Glaciers Are Shrinking and Disappearing, New Inventory Reveals; How Does This Affect the Environment?

A new inventory has discovered that the Western United States is losing glaciers.

Losing Glaciers

Based on the new inventory, some glaciers have fully disappeared, while some no longer exhibit any movement. There are also some glaciers that are too tiny to meet the minimum of 0.01 square kilometers. Some of these glaciers are also rock glaciers, which are debris of rock that have ice in the spaces in the pores.

The inventory was conducted by researchers from Portland State University. The researchers documented the perennial snowfield and glaciers in western US by making use of satellite and aerial imagery. These images date from 2013 to 2020. The entire inventory covered 1,176 perennial snowfields and 1,331 glaciers.

The record excludes 52 out of 612 officially labeled glaciers because they no longer count as glaciers. Official glacier names are the ones that are included in the Geographic Names Information System, which is the repository of the nation that contains the locations and names of specific landscape features.

It serves as an update to an inventory of the mid-20th century that was derived from a 40-year period of topographic maps of the US Geological Survey. It also offers a benchmark for future alterations that come with global warming.

Andrew Fountain, a geology professor emeritus from the University, explains the disappearance of glaciers. He adds that this quantification gives an idea regarding the number of glaciers that have disappeared and that may keep on disappearing.

Moving forward, the researchers are examining the changes in glacier volume to see the amount of ice lost since the mapping fot he USGS.

How Does Glacier Loss Affect the Environment?

The effects of glacier loss go beyond aesthetics. Glaciers serve as stream flows' natural regulators. During dry and hot periods, these structures melt. In rainy and cool times, they do not melt.

Several aquatic species dwelling in mountainous settings need cold water for their survival. There are some aquatic insects that are remarkably sensitive to the temperature of the streams and cannot live without the coldness brought about by glacial meltwater.

As these glaciers get smaller, their ability for buffering runoff variations decreases. Watersheds also become more prone to experiencing drought.

Shrinking glaciers also leave steep and sharp embankments on their side. These could end up collapsing and leading to dangerous flows in debris.

On a global scale, glacier loss can also contribute to the rising sea levels.

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