The glaciers of the world are melting

Glacial ice melting contributes to rising sea levels and glaciers serve fresh water to communities around the world, are an integral part of the planet’s meteorological and climate systems and are «unique landscapes for contemplation or exploration», according to Says this expert. «And they’re shrinking, fast,» writes Twila Moon glacier expert at the University of Colorado Boulder, in his analysis titled ‘Saying Goodbye to Glaciers’.

Glaciers from all over the world disappear before our own eyes, and the implications of this sudden process for the human being are wide and worrying, warns an article published by Science.

Glacial ice melting contributes to sea level rise and glaciers serve fresh water to communities around the world, are an integral part of the planet’s meteorological and climate systems and are «unique landscapes for contemplation or exploration», according to Says this expert. «And they’re shrinking, fast,» writes Twila Moon glacier expert at the University of Colorado Boulder, in his analysis titled ‘Saying Goodbye to Glaciers’. Moon admits she was quite stunned when a ‘Science’ editor approached her asking her to write a perspective article on the state of the world’s glaciers for their knowledge thanks to years of research and extensive publication registration. She describes the many ways in which researchers study the dynamics of glaciers, from in situ measurements on ice through satellite-based monitoring campaigns to models. CONCERNING TRENDS Moon describes in Science the worrying trends: the projection that Switzerland will lose more than half of its small glaciers in the next 25 years; The substantial withdrawal of glaciers from Antarctica, Patagonia, Himalayas, Greenland and the Arctic; The disappearance of iconic glaciers in Glacier National Park in Montana, or the reduction of pieces of ice that no longer move (by definition, a glacier must be massive enough to move).

In his article, Moon calls for the continuing work of the scientific community, for which research on ice is already becoming a priority. This expert says she was attracted to glaciers when she was a student of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University in the United States, when she spent a semester abroad in Nepal. «For the first time I saw a great glacier valley that flowed through the Himalayas,» he said, «and I thought it was the coolest thing to do.» After studying geology, the movement and the sound of ice right now feel almost alive » . That experience made him begin a research career that has taken him to Greenland, Alaska, Norway, and to give lectures around the world. The expert began her work «merely», as she indicates, as a geologist and glaciologist interested in the ice itself. A little later the influence of climate change was part of his work. «I think I’m as young as a person who started in glaciology at a time when climate change was not a primary part of the conversation,» says Moon, who is 35.

Source.Ecoticia