Due to climate change, around 50%-or even up to 83%-of the world's total glaciers are at risk of disappearing when the century ends, as reported by SciTechDaily. However, combating global warming can still preserve the others.
Endangered Glaciers Due to Climate Change
This was seen in a recent study published in the Science Journal. SciTechDaily notes how the study gives a massively comprehensive outlook of the 215,000 glaciers all over the world.
Researchers stressed how it is important to restrict the emissions of greenhouse gasses in order to minimize glacier melt consequences, such as water depletion and rises in sea levels.
To aid policy making orientation, the research focused on four specific scenarios and their effects on glaciers, wherein the global temperature alteration means are 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 degrees Celsius.
Co-author Regine Hock from the University of Oslo and University of Alaska Fairbanks note how a single degree difference leads to more loss and melt. Hock also notes, however, that this means that when temperature increases are reduced, mass losses can also be lowered.
According to PBS, the world is currently moving toward a rise of around 2.7 degrees Celsius ever since the times of pre-industrialization.
The specialists estimated that around 49% of global glaciers would disappear by 2100. This would cover around 26% of global glacier mass, since the smallest ones would be the first ones to be affected.
Hock notes that areas where there is hardly any ice, such as the Caucasus, Andes, European Alps, and Western US, are bound to lose almost all of their ice when the century ends regardless of the situation of emissions. He notes how such glaciers are basically doomed.
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Worst Case Scenario: 83% of Glaciers Gone
The worst possible case would be a temperature rise of 4.0 degrees Celsius. In such a case, the huge glaciers, including the ones from Alaska, would get affected. This would mean that around 83% of global glaciers could disappear by 2100.
The loss of glaciers would aggravate rises in sea levels.
Hock further mentions how the glaciers that they are looking into only make up for 1% of the earth's ice. It is significantly lesser compared to the ice sheets across the Antarctic and Greenland. However, they have attributed to the rise in sea level almost as much as that of Greenland and Antarctic in the past thirty years.
A 1.5-degrees Celsius increase would increase sea levels by an average of 9 cm while a 4.0-degrees Celcius increase would lead to a 15 cm rise.
Though this may sound much, the global sea level is not the main concern. Such rises are linked to storm surges which may lead to grave damages.
Glacier disappearances will also impact water supply, as they serve as freshwater sources for around two billion individuals. Such glaciers make up for water loss during the summer, when rain is not prevalent and heat is great.
These projections were made through analyzing glacier mass over decades and through simulations via computers.
Glacier Mass Loss Can Still Be Circumvented
While such findings could be alarming, Hock notes that it is still possible to reduce this loss by taking efforts. Its happening, however, is a different matter. Such efforts are still in the hands of the leaders and policy makers.
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