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Glacial, Icecap and Permafrost Melting |
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Glacial, Icecap and Permafrost Melting: Pitztal Glacier, Austria, 2005
The Pitztal is one of several glaciers in Europe that have been partially wrapped with a fleece-like fabric in an effort to slow melting. This effort is primarily confined to ski areas such as the Pitztal that have an economic incentive to preserve their snow.
The following are statistics regarding glacial melting drawn from a variety of sources: a 1°F rise in global air temperature last century contributed to glacial melting worldwide (Pew Center on Global Climate Change). Ninety percent of monitored glaciers are shrinking (USGS). Europe's alpine glaciers have lost half their volume since 1850, and by 2100 half of what's left will be gone too (WWF). In Alaska, almost all 2,000 observed glaciers are receding, and most glaciers in the Northern Rocky's will be gone by 2050 (USGS).
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