ScienceThe Guardian

The US west has lost nearly 300 glaciers since the 1960s. Climate crisis is drastically shrinking what’s left

A new study found the US west has lost about 300 glaciers since the 1960s and the total glacier area has shrunk by a third, with most of the rest expected to keep shrinking.

At the midpoint of the last century the region had 1,450 glaciers and a new study reveals the extent of losses

The Long Sip
What happened

A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found around 300 glaciers in the US west have functionally disappeared since the 1960s.

The detail

The total glacier area across six western US states has shrunk by a third, with smaller south-facing glaciers at lower elevations experiencing the greatest losses, the research found.

What it means

Lead researcher Andrew Fountain said even many larger glaciers are on track to disappear within the next half century as global temperatures continue to rise.

Full story at The Guardian

What readers are saying

kay_parahills
The detail about lower-elevation south-facing spots copping the worst of it really sticks out. It is hard to picture hundreds of them shrinking down to just the size of a couple of football fields. 🏔️
mandym
The research shows that winter precipitation falling as rain rather than snow is preventing these glaciers from nourishing properly during the colder months.
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