Climate change has affected many global retreats, but the disappearance of a whole river or water dock hasn't been heard in near past. That's what has been reported by a group of researchers who were studying the nature of one of Canada's greatest glaciers ever. As per the insight, Slims River which took off its journey from the country's Kaskawulsh glacier vanished completely living behind a dry and muddy land within a vast period of just four days. This unexpected and sudden incident has now been considered as one of kind "river piracy" that happened in decades.
According to The Guardian, beginning its flow from Kaskawulsh glacier, Slims River ran through northwards carrying meltwater from Kaskawulsh glacier for a long back. The river used to fall in the Kluane river in Canada's Yukon borders, gazing with the cold glacier melted streams and moving towards Yukon river and finally ending at the Bering Sea. But in Spring last year, the glacier took a drastic change by being over melted, possibly due to global warming, and reviving its streaming route towards the Gulf of Alaska and leaving the original Slims River dried to an unordinary state.
As per a report by Science Daily, usually, such river piracy can only be caused due to massive natural disasters like an unwilling movement of Earth's crust, erosion, uncertain landslides and glacier dams properties evolution. According to the group of scientists from the University of Washington Tacoma who were closely studying this glacier's movements for quite a long time even with helicopters and drones, this was a revolutionary instance of the terrible effects caused by climate change.
Kaskawulsh glacier's newest route became beneficial to another river. The new pathway created due to massive glacier retreat has shifted immense glacier stream towards Alsek river. And due to this extreme repository of melt water in Alsek tributary, it has been raised to a volume close triple than Slims River, which once had the similar streaming length and line to the former river. As per the study report to whole evolution took place from May 26, 2016, to May 29, 2016. Slims River has now turned into a dusty and muddy land after this sudden transfer of glacier streams.
