Glacier National Park Is Losing Its GlaciersGlacierNPS/Twitter
Officials have warned that Glacier National Park could completely lose its glaciers within decades.
When the USA national park was first founded in 1910, it boasted more than 100 glaciers. Now, 110 years later, the glaciers have seen a significant reduction in size. Located in the northwest corner of Montana, the park is over a million acres in size.
As well as its glaciers, the park has 75 named mountains, 762 lakes, 563 streams, more than 200 named waterfalls, as well as more than 745 miles of maintained hiking trails.
PA
Alerting people to the problem was the Glacier National Park’s official Twitter page, where it explained that between 1966 and 2015, every one its 26 named glaciers in the park got smaller. Some even lost more than 80% of their area.
The park said that this should be a warning of the damaging affects global warming is having on Earth.
In the thread of tweets, the park said:
Yes, the park’s glaciers are shrinking and the melting does have ecological consequences, but for many people, glacier retreat itself has become enough reason for concern. Losing the park’s glaciers could be a lesson about the significance of global warming.
The loss of the park’s namesake could grab our attention and challenges us to imagine what the future could look like as we move forward.
A wide variety of quantitative and qualitative science tells us that the glaciers have shrunk substantially over the past century.
It further explained how scientists collect their data from the field, using high-resolution GPS measurements to track the glaciers’ surface areas. The stakes embedded in the ice help to illustrate overall changes in mass.
As well as this, photography is used to demonstrate the deterioration of the glaciers over time.
It continued:
Perhaps the most useful tool in tracking glacier change, however, is satellite imagery. Taken late summer when the glaciers are most visible, satellite images give regular updates on the glaciers’ area.
What is harder to know, is what will happen next. We do know the park in 2100 will be different than it was in 1900, and to some extent, we can work toward a future we want. What future do you imagine for 2100?
PA
The concerns about the glaciers coincides with a recent report released by United Nations. In 2010, one hundred and ninety-six countries agreed to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which laid out a 10-year plan to conserve the world’s biodiversity, promote sustainability, and protect ecosystems. Of the 20 targets set, only six of them were ‘partially met’ over the past decade.
The UN have since outlined a new plan called the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity in the hope of achieving the plan’s goals in the next 40 years.
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