In June 2002, Hubbard Glacier advanced across the entrance to 35-mile-long Russell Fiord creating a glacier-dammed lake. After closure of the ice and moraine dam, runoff from mountain streams and glacial melt caused the level in “Russell Lake” to rise until it eventually breached the dam on August 14, 2002. Daily mean inflows to the lake during the period of closure were estimated on the basis of lake stage data and the hypsometry of Russell Lake. Inflows were regressed against the daily mean streamflows of nearby Ophir Creek and Situk River to generate an equation for simulating Russell Lake inflow. The regression equation was used to produce 11 years of synthetic daily inflows to Russell Lake for the 1992-2002 water years. A flood-frequency analysis was applied to the peak daily mean inflows for these 11 years of record to generate a 100-year peak daily mean inflow of 235,000 cubic feet per second. Regional-regression equations also were applied to the Russell Lake basin, yielding a 100-year inflow of 157,000 cubic feet per second.
Abstract
Introduction
Approach
Determination of Daily Mean Inflows to Russell Lake
Regression Model of Russell Lake Inflow
Reliability and Limitation of Estimating Equations
Flood-Frequency Analysis of Annual Maximum Russell Lake Inflows
Regional Equations for Estimation of Peak Streamflow
Summary
References Cited
Suggested citation: Neal, E.G., 2004, Simulated peak inflows of glacier dammed Russell Fiord, near Yakutat, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5234, 10 p.
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