution and Coverage
Notes/Details
Terrestrial Laser Scanner
UAV Sensors
Once a year (late august) with eBeeX (multispectral/thermal/RGB) or AltaX (lidar/RGB/thermal/multispectral)
Time-lapse Photographs
Snow Pits/Snow Surveys
Yes, infrequent manual snow surveys on ice and moraine, once a year usually
Glacier Surface Elevation
Glacier Mass Balance
Notes
See
Data Availability
Geospatial Data
Elevation
Yes, 10 m photogrammetric DEM, 10 m and 1 m Lidar DEMs, and higher resolution from UAV-lidar on tongue since 2019
Landcover and Soils
Several landcover classifications based on Landsat images from 1966 to 2018
Aubry‐Wake, C., Pradhananga, D., & Pomeroy, J. W. (2022). Hydrological process controls on streamflow variability in a glacierized headwater basin. Hydrological Processes, 36(10), e14731. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14731
Pradhananga, D., & Pomeroy, J. W. (2022). Diagnosing changes in glacier hydrology from physical principles using a hydrological model with snow redistribution, sublimation, firnification and energy balance ablation algorithms. Journal of Hydrology, 608, 127545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127545
Pradhananga, D., & Pomeroy, J. W. (2022). Recent hydrological response of glaciers in the Canadian Rockies to changing climate and glacier configuration. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26(10), 2605-2616. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2605-2022