Mainland US Has More than 1300 Glaciers. New Research Maps Which States Are Melting Faster
The review says the remaining glaciers are small, concentrated in protected terrain, and thinning unevenly across the Rockies and Washington.
- A new report published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that more than 300 glaciers in the contiguous United States have disappeared since the mid-20th century, with total area shrinking by 35%.
- Warming air temperatures have caused surviving glaciers to lose 33% of their volume compared to previous decades, according to Andrew Fountain, professor emeritus at Portland State University.
- While Washington glaciers remain larger due to cooler summers and snowfall, those in the Rockies and Sierra Nevada subsist only in topographically protected niches, with fastest thinning in the Beartooth-Absaroka Mountains.
- The shrinking ice threatens vital water storage for agriculture and hydropower while reducing cool water flows necessary for fish habitats and increasing landslide hazards as moraines lose structural support.
- Projections indicate most glaciers on the Olympic Peninsula could disappear by 2070, though those on Mount Rainier and Mount Baker may survive past 2100 under current climate trends.
20 Articles
20 Articles
300 glaciers have disappeared from the American West since the mid‑20th century
From an airplane, most of the glaciers of the Rocky Mountain West look like small patches of white nestled into the rugged landscape where the topography folds. The white is the snow cover, and lower down you can see the gray-blue bare ice.
Climate Change: 300 Glaciers Have Disappeared From the American West Since the Mid‑20th Century
Republished with permission from The Conversation, by Andrew Fountain, Portland State University From an airplane, most of the glaciers of the Rocky Mountain West look like small patches of white nestled into rugged landscape where the topography folds. The white is the snow cover, and lower down you can see the gray-blue bare ice. In the middle of the 20th century, over 1,450 glaciers could be found in the contiguous U.S. Together, they covered…
The Conversation
300 glaciers have disappeared from the American West since the mid-20th century – the survivors have a few things in common
Scientists take measurements on Sperry Glacier, in Glacier National Park, Montana. USGSFrom an airplane, most of the glaciers of the Rocky Mountain West look like small patches of white nestled into rugged landscape where the topography folds. The white is the snow cover, and lower down you can see the gray-blue bare ice. In the middle of the 20th century, over 1,450 glaciers could be found in the contiguous U.S. Together, they covered 217 squar…
I went to look at these glaciers closely. What's left of them is in mountain hollows, sheltered from the sun, and even there, the ice gets thinner year after year. More
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