Melting Glaciers

Many believe that our melting glaciers are a result of global climate changes. Glaciers the world over are accelerating their retreat, melting faster than they can be restocked with new ice and snow.  This warming trend has affected glaciers both in the arctic and the Antarctic regions. Glacial retreat is a complex subject, that encompasses much more than mere climate change. While we are able to record changes now, records from the past are spotty and few at best, and most theories are based on these few records being applied across the board to all of the world's glaciers

In truth, some glaciers are actually advancing, though the number that continue to grow is much smaller than the number that are shrinking. For whatever reason, these advancing glaciers are in microclimates where they are accumulating more snow than they lose by runoff. Two glaciers in New Zealand are actually growing at such a fast rate that compared to most glaciers, they are speeding. When glaciers melt, sometimes they move towards the sea at a faster rate than they did before. Sometimes, where a glacier meets the sea, an ice shelf exists that holds it back.  When these ice shelves break, the glacier can flow even faster into the sea. It is possible that sea levels will rise if enough glacial ice melts and breaks loose from restraining ice shelves.

Whether we are causing global warming is a controversial topic. The earth alternates cycles of warmer and cooler weather on its own, and evidence to say that we are contributing to it continues to be debated.

Glaciers also alternate between advancing and retreating. It could be that we are merely in a cycle that will see a lot of glacial melting. We can run computer simulations to try and predict what will happen in the next century or two, but we really don't understand everything that affects our climate. The warmer cycle we are in may last for a long time, or it may be over in another decade. The best we can do is keep records and try to apply them to guessing what the future holds.

If you accept the theory of global warming, then by all means try to reduce your carbon footprint on the earth. Doing so can only help our planet in a myriad of ways. But no matter what we do, the glaciers will follow their own complex reasons for melting.

Some scientists are predicting that many large glaciers will be completely gone in ten years or so. They estimate that all the glaciers that are currently melting are losing a grand total of 22 cubic miles of ice per year. Only time will tell if this comes true or not. While current data being collected support the fact that a majority of glaciers are losing mass much faster than they did fifty years ago, not all the news is bad.

Some researchers are pointing out that while the sea level is expected to rise, the ground uncovered when glaciers melt will be available for agriculture, building and mining. A glacier melting in Alaska is revealing what may be the state's largest lode of copper ever found.

So the climate changes causing melting glaciers seems likely to continue. Try to visit one of these wonders of nature while they are still here for us to enjoy.