melting glaciers

15 Stories

Switzerland, Italy Redo Their Border Due to Ice Melt

The nations are redrawing shared boundary, thanks to climate change, melting glaciers

(Newser) - There are the expected repercussions of climate change, and then there are the more surprising ones—like two nations having to redraw their shared border due to ice melt. That's what's currently happening in Europe, where Switzerland and Italy are remapping in the Alps, because "large sections"...

Alaskan Glaciers Are Melting at 'Incredibly Worrying' Pace
Amid Alaskan Glaciers,
a Possible 'Death Spiral'
NEW STUDY
Jul 3, 2024 10:25 AM CDT

Amid Alaskan Glaciers, a Possible 'Death Spiral'

Researchers say Juneau Ice Field saw ice melt in 2010 to 2019 at double the rate it had previously

(Newser) - Since the late 1700s, the Juneau Ice Field, interconnected glaciers that stretch across 1,500 square miles of Alaska and British Columbia, has lost about a quarter of its volume. But it's an "incredibly worrying" phenomenon that took place between 2010 and 2020 that has scientists especially concerned:...

Venezuela Just Said Goodbye to Its Last Glacier

Humboldt Peak, which melted more quickly than anticipated, has been reclassified as an ice field

(Newser) - At one point, Venezuela claimed six glaciers, all located in the Sierra Nevada de Merida mountain range. By 2011, five of those glaciers had vanished, leaving just the Humboldt glacier, aka La Corona. Now, Venezuela has exactly zero glaciers, after Humboldt was reclassified as an ice field due to a...

Scientists See Doom for Austria's Glaciers

Alpine nation projected to be largely ice-free in 45 years

(Newser) - Austrian glaciers receded last year at a rapid pace, so much so that the Alpine country is likely to be largely ice-free in 40 to 45 years as the process continues, experts said Friday. The Austrian Alpine Club said that, of the 93 glaciers its volunteers measured and observed, all...

Peru Says More Than Half Its Glacier Surface Is Gone

In one mountain range, 99% of glacial surface has disappeared since 1962

(Newser) - Peru has lost more than half of its glacier surface in the last six decades, and 175 glaciers became extinct due to climate change between 2016 and 2020, Peruvian scientists from the state agency that studies glaciers said Wednesday, per the AP . "In 58 years, 56.22% of the...

It Was a Disaster Foretold in India. More Will Follow

A glacial lake overflowed in India's northeast, causing death and destruction

(Newser) - The dam had been contentious from the start. It was the largest to be built in India's far northeastern Sikkim state, and had been operating since 2017 as part of the country's effort to use hydroelectric power. Early Wednesday, Lhonak Lake overflowed and tore through the Teesta 3...

Receding Glacier Reveals Long-Dead Man and His Pack
Receding Glacier Relinquishes
a 2-Decade-Old Body, With ID
in case you missed it
Aug 26, 2023 4:30 PM CDT

Receding Glacier Relinquishes a 2-Decade-Old Body, With ID

Body of man thought to have died in 2001 found alongside bag carrying ID

(Newser) - The body of a man thought to have died more than two decades ago has been found amidst a melting glacier in the Austrian Alps. A mountain guide discovered the remains Friday on Schlatenkees glacier in Tyrol province at an altitude of about 9,500 feet. Lienz Alpine Police later...

In Alaska, a Big Tourist Draw Is Turning Into a Threat

Record flooding related to Mendenhall Glacier hits capital city of Juneau

(Newser) - Three words no Alaskan wants to hear strung together: "record glacier flooding." But that's the current reality for residents of the capital city of Juneau, thanks to a famous glacier that sits above the city, reports Axios . The Washington Post frames the big picture after the weekend...

Most of World's Glaciers Might Not Make It Much Longer

Scientists say if current climate-change trends hold, two-thirds of them could melt by end of century

(Newser) - The world's glaciers are shrinking and disappearing faster than scientists thought, with two-thirds of them projected to melt out of existence by the end of the century if current climate change trends hold, according to a new study. But if the world can limit future warming to just a...

Swiss Alps Are Melting Faster Than Ever: Study

Ice volume has decreased 6% in 2022, experts say

(Newser) - Switzerland's glaciers are melting like never before, an academic study released Wednesday found, with their ice volume declining by 6% this year, which included a summer heat wave that swept across Europe. The Swiss Academy of Sciences reported that the shrinkage of ice in the country's glaciers topped...

Growing Threat to Sea Levels: 'Zombie Ice'
Growing Threat to Sea Levels:
'Zombie Ice'
new study
Aug 29, 2022 11:12 AM CDT

Growing Threat to Sea Levels: 'Zombie Ice'

Melting Greenland ice sheet expected to lose 3% of its mass, no matter what

(Newser) - "Zombie ice" from the massive Greenland ice sheet will eventually raise the global sea level by at least 10 inches on its own, according to a study released Monday. Zombie (aka doomed) ice is ice that's still attached to thicker areas of ice but is no longer getting...

Everest Ice: 2K Years to Form, 25 to Melt
Everest Ice: 2K Years
to Form, 25 to Melt
NEW STUDY
Feb 4, 2022 10:52 AM CST

Everest Ice: 2K Years to Form, 25 to Melt

Study documents rapid retreat of glacier

(Newser) - The ice atop Mount Everest took roughly 2,000 years to form and about 25 years to melt, according to a new study, which suggests that even one of the highest glaciers on the planet is retreating as a result of climate change. Researchers traveled to the highest glacier on...

Mountain Glaciers Are Melting at an Alarming Rate

They're losing 328B tons of ice and snow a year

(Newser) - Glaciers are melting faster, losing 31% more snow and ice per year than they did 15 years earlier, according to three-dimensional satellite measurements of all the world’s mountain glaciers. Scientists blame human-caused climate change. Using 20 years of recently declassified satellite data, scientists calculated that the world’s 220,...

Plaque Honors Melted Glacier
Plaque Honors  Melted Glacier
Aug 18, 2019 9:52 AM CDT

Plaque Honors Melted Glacier

Ceremony in Iceland to include a warning about climate change

(Newser) - With a bronze plaque, a ceremony, and a warning that more will follow, Iceland on Sunday is marking the loss of its first glacier to climate change. Researchers from Iceland and the US, as well as the nation's prime minister and Mary Robinson, former UN Human Rights Commissioner and...

Greenland: Melting Glaciers Open Up Vast Sand Deposits
Greenland: Melting Glaciers
Open Up Vast Sand Deposits
in case you missed it
Feb 16, 2019 7:30 AM CST

Greenland: Melting Glaciers Open Up Vast Sand Deposits

Mining sand could deliver huge economic boost

(Newser) - In a strangely positive twist to climate change, a new study finds that Greenland could become a major exporter of sand as its glaciers disappear into the sea. As global temperatures rise, the island's vast ice sheet is rapidly melting away, and large amounts of sediments are being washed...

15 Stories