Glaciers in the Juneau Icefield, located in southeastern Alaska, are melting faster than scientists previously believed. A study from Newcastle University in England reveals that since 2010, the loss of glaciers in this area, just north of Alaska’s capital city of Juneau, has sped up significantly.
This melting ice is a big part of why sea levels are rising, which poses a serious danger to coastal towns everywhere. If the current melting continues at this pace, experts warn that the Juneau Icefield might not recover. It could face a permanent decline.
Bethan Davies, a senior lecturer at Newcastle University and the study’s lead, explained in a press release that as glaciers on the Juneau plateau thin, and ice retreats to lower, warmer areas, it triggers feedback processes. These processes are likely to stop the glaciers from growing back in the future.
Juneau Icefield has lost nearly a quarter of its ice volume since 1770
The study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that between 2010 and 2020, the volume of the Juneau Icefield shrank at twice the yearly rate compared to 1979 to 2010.
The Juneau Icefield, located along Alaska’s border with British Columbia, has lost nearly a quarter of its ice volume since records began being kept in 1770. Researchers did not provide an estimate for when the icefield might completely disappear if the current rate of ice loss continues.
The melting of Alaska’s Juneau icefield, which contains over 1,000 glaciers, is accelerating, now shrinking 4.6 times faster than in the 1980s, a new study finds.
Researchers have tracked snow levels in this nearly 1,500-square-mile icefield since 1948, with additional data back… pic.twitter.com/Y60mfafbJt— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) July 4, 2024
In 2019, every glacier in the Juneau Icefield had receded from their positions recorded in 1770, and 108 glaciers had vanished entirely.
Bethan Davies noted that Alaskan icefields, which are mostly flat plateau icefields, are especially vulnerable to faster melting as the climate warms. This is because ice loss occurs across the entire surface, impacting a much larger area.
Glaciers are melting because of greenhouse emissions
For years, scientists have been warning that rising global temperatures, fueled by greenhouse gas emissions from industries such as that of fossil fuels, are causing glaciers and ice sheets worldwide to melt. This phenomenon is a significant factor in the rise of sea levels, posing a serious threat to densely populated coastal cities.
Alaska is home to some of the world’s largest icefields, including the Juneau Icefield, which is the fifth largest in North America. The icefield covers about 1,500 square miles, roughly the size of Rhode Island, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Researchers believe that the same factors causing the Juneau Icefield to thin could also impact similar icefields in Canada, Greenland, Norway, and other high-Arctic regions.
Current projections suggest that the Juneau Icefield’s volume will continue to decrease steadily until 2040, with an acceleration after 2070. However, researchers think these projections might need updating based on their new findings.
