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Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The glaciers on the verge of COLLAPSING: As Swiss villages face being wiped out by the Birch Glacier, terrifying interactive map reveals the huge bodies of ice that could be next
Switzerland's Birch Glacier hit the headlines this week, after a huge chunk broke off - partially destroying the village of Blatten. Now, scientists have created an interactive map that reveals the glaciers around the world that could be next in the firing line. The 'Global Glacier Casualty List' documents glaciers that are soon to disappear, or have already melted away. Users can drag the globe to see glaciers from all around the world, including some in Africa, Indonesia and Venezuela – challenging the misconception that these cherished natural landforms are only found at the north and south poles. The tool was created by anthropologists and glaciologists led by Rice University Professors Cymene Howe and Dominic Boyer, who warn that over three-quarters of global glacier mass is expected to disappear under present climate policies. Glaciers are considered one of our planet's most precious natural features, as inspiring to behold as cliffs, canyons, valleys or reefs. These slow moving rivers of ice - some hundreds of thousands of years old - reflect the sun's rays back into space and store valuable freshwater. But scientists warn that many glaciers around the world have already disappeared – primarily due to rising global temperatures and climate change. 'Glaciers have literally shaped the ground we walk on, and they provide crucial water resources to about 2 billion people,' said Professor Howe. 'For people who have lived near glaciers, their cultural meanings are often profound, representing the fundamental relationship between social and natural worlds.' The Global Glacier Casualty List features nearly 30 global glaciers that are given the classification 'Disappeared', 'Almost Disappeared' or 'Critically Endangered'. Users can click on one of the existing or pre-existing glaciers to learn more about how they've been affected by global warming. One of those listed as 'Disappeared' is the Baumann Glacier in New Zealand, which vanished in 2020 after decades of shrinkage. The Baumann Glacier measured 0.34 sq mile (0.9 sq km) in 1978, 0.16 sq mile (0.44 sq km) in 2000 and just 0.02 sq mile (0.07 sq km) in 2016 before fading away forever. Meanwhile, Anderson Glacier once flowed through the Olympic National Park of Washington State before disappearing in 2016. When experts studied Anderson Glacier in 1992, they measured its area as 0.14 sq mile (0.38 sq km), which was just a third of the size it had been a century prior. Why are glaciers important? Glaciers are considered one of our planet's most precious natural features. These slow moving rivers of ice, thousands of years old, reflect the sun's rays back into space - helping to keep the planet cooler. Glacier loss also depletes freshwater resources that millions of people depend on for drinkable water. They are also beautiful in their own right, forming some of our world's most inspiring landscapes just as much as canyons, valleys and reefs. But by 2003 the glacier had diminished to 0.1 sq mile (0.28 sq km) and became a series of small disconnected relic glacier ice patches before vanishing entirely. An even more recent one to have disappeared is the Sarenne Glacier, which was in the Grandes Rousses mountain area of southeast France. As recently as the 1980s, Sarenne's ice was still as thick as 260 feet (80 metres) in some places, but its melting accelerated considerably in recent decades leading to its loss in 2023. Among those still in existence – at least for now – are the Yala Glacier of Nepal, which is 'Critically Endangered' and expected to vanish in the 2040s. The area of the Yala Glacier decreased from 0.9 sq mile (2.42 sq km) in 1981 to 0.5 sq mile (1.54 sq km) in 2015 – a decrease of 36 per cent. 'Because Yala Glacier is relatively accessible it's been an ideal research and training site for future glaciologists, but this is no longer the case as it has undergone significant changes in both area and volume,' said Sharad Joshi, a glacier researcher at International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Nepal. 'With each visit, I'm left feeling profoundly sad when I see such massive loss on this glacier,' he said. There's also the 'Almost Disappeared' Santa Isabel Glacier in Colombia which is projected to be gone even sooner – by 2030. Since the 1970s, Santa Isabel has been a place for young Colombians to begin practicing ice mountaineering, because of its 'relative accessibility, multiple routes and variety of slopes'. But scientists have observed its rapid diminishment in recent years as Colombia's 'endearing white giant' approaches an 'imminent extinction'. As the tool explains, thousands of glaciers have already disappeared due to human-caused climate change, which is directly linked to fossil fuel use – but there is no comprehensive list of all of them. In an accompanying piece published in the journal Science, Professors Howe and Boyer warn that 'melting glaciers are a signal of climate disruption'. 'Earth has now entered a new period in which glaciers are not simply retreating but are disappearing altogether,' they say. 'Consequences of glacial loss have a variety of effects on natural and social environments on a planetary level.' Glacier melting contributes to rising sea levels, affects water resources downstream, damages ecosystems, increases the risk of natural disasters, and can compound other natural hazards such as increasing the formation of icebergs. HOW IS GLOBAL WARMING AFFECTING GLACIAL RETREAT? Global warming is causing the temperatures all around the world to increase. This is particularly prominent at latitudes nearer the poles. Rising temperatures, permafrost, glaciers and ice sheets are all struggling to stay in tact in the face of the warmer climate. As temperatures have risen to more than a degree above pre-industrial levels, ice continues melt. For example, melting ice on the Greenland ice sheet is producing 'meltwater lakes', which then contribute further to the melting. This positive feedback loop is also found on glaciers atop mountains. Many of these have been frozen since the last ice age and researchers are seeing considerable retreat. Some animal and plant species rely heavily on the cold conditions that the glaciers provide and are migrating to higher altitudes to find suitable habitat. This is putting severe strain on the ecosystems as more animals and more species are living in an ever-shrinking region. On top of the environmental pressure, the lack of ice on mountains is vastly increasing the risks of landslides and volcanic eruptions. The phenomena is found in several mountain ranges around the world. It has also been seen in regions of Antarctica.
CBS News
11-03-2025
- Science
- CBS News
The Glacier Graveyard in Iceland is a symbolic warning of a melting future
Glaciers around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented pace. A new study published in the journal "Nature" confirms that Iceland's glaciers alone have lost 8.3 billion tons of ice annually between 2000 and 2023. Globally, glaciers have been shedding 273 billion tons of ice per year since the early 2000s, a rate that scientists say is only accelerating. The consequences are dire: rising sea levels, disrupted water supplies, and increased risks of flooding in coastal cities like Boston. In the face of this crisis, two anthropologists from Rice University have created a chilling reminder of what's at stake: the Glacier Graveyard in Reykjavik, Iceland. A Funeral for the world's glaciers Fifteen gravestones, sculpted from ice, stood on a patch of land in Reykjavik, a temporary monument to glaciers that are disappearing before our eyes. Each headstone was carved with the name of a glacier on the brink of extinction. "This is a global concern," said Cymene Howe, an anthropologist at Rice University. "It's a global phenomenon that we are losing glaciers everywhere on Earth." Among those glaciers memorialized: Pico Humboldt, the last of Venezuela's glaciers, now completely gone. Kilimanjaro, the final remaining glacier on the continent of Africa. Aujuittuq in the Arctic Circle, whose Inuit name means "A place that never thaws"—yet now, even it is disappearing. "There's an irony that the place that never thaws is now losing its glacier," said Dominic Boyer, co-creator of the Glacier Graveyard. While the headstones melted within hours, the message remains: without urgent action, the glaciers they represent will soon follow. A wake-up call from scientists The Nature study underscores how glacial melt is accelerating, particularly in Iceland, where glaciologists have tracked rapid ice loss. WBZ visited Solheimajökull, a glacier on Iceland's south coast, in 2024. This once-massive ice sheet is shrinking by 40 meters per year, a staggering rate that is transforming the Icelandic landscape. Glacial melt isn't just a problem for remote regions, it threatens water security for billions and exacerbates coastal flooding worldwide. In Boston and other major cities, rising sea levels could mean more frequent storm surges and infrastructure challenges in the coming decades. "This is kind of a moment where we dig deep," said Boyer. "We just need to really commit to doing it faster so that we can save some of these beautiful glaciers." The researchers behind the Glacier Graveyard have compiled a Global Glacier Casualty List, tracking glaciers that have vanished or are at risk of disappearing in the coming years. 2025: The International Year of Glaciers' Preservation Recognizing the urgency of the crisis, the United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation. The initiative, led by UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization, aims to raise awareness and mobilize global action to protect these critical ice formations.
