US EditionNorthern B.C. glaciers disappearing at record-setting pace: UNBC study
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, JUL 9 – Western Canada glaciers lost approximately 22.2 gigatonnes of ice annually between 2021 and 2024, doubling the melt rate of the previous decade, researchers said.
- A study conducted from 2021 to 2024 by UNBC researcher Dr. Brian Menounos revealed that glaciers located in western regions of Canada alongside those in Switzerland have experienced unprecedented mass losses.
- This accelerated melt followed extreme weather including heat waves, dry conditions, low snowfall, and surface darkening causing rapid glacier mass loss.
- Western Canada and neighboring US regions lost 22.2 gigatonnes of ice yearly, reducing total ice volumes by 12 percent since 2020, while Switzerland lost 1.5 gigatonnes annually.
- Menounos noted that despite the significant glacier melting observed since the early 2000s, the current changes are unlike anything seen before, and he emphasized the need to enhance physical glacier models to better capture this critical feedback.
- These findings imply serious risks to freshwater resources, increased geohazards, and call for models including processes like glacier darkening to better predict future glacier changes.
15 Articles
15 Articles
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