What happens when glaciers disappear?
2:26:34 2024-12-16 599

The losses could also have profound impacts on people who depend on glaciers for water.

Aguayo notes that the percentages of ice volume lost don't necessarily translate into how much water supply could be reduced by.

"It could be worse," he says, noting that meltwater could be significantly reduced during dry periods in certain catchments where communities rely on them for drinking water.

People not living near glaciers could also be affected through sea level rise.

The world’s glaciers hold about a foot of sea level rise and have already raised sea levels by around half-an-inch during the past 20 years.

"It doesn't seem like much," says glaciologist Catherine Walker at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who wasn’t involved in the study.

But she adds: “If you start thinking about the physical realities at a place with a 10-foot-plus storm-surge, I think you would rather not have a foot more coming in from all these glaciers melting.”

The team's results are similar to predictions from a glacier model  that researchers used last year. The previous model was also tuned using the same glacier-specific data under the most recent climate scenarios.

 “We now have more confidence in the numbers we can provide to policymakers,” says Zekollari.

Another advantage of the new models is their ability to make predictions at a variety of scales.

“The fact that they could model both the global scale and tell what will happen to individual glaciers is amazing,” says Walker.

Warming continues after 2100

Zekollari says that even though the study focused on predicting up to the end of the century, glaciers can take much longer to fully respond.

“It’s clear that on a longer-term, we’ll be losing way more,” he says.

Ultee points out that fjords in Greenland already show hundreds of feet of recent ice loss. “It’s really striking to see,” she adds.

And, elsewhere, glacial ice has disappeared, leaving behind desolate scenes of rocky debris.

For glaciers, which have otherwise managed to persist for thousands of years through a delicate balance of gain and loss, the changes are also extraordinary.

“Glaciers are not a permanent feature of the landscape,” says Ultee. “They can change really fast over human timescales and we can see it happening.

 

Forgive Others   2025-07-23
Reality Of Islam

A Mathematical Approach to the Quran

10:52:33   2024-02-16  

mediation

2:36:46   2023-06-04  

what Allah hates the most

5:1:47   2023-06-01  

allahs fort

11:41:7   2023-05-30  

striving for success

2:35:47   2023-06-04  

Imam Ali Describes the Holy Quran

5:0:38   2023-06-01  

livelihood

11:40:13   2023-05-30  

silence about wisdom

3:36:19   2023-05-29  

Gold remains perfectly solid wh

read more

MOST VIEWS

Importance of Media

9:3:43   2018-11-05

Illuminations

pure nature

7:34:7   2023-02-28

loyalty is strength

10:55:53   2022-06-13

abbas-ibn-firnas

3:42:22   2021-12-24

people in need

4:25:57   2023-02-11

knowing what to say

6:0:8   2023-03-19

educators

9:50:37   2023-02-28



IMmORTAL Words
LATEST The Intellectuals Need to Understand the Demands of the Majority Common Understanding of Patience Interpretation of Sura Maryam (Mary) - Verses 1-3 Washing Your Hands Is Even More Important in Summer. Here is Why. The Perseids Meteor Shower Peaks This Week: Here is When to Look Up Scientists Discovered This Amazing Practical Use for Leftover Coffee Grounds Reforming Society and Culture Introduction of Surah Maryam Overall, Views About Patience Just One High-Fat Meal Can Disrupt Blood Flow to Your Brain, Study Finds Release of ChatGPT-5 Beginning of a New Era for Humanity Giant Stick Insect Found Hiding in Rainforest May Be Australias Heaviest