Climate change is having a dramatic impact on Alaskan glaciers: Glacier melt in a major Alaskan ice field has accelerated and could reach an irreversible tipping point sooner than previously thought, according to a new scientific study published this week.
Alaska has some of the largest ice fields on the planet, and their melting is a major contributor to sea level rise. As the ice melts, the level of the Earth’s oceans rises, slowly submerging some of the world’s coastal areas.
“It is extremely worrying that our research has shown a rapid acceleration in the rate of glacier loss in the Juneau Icefield since the early 21st century,” Bethan Davies, lead author of the study and a glaciologist at Britain’s Newcastle University, said in a statement.
Alaska Ice and Sea Level Rise
Ice loss from glaciers and ice sheets due to human-induced global warming has been shown to contribute to sea level rise. Alaska is expected to remain the largest regional contributor to this effect for the remainder of this century.
New research published in the British journal Nature Communications shows that glacier area declined five times faster between 2015 and 2019 than between 1948 and 1979.
Overall, the total ice loss in the Juneau Icefield from 1770 to 2020 was equal to nearly a quarter of the original ice volume.
Research into 250 years of glacier behavior
To complete the study, researchers used historical data, aerial photographs, 3D terrain maps and satellite images to reconstruct the behavior of the glaciers over the past 250 years.
Scientists say if the melting continues, the glaciers may not be able to recover.
“As glaciers on the Juneau Plateau thin and ice retreats to lower elevations and warmer air, the feedback processes this sets in motion will likely prevent future glacier regrowth, potentially pushing glaciers past a tipping point into irreversible retreat,” Davies said.
Other locations may see the same melt
The researchers believe that similar ice fields could also be melting elsewhere in Alaska and Canada, as well as in Greenland, Norway and other areas in the far north.
“This research has shown that several processes can accelerate melting, meaning that current glacier forecasts may be too small and underestimate future glacier melt,” Davies said.