The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the reader to the Bering Glacier and the Bering Glacier System. This will be done by (1) providing a summary of the early observations and geographic descriptions of Bering Glacier, (2) identifying scientific studies that have provided insights to the unique character of the Bering Glacier System and its unique surroundings, and (3) presenting descriptions of key geographic features that are part of the system and its surroundings. The Bering Glacier System is the largest glacier in continental North America and the largest temperate surging glacier on Earth.

Bering Glacier, the largest glacier in continental North America, is a surging glacier. A surging or surge-type glacier is one that periodically discharges an ice reservoir by means of one or more sudden, brief, large-scale ice displacement(s). These displacements typically transfer ice from up-glacier accumulation areas to down-glacier ablation areas. Most surges occur with a periodicity of about a decade to more than a century. Typically during periods of ice displacement, flow rates increase dramatically, often as much as 10–100 or more times faster than normal. Most surges do not result in terminus displacements. However, surges of the Bering Glacier typically result in significant terminus thickening and displacement. Retreat of Bering Glacier from its Little Ice Age maximum position began during the first decade of the twentieth century. At least five major surges have interrupted this ongoing retreat. The combination of these two processes, retreat in response to changing climate and surging, has resulted in a number of short term fluctuations in Bering Glacier's ice velocity, thickness, and terminus position. Another consequence of the periodic surge cycles has been multiple drawdowns of ice from the glacier's accumulation area. Major surges of the Bering Glacier occurred in ca. 1900, ca. 1920, ca. 1938–1940, 1957–1967, and 1993–1995. A smaller magnitude surge occurred in 2008–2009. Hence, during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Bering Glacier surged approximately every 20 a. The surges that occurred during the second half of the twentieth century have been closely monitored. This chapter presents details about the recent surge behavior of Bering Glacier.

Abstract Analyses of high-resolution seismic profiles have revealed the presence of a well-defined, massive submarine slide located at the north end of the Kayak Trough in the northern Gulf of Alaska. This slide is about 18 km long and 15 km wide, has a volume of about 5.9 km 3 , and has moved down a 1 ° slope. Sediment from the upper 2 m of the slide consists of low-strength, greenish-gray clayey silt. Morphologically this slide is a classic example, with a well-preserved pull-apart scarp in the headward regions, a well-developed toe, disrupted internal bedding, and hummocky surface topography. The age of the slide is unknown, but its clearly defined morphology in an area of very high sedimentation (7.5 to 15 m/1,000 yr) suggests that it is extremely young. The slide may have been generated by intense storm activity or earthquake-triggered, prolonged ground shaking. Laboratory and shipboard observations indicate that the slide sediments are very weak (peak shear strength of 0.02 kg/cm 2 ) with high water content. Other areas of the Gulf of Alaska are known to have thick accumulations of similar sediment, although a comparable slide has not been observed. The characteristics of this slide are indicative of problems that will have to be surmounted if this or similar areas in the Gulf of Alaska are to be used for pipeline emplacement or platform siting for petroleum production. High seismic risk makes the problems even more severe.