Data from: Historical retreat of alpine glaciers in the Ahklun Mountains, western Alaska

The Ahklun Mountains support the only extant glaciers in western Alaska. The glaciers were originally mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey using photogrammetry methods based on 1972 - 1973 aerial photos. We surveyed for presence or absence of the glaciers by fixed-wing aircraft in 2006. Of 109 glaciers originally mapped, 10 (9%) had disappeared. Using aerial imagery of a subset of 76 glaciers at three time steps between 1957 - 2009, we determined the average rate of areal loss was 45% over 52 years. At this rate, it is likely that all Ahklun Mountain glaciers will be extinguished by the end of the current century.阿赫伦山脉（Ahklun Mountains）是阿拉斯加西部仅存冰川的分布区域。美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey）最初采用摄影测量法，依托1972至1973年的航空摄影照片对该区域冰川完成了首次测绘。本研究于2006年借助固定翼飞机开展调查，以确认各冰川的存续状态。在最初测绘的109条冰川中，已有10条（占比9%）完全消失。我们针对其中76条冰川的子集，结合1957年至2009年间三个时间节点的航空影像进行分析，测算得出该区域冰川在52年间的平均面积退缩率达45%。按照这一退缩速率，阿赫伦山脉的所有冰川极有可能在本世纪末彻底消亡。