Alaska’s Glaciers in 2025 — status, hotspots, and what’s vanishing fastest
Alaska still has tens of thousands of glaciers, but most are shrinking or thinning. Roughly 27,000 were mapped in a statewide inventory (2011), with ~600–650 officially named; the oft-repeated “100,000” is a broad estimate, and the total ice area is trending down. Alaska has been one of the world’s largest regional contributors to sea-level rise from glaciers this century.
Bottom line: The steepest losses are in the coastal south and southeast — Kenai Fjords/Harding Icefield, Prince William Sound (e.g., Columbia), Glacier Bay–Juneau Icefield, and the Yakutat–St. Elias sector (e.g., Malaspina thinning). Interior/Alaska Range valley glaciers (e.g., Gulkana, Black Rapids) are smaller and retreating too, but maritime/lake-terminating glaciers are retreating fastest. One notable exception: Hubbard Glacier is still advancing.
Hotspots — where change is fastest
Kenai Fjords & the Harding Icefield: Many outlet glaciers are retreating; lake-terminating outlets tend to recede the quickest. Exit Glacier is a visible example near Seward.
Prince William Sound (Chugach):Columbia Glacier has retreated >20 km since the 1980s; large thickness loss and rapid calving-front change.
Juneau Icefield & Glacier Bay (SE Panhandle): Ice loss accelerated after ~2005. Even formerly advancing Taku Glacier has begun retreating. In 2025, retreat at Alsek Glacier exposed a brand-new island in Glacier Bay country.
Yakutat–St. Elias coast:Malaspina (Sít’ Tlein), the world’s largest piedmont glacier, is thinning >1 m/yr in places and is vulnerable along its low-elevation, lake-studded foreland.
Alaska Range/interior valleys: Smaller valley glaciers like Gulkana and Black Rapids show persistent mass loss and area shrinkage.
Major glaciers (quick roles & trends)
Columbia (Prince William Sound)
Tidewater glacier with dramatic retreat and thinning since the 1980s; textbook case of rapid dynamic change.
Juneau Icefield
Plateau icefield losing mass faster since ~2010; many outlets receding; Taku has transitioned to retreat.
Malaspina (Sít’ Tlein)
Enormous piedmont lobe; widespread thinning and foreland lakes raise risk of more rapid future retreat.
Hubbard
A notable outlier: still advancing and has twice dammed Russell Fjord (1986, 2002); closely watched for future closures.
Why some glaciers vanish faster
Terminus in deep water: Tidewater/lake-terminating glaciers can retreat quickly due to undercutting, calving, and feedbacks where deeper water meets the ice front.
Low, flat “plateau” icefields: When warming thins broad plateaus (e.g., Juneau Icefield), a very large area experiences melt at once, accelerating shrinkage.
Maritime climate: Warmer, wetter coasts bring heavy melt seasons; interior glaciers also shrink, but generally lack the fast calving dynamics of deep-water fronts.
Types of Glaciers
Valley (e.g., Matanuska, Exit) · Tidewater (e.g., Columbia, Hubbard) · Cirque (small headwall niches) · Piedmont (e.g., Malaspina) · Icefields (e.g., Harding, Juneau). Continental ice sheets are not present in Alaska today.
Alaska’s Melt & the Sea (Last 10 Years)
Using region-wide mass-loss rates for Alaska’s glaciers, the meltwater they added to the ocean over roughly the last decade (≈2015–2024) equates to:
≈ 1.8–2.0 mm global sea-level rise
Rule of thumb: 1 mm of global sea-level rise ≈ 360–362 Gt of ice loss. Alaska’s observed loss has been ~66–73 Gt/yr in the 2000s–2010s and remains among the world’s largest regional contributors, implying ~0.18–0.20 mm/yr from Alaska alone. Over ~10 years ⇒ ~1.8–2.0 mm.
Northwest Passage: Has it been open to cargo and pleasure vessels recently?
Yes. Late-summer windows in 2023 and 2024 saw multiple full transits by both
cargo ships (e.g., Alaskaborg, Americaborg, Avonborg, Taagborg, Thamesborg) and passenger/cruise/sailing vessels
(e.g., Le Commandant Charcot, Le Boréal, Fridtjof Nansen, Silver Wind). 2025 also had a seasonal window.
Cargo examples (2023–2024): Alaskaborg, Albanyborg, Americaborg, Trinityborg, Taagborg, Thamesborg (west/east in late Aug–Sep).
Passenger examples (2023–2024): Le Commandant Charcot, Le Boréal, Fridtjof Nansen, Sylvia Earle, Silver Wind.
Timing: Typically late August–September when sea-ice extent reaches its minimum.
So what changes when access increases?
More traffic, more pressure
Arctic vessel numbers keep climbing; late-summer traffic peaks align with low sea-ice. More ships mean elevated risks:
underwater noise, wildlife disturbance, spill risk, and shore impacts in sensitive fjords and communities.
Tourism & “last-chance” dynamics
Expedition cruising has grown, bringing economic benefits and cultural exchange—while also raising concerns about
wildlife disturbance and crowding in small northern communities.
Protections: look, don’t take
Removal of artifacts, fossils, bones, driftwood, or cultural items is illegal in protected areas. Sites such as the
Franklin wrecks are tightly controlled; permits and Inuit co-management guard against looting and disturbance.
Local leadership & rules
In Canada’s Arctic, reporting to NORDREG, co-management with Inuit, cruise-ship guidelines, and designated corridors
aim to reduce impacts. Responsible operators follow these—and visitors should too.
Why this matters for Alaska’s coasts
Sea-level rise from Alaskan glaciers adds to erosion, storm-surge reach, and infrastructure risk.
Ecology: Changing freshwater inputs, turbidity, and nutrient timing affect fisheries and near-shore food webs.
Communities: Subsistence hunting/fishing face shifting ice, seasons, and species patterns.
Data notes: The Alaska-only sea-level estimate above comes from converting observed regional mass-loss rates (~66–73 Gt/yr) into SLR (1 mm ≈ 360–362 Gt). Exact values vary by method and years sampled; recent syntheses show global glacier loss accelerating into the 2010s and early-2020s, with Alaska a leading regional source.
