Almost half of Kenai Fjords National Park, which sits on the southern coast of Alaska, is covered in glacial ice.
Almost half of Kenai Fjords National Park, which sits on the southern coast of Alaska, is covered in glacial ice. As temperatures rise, almost two-thirds of the park’s glaciers are in retreat, a new study finds.
Of the 19 glaciers dotting the park, 13 have shrunk substantially, according to the research, which tracked their movements using satellite imagery from 1984 to 2021. Four other glaciers proved relatively stable, while just two advanced. The findings were published in the Journal of Glaciology.
“In Alaska, much glacier retreat is being driven by climate change,” said Taryn Black, a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington and lead author of the study. “These glaciers are at really low elevation. It’s possibly causing them to get more rain in the winter rather than snow in addition to warming temperatures, which is consistent with other climate studies in this region.”
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
Bear Glacier in Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park. U.S. (Photo Credit National Park Service via Flicker)
