Articles | Volume 20, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5941-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5941-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Seasonal surface melt onset and firn freeze-up across the central Wrangell and St. Elias Mountains
Ingalise Kindstedt
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
Andrew Johnson
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Kristin M. Schild
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
Luke Copland
Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Christine Dow
Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Alison Criscitiello
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Dominic Winski
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
Karl Kreutz
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
Seth Campbell
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
Model code and software
GlacierSAR A. Johnson https://github.com/ac-johnson/GlacierSAR
Short summary
Mountain snow at high elevations is changing as warming causes more melting and water to linger within it. We use satellite radar images from 2015 to 2024 to track when melting starts and when snow refreezes across the Wrangell and St. Elias Mountains on the border of Alaska and Yukon. We find that melting now reaches nearly all elevations, and water often remains trapped well into fall. Only the highest areas stay fully dry, showing widespread impacts of warming on mountain snowpacks.
Mountain snow at high elevations is changing as warming causes more melting and water to linger...