MELTING MOUNTAINS: A GLACIER IN RETREAT
Scientists recognize that snowpack is declining, replaced by rain and delayed by dry, hot summers. As snowpack disappears, glaciers are retreating and tree lines are advancing upward.
In the summer of 2025, I worked with Seattle Times’ Climate Lab reporters to illustrate a glacier and five alpine species in a special story about Washington’s melting mountains. I wanted to take the assignment a step further and show a cutaway of a glacier. The cutaway helps readers understand the anatomy of a glacier and what causes and accelerates ice melting. I also thought it was important to represent a real glacier, which made the story more locally relevant. The diagram below is based on Mt. Rainier’s Emmons Glacier, the largest in the contiguous U.S. Mt. Rainier—usually covered in snow and ice—is a familiar sight to readers in the Seattle area.
Explore the graphics below, or view the online story published on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in The Seattle Times.
Sensitive species that depend on a narrow range of temperatures and parklike subalpine and alpine habitats may be unable to adapt to climate shifts. Seattle Times reporters wrote about a few of these species, which I helped illustrate: the elusive mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), the pika (Ochotona princeps), avalanche lilies (Erythronium montanum), white-tailed ptarmigans (Lagopus leucura rainierensis), and the Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus).
Process
Here’s some of my preliminary sketches. I used a dry brush to get a sense of the shading in the glacier sketch.
To construct the glacier cutaway, I referred to Google Earth, topographical maps, and YouTube videos by Dr. Claire Todd of CSUSB Geological Sciences. Satellite views of glaciers are inordinately detailed—and I needed to simplify to show the most important elements. The subterranean portions of the cutaway are based on features commonly found in other glaciers.
The draft sketches were reviewed by the reporters and by Dr. Todd, who provided expert insight on Washington glaciers and helped fine-tune the definitions.
I rendered the final art in Procreate on the iPad, which allowed me to make changes on layers as needed. The traditional ink linework—incorporating varied line weights—tends to reproduce well in print and online, and complements the classic feel of newspaper design.
