Melting of glaciers in a major Alaskan icefield has accelerated and could reach an irreversible tipping point earlier than previously thought, research led by Newcastle University suggests.
Melting of glaciers in a major Alaskan icefield has accelerated and could reach an irreversible tipping point earlier than previously thought, research led by Newcastle University suggests.
The research found that glacier loss on Juneau Icefield, which straddles the boundary between Alaska and British Columbia, Canada, has increased dramatically since 2010.
The team, which included universities in the UK, USA and Europe, looked at records going back to 1770 and identified three distinct periods in how icefield volume changed. They saw that glacier volume loss remained fairly consistent from 1770 – 1979 at between 0.65- 1.01 km3 per year, increasing to 3.08-3.72 km3 per year between 1979-2010. Between 2010-2020 there was a sharp acceleration when the rate of ice loss doubled, reaching 5.91 km3 per year.
Read more at: Newcastle University
Taku Glacier and the flat plateau area of Juneau Icefield, Alaska. (Photo Credit: Bethan Davies)
