Why are many glaciers retreating?
Affected by climate change, the number of glaciers has been decreasing in recent years. Studies show that most glaciers may disappear by the end of this century. Lauren Wago, a doctoral student at Victoria University in Wellington, Switzerland, said that when the investigation began in the late 1970s, there were more than 3,000 glaciers here, but now some glaciers no longer exist. As glaciers melt, their size no longer meets the definition of glaciers. From now on, we will see more glaciers disappear every year. "
Since 20 1 1, some glaciers at the poles are melting rapidly. Franz Joseph Glacier and Fox Glacier used to be accessible on foot, but now it is difficult to reach them on foot. Vargo said that how long glaciers can survive climate change depends on their location and size. A recent study found that the global glacier area decreased by about 3 1% from the end of 1970s to 20 16.
Glaciers are most sensitive to temperature changes caused by "global warming". The height and area of glaciers are not constant. Temperature and precipitation are important parameters that affect the material budget of glaciers. Although glaciers will slowly melt at a certain temperature, snowfall will restore the height of "shorter" glaciers. As long as the accumulation and melting of glaciers are in a relatively balanced state, there will be no crisis of accelerating melting. However, climate change will only upset the balance and lead to changes in glacier accumulation and dissipation. The increase of temperature leads to the decrease of snowfall probability and the loss of glacier material. Finally, the glacier area decreases and the end position recedes.
Nicholas Cullen, an associate professor at the School of Geography at the University of Otago, said that people must understand these changes. By the end of this century, most of our glaciers may disappear. Now the problem we face is how to stop global warming.