• New research predicts the disappearance

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Tue Apr 19 22:30:44 2022
    New research predicts the disappearance of Olympic Peninsula glaciers


    Date:
    April 19, 2022
    Source:
    Portland State University
    Summary:
    By 2070, the glaciers on the Olympic Peninsula, in Washington State,
    will have largely disappeared, according to a new study. Although
    some glaciers will probably remain -- albeit as tiny shells of
    their former selves. Since about 1900 the region has lost half
    of its glacier area and since 1980, 35 glaciers and 16 perennial
    snowfields have disappeared.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    By 2070, the glaciers on the Olympic Peninsula, in Washington State,
    will have largely disappeared, said Andrew G. Fountain, professor of
    geology and geography at Portland State University, who led a team of researchers on the subject. Although some glaciers will probably remain -- albeit as tiny shells of their former selves.


    ========================================================================== Fountain's study was recently published in the Journal of Geophysical
    Research, Earth Surface in an article titled "Glaciers of the Olympic Mountains, Washington -- the past and future 100 years." Since about
    1900 the region has lost half of its glacier area and since 1980, 35
    glaciers and 16 perennial snowfields have disappeared.

    "There's little we can do to prevent the disappearance of these
    glaciers," Fountain said. "We're on this global warming train right
    now. Even if we're super good citizens and stop adding carbon dioxide
    in the atmosphere immediately, it will still be 100 years or so before
    the climate responds." Even though preventing glacier melt at the hand
    of global warming isn't in the cards, ensuring things don't get worse
    is a critical goal, Fountain said.

    "This is yet another tangible call out for us to take climate change
    seriously and take actions to minimize our climate impact," he added.

    Dan Cayan, research meteorologist at the Scripps Institution of
    Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, said this research
    reveals that glaciers are a "hydroclimate finger on the pulse of Pacific decadal climate." The long- term loss of glacial mass found in the Olympic Peninsula is a strong indication of a warming global climate, he added.



    ========================================================================== "This is a clear and compelling signal of changes that are rolling out
    across many North American landscapes," Cayan said. "It is regrettable
    that the Olympic glaciers are very likely to melt away as climate warming
    over the coming decades runs its course." Glacier disappearance will
    trigger a chain of impacts, beginning with diminishing alpine streams
    and species like bull trout that have adapted to the cold water streams.

    "Once you lose your seasonal snow, the only source of water in these
    alpine areas is glacier melt. And without the glaciers, you're not
    going to have that melt contributing to the stream flow, and therefore impacting the ecology in alpine areas," Fountain said. "That's a big
    deal with disastrous fallout." U.S. Geological Survey data shows a
    similar decline of glacier ice in the North Cascades of Washington,
    farther inland in Glacier National Park, Montana and further north in
    Alaska, according to USGS Research Physical Scientist Caitlyn Florentine.

    "This assessment of glaciers in the Olympic Mountains underscores two
    key elements of glacier vulnerability. The first is warming summer temperatures, which affect the persistence of glacier ice throughout
    the summer melt season," Florentine said. "The second, less obvious,
    is warming winter temperatures, which affect the replenishment of
    glacier ice during the winter snow accumulation season. This double
    whammy has downstream implications for glacier-adapted ecosystems in
    the U.S. Pacific Northwest." The Olympic glaciers are particularly
    vulnerable because of their lower elevation as compared to glaciers
    elsewhere at higher elevations where temperatures are significantly
    cooler such as the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington.

    "As the temperatures warm, not only will the glaciers melt more in summer, which you'd expect, but in the wintertime, it changes the phase of the precipitation from snow to rain," Fountain said. "So the glaciers get
    less nourished in the winter, more melt in the summer, and then they
    just fall off the map." With this research completed, Fountain will
    turn next to the entire Western U.S. to develop a comprehensive view of glaciers in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.


    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Portland_State_University. Original
    written by Katy Swordfisk. Note: Content may be edited for style and
    length.


    ========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
    * Glaciers,_over_the_years.

    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Andrew G. Fountain, Christina Gray, Bryce Glenn, Brian Menounos,
    Justin
    Pflug, Jon L. Riedel. Glaciers of the Olympic Mountains,
    Washington--The Past and Future 100 Years. JGR Earth Surface,
    19 April 2022 DOI: 10.1029/ 2022JF006670 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220419132326.htm

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