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
--- up 7 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 51 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)