Change in equilibrium-line altitude (ΔELA) for 215 Alaskan glaciers from the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum to present (2016 to 2024)

The study associated with this dataset evaluates the climatic signature of the Little Ice Age (LIA; ~1250 to 1900) relative to the present (2016–2024) by reconstructing shifts in equilibrium-line altitude (ΔELA), a climate-sensitive parameter, for 215 glaciers in Alaska and adjacent Canada (southwest Yukon and northwest British Columbia) using remote sensing and a suite of geographic information system (GIS) tools. We quantify the magnitude and spatial pattern of ΔELA across Alaska’s major glaciated regions to infer centennial-scale changes in temperature and precipitation and to examine links with synoptic-scale circulation associated with the Aleutian Low.
Data were generated in 2024–2025 at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University as part of the NSF-funded PROGLACIAL project. The dataset includes reconstructed LIA maximum ELAs, modern end-of-summer snowline altitudes (2016–2024), and LIA–present ΔELA for 215 glaciers. LIA glacier extents were compiled from published sources and additional mapping of geomorphic evidence (terminal moraines, trimlines) using the ESRI World Imagery basemap; LIA glacier surfaces and ELAs were modeled using the GlaRe and PalaeoIce GIS toolboxes; and modern snowline altitudes were manually mapped in Sentinel-2 satellite imagery (2016-2024) and associated elevation extracted from the ArcticDEM (10 meter mosaic product).