Jason Briner, a professor of geology at the University of the Greenland, said, “When we look at the geologic record, we are finding out that the large rivers of ice that drain ice sheets are extremely sensitive to climate change, both warming and cooling. Probably the larger these rivers of ice are, the more sensitive they are to climate change.” Greenland researchers also identified another stage of advancement around 8,200 years ago by dating boulders where the glacier once stood. Although the researchers cannot say how much the ice cap grew by during these times, they claim the fact that it advanced at all during short cooling periods during warming times demonstrates a high sensitivity to climate change.
The glaciers of Canada's Saint Elias region which is nearly 98 cubic miles of ice are estimated to likely be cut in half by 2100, in normal melt scenarios. In other parts of the Canadian Rockies today's glaciers will all but disappear completely, while others will shrink to 5-20% percent of their current size. We may be witness to the disappearance of the glaciers of western North America.
Although it is estimated that if all of the world's mountain glaciers were to melt, the effect on sea level rise would be minimal. If all of western Canada's glaciers were to completely melt away, the oceans would rise by a quarter of an inch
Nepal's Ngozumpa glacier is melting away at a rapid pace and retreating at its edges because of global warming. The Himalayas have been warming considerably more than the global mean temperature in recent decades. Glaciers in most of the region are showing signs of thinning, shrinking, and retreating, which is giving way to a lot of melt water. On Ngozumpa, some of this water is seen to pool on the surface and then drain away through caverns and streams to the mouth of the glacier. A colossal lake is now growing,called Spillway, and is likely to be about 6km long, 1km wide and 100m deep. The concern is that this huge mass of water could ultimately break through the debris dam that blocks it and hurtle down the valley, sweeping away the Sherpa villages in its path. According to the scientists, although the threat is not immediate, but it is a situation that requires monitoring. In one incidence a camera captured a glacial lake losing more than 100,000 cubic meters of water in just two days. Within five days, the lake had recovered half the volume, fed by waters from higher up the glacier.As Earth's mountain glaciers melt away faster than they have at any other time, we should take heed to the climates increasing warming period and take further precautions environmentally to ensure that humans are not the cause for this major meltdown. The loss of these glaciers could have a severe impact in how we live and survive on our planet. Further research should be pursued to ensure that these natural wonders don't slip away into our lakes and oceans and cause an increased risk to Earth's and our own well-being.
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