lMAGE CREDIT: UNBC. A satellite image of the Klinaklini Glacier and the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield in British Columbia as imaged by ASTER on Sept. 21, 2000

By Oli Herrera

Collaborative study

UNBC’s $250,000 supercomputer helps international research study glacial loss

Apr 28, 2021 | 2:10 PM

PRINCE GEORGE–A quarter of a million dollars supercomputer at the University of Northern British Columbia helped an international team of researchers to figure out the rate of which the mass of the Earth’s glaciers are depleting.

The computer, named Klinaklini, created models using more than 440,000 satellite images taken over the last 20 years to map out elevation levels of glaciers. The images were acquired from NASA’s ASTER sensor that measures elevation change over glacierized terrain.

Dr. Brian Menounos, Professor of First Sciences at UNBC and one of the lead researchers in this study says that this is just one of many that will be used to help policymakers create discussion on how to curb depleting glaciers.

“Our motivation for this study was to try and provide the best estimate on how much fresh water is being lost by the depleting glaciers.” said Menounos.

The collaborative study was led by doctoral student Romain Hugonnet from the University of Tolouse, located in France. Hugonnet was also a former research assistant at UNBC.

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Klinaklini was a jointly funded project through a partnership with UNBC and the Hakai Institute that began in 2019. Both institutions provided resources to purchase the supercomputer.

The study found that in the last 20 years, North American glaciers represented for nearly one-half of the world’s total glacial mass loss. One-third of that came from glaciers in Alaska and those that straddle the Alaska-Canada border.

Other institutions that co-lead the study includes Ulster University in the UK, ETH Zurich in Switzerland, and the University of Oslo in Norway.

The peer-reviewed study will now be used by the Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change to create summary statements for political leaders.