Kenai Fjords has something for everyone. In other words, warming wasn’t due to increasing emissions from our burning of fossil fuels. Feature image “Toe of Exit Glacier” is courtesy of the US National Park Service/Paige Calamari, PD. Sorry to see it go. Last year alone, the Exit Glacier melted and retreated 187 feet (57 meters) toward the Harding ice field, which itself has lost 10 percent of its mass since 1950, mainly due to climate change. Come Visit Us! The retreat began in the 1800s when Alaska was still Russian territory. Between 1983 and 2008, when the vast majority of the world's glaciers were shrinking in a warming world, at least 58 New Zealand glaciers grew bigger. Climate changemay cause variations in both temperature and snowfall, resulting in changes in mass balance. But geology is hard (pun intended). Note how the glacier has retreated to expose rock in 1976 that has since become lush vegetation in 2004. Exit Glacier is a glacier derived from the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains of Alaska and one of Kenai Fjords National Park's major attractions. And even with this data, nothing exists in a vacuum and there are numerous factors besides the CO2 levels in the atmosphere that drives climate change. All of these glaciers are located in mountain ranges, notably the Himalayas; the Alps; the Pyrenees; Roc… Glacier highlights Peyto's importance as an `index' glacier for the region. The bottom row in the NPS table appears to be erroneous. Worth reading. The glacier has retreated so much that it is hardly visible in … I love the sound of those large leatherly leaves in the wind. Meanwhile the National Park Office reveal how the retreating glacier has uncovered remains of a forest from the Middle Ages: The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a time of global cooling from approximately 1350 to 1870 AD. You should tweet every article you write to pajama boy weatherman Keith Carson until he blocks you. From 1815 to 1999, Exit Glacier retreated at an average rate of 43 feet a year, though at widely varying rates, according to a Park Service analysis. Footage shot from remote webcams between December 2012 and January 2015 condenses 25 months of glacier movement into less than a minute and gives a visual explanation of how much the glacier is changing.. In a sense, Obama was correct – the Exit Glacier was retreating much faster one hundred years … The mass balance, or difference between accumulation and ablation (melting and sublimation), of a glacier is crucial to its survival. The ice came south very fast, and retreated even faster. Other Mont Blanc glaciers have also been in retreat, including the Mer de Glace, which is the largest glacier in France at 12 km (7.5 mi) in length but retreated … Credit: Ron Karpilo/NPS CBSNews.com To see if a glacier is growing or shrinking, glaciologists check the condition of snow and ice at several location… The glacier has retreated more than 0.3 kilometers (0.19 miles) since 1919, retreating at an average rate of about 4.0 meters (13 feet) per year. The sign says “Exit Glacier Was Here.” The year: 1998. Exit Glacier has been retreating roughly one kilometer each century in the last 200 years exposing the valley below where visitors can take a short walk to the face of Exit Glacier and walk through history and experience geologic time. Barry attempting to explain glacial retreat would have been quite a treat. Muir Glacier, located in Glacier Bay, Alaska, photographed by W. Field in Aug. 1941 (left) and B. Molnia in Sep. 1976 (middle) and Aug. 2004 (right). Notice how the highest rates of retreat represent the smallest timelines, regardless of when they happened? We calculate a mean volume of (3.39 0.30) 10 7 m 3 for the glacier snout for the period 2008±10. Exit Glacier has been receding at a rate of approximately 162 feet a year since 2010. The managers now close the area at the base of the glacier each summer to protect people from falling ice, snow, and rocks. Tony provides the link to the pdf by Susan Huse, but here it is again, <(LINK). Tourists walk on the Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park, on May 7, 2014. Will it rain ... Exit Glacier, the only part of the park accessible by road, offers … He is know as Otzi the Iceman. This is not a comment either for or against your claim, just a critique of the data you are using. Goodness – a couple hundred more years of this blessed warmth could once again result in the greening of a forest at these locations. That graph is a poor representation of data. The Exit Glacier Area is open year-round. The current rate of retreat, at 44.5 m/yr from 2010 to 2015, is the third fastest recorded in the last 200 years, and is the fastest retreat seen in non-moraine evidence data.”, “Park Service personnel recently discovered evidence of a buried forest dating back to at least 1170 AD high in the Forelands near the current glacier’s edge.”. Barack Obama took a selfie in front of the glacier to highlight climate change . A large piece (14″ d) came down this spring. Last year, according to end-of-summer measurements, it … If, like us, you do not have your own wheels, you can utilize the Exit Glacier shuttle service to get you there for $15 per person. Unfortunately, the glacier front has now retreated across a rock outcrop and can hardly be seen anymore from the end of the road. If, like us, you do not have your own wheels, you can utilize the Exit Glacier shuttle service to get you there for $15 per person. In west Antartica, ice loss at the massive Pine Island glacier -- believed to be the single largest contributor to sea level rise in Antarctica -- has doubled in speed over the last 20 years. The shuttle leaves every hour on the half hour from their location in downtown Seward, and then leaves every hour on the hour from Exit Glacier. For avid backpackers, the general area along the Exit Glacier Road has many places to explore and camp. The glacier has retreated more than 0.3 kilometers (0.19 miles) since 1919, retreating at an average rate of about 4.0 meters (13 feet) per year. And here i found something not so off topic(the usual left corruption and incompetenceand then blame-guess who? Beside the fascinating research about him, his possessions and stomach contents, the point is that a glacier had retreated 5300 years ago, buried his corpse during an advance, and re-melted in 1991.Seems to indicate that glacial retreat and advance are cyclical, and have nothing to do with co2. The park is open year-round. This is the largest glacier in this … Only recently has the glacier, once again, receded past this point such that the evidence of this forest could be disc0vered. Europe. However, those soft centers (and their shaggy bark) provide homes and food for a variety of wild things. As is normally the case in climate science, the data shows the exact opposite of the claim being made. According to Brown, the ice in the park has historically retreated up to 150 feet per year; recently, however, it has been recorded as retreating as much as 10 to 15 feet per day. There were several cavities to inspect. Its retreat is visible in this photo, where the glacier’s front edge looms several meters behind the tombstone-like marker that indicates the edge of the ice in 1992. Terms. If this trend persists, the glacier snout will disappear by 2019 and Peyto Glacier will have retreated by … Glacier volume decreased linearly from 1966 to 2010. When you begin your Exit Glacier hike, you will see that markers are strategically placed demonstrating where Exit Glacier once was during different years … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl2rObdNUFw, Geology of Seattle and the Puget Soundhttps://youtu.be/oSSxdogrv1s, Dating the Ice Age Floodshttps://youtu.be/3wKOVZKimwg, 200 Years of Terminus Retreat at Exit Glacier1815-2015 – Natural Resource Report NPS/KEFJ/NRR—2016/1341, Here: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/562710, Fig. The park ranger said the toe of the glacier retreated 139 feet last year, which means that in the seven years since I’ve seen it, it has likely retreated 1000 feet. Since 1992, the snout of the glacier has … Exit Glacier, which the Park Service says got over 181,500 visitors last year, is not Alaska's only walk-up glacier, albeit with a walk that has been getting longer as the glacier shrivels. I have Cottonwood trees. Credit: Ron Karpilo/NPS CBSNews.com In the most recent 5-year period from 2011 to 2015, the average rate of retreat was 44.5 m/yr. ... Exit Glacier, the only part of the park accessible by road, offers short trails, viewpoints, and a nature center. Your graphic is another arrow in the quiver but unfortunately many (like the Grifftard) have made up their minds and don’t wish to be confused by facts. A sustained positive balance is also out of equilibrium and will advance to reestablish equilibrium. The Exit Glacier in Alaska has been retreating since the Little Ice Age. Located above the Chamonix valley within the Mont Blanc massif mountain range of the French Alps, the valley glacier, is the largest and longest glacier in France and a popular tourist attraction. Mid-latitude glaciers are located either between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle, or between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. Check the conditions before setting out. The long-term rate of retreat from 1889 to 2015 was an average of 19.7 m/yr. Exit Glacier, in Alaska's Kenja Fjords National Park, has shrunk by a mile in the past 100 years and last year retreated by 136 feet. Cottonwoods also provide great shade. The below photo is very shocking to me. Curren… Excellent work Tony & a fantastic graphic. For mountaineers skilled and experienced in glacier travel, access up onto the glacier in recent years has become much more problematic because of the ice’s retreat, but they still do it. Check out the bit about using (or not) cottonwood trees for dating.“ Unfortunately the rings of cottonwood can be indistinct, because the wood cells do not vary greatly from spring to fall. It received its name for serving as the exit for the first recorded crossing of the Harding Icefield in 1968. — Richard Feynman. The data in the table only goes through 1973. Accelerating Sea Level Fraud In Climate Science, Arctic Sea Ice Unchanged From 60 Years Ago, Extreme Fraud In The National Climate Assessment, Extreme Wildfire Fraud In The National Climate Assessment, Fraud In The National Climate Assessment (Part 1), Fraud In The National Climate Assessment (Part 2), The Five Top Arguments Against Climate Alarmism, The History Of The Modern “Climate Change” Scam, The Malicious Intent Behind Climate Alarmism, Why Climate Science Peer Review Is Worthless, Record Breaking Climate BS Sets Press Integrity On Fire, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujjk7qOr7lQ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl2rObdNUFw, https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/562710, https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/retreating-alaskan-glacier-reveals-remains-of-medieval-forest/, GHCN V3 Unadjusted Data Shows Bahia Blanca, Argentina Had A Cooling Trend Since 1880. "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts." Your email address will not be published. A frightening prospect I feel. The problem is, the stroll keeps getting longer by about 10 metres every year. [72] The Juneau Icefield Research Program has monitored outlet glaciers of the Juneau Icefield since 1946. In the last 7 years, I believe that the glacier has retreated again – don’t know how much. Glaciers gain mass through snowfall and lose mass through melting and sublimation (when water evaporates directly from solid ice). To take the simple route to the foot of the glacier is about one mile each way but the path is wide and very good to walk on. Where Can I Bring My Pet? Last year alone, the Exit glacier melted and retreated 187 feet toward the Harding ice field, which itself has lost 10 percent of its mass since 1950, mainly due to climate change. Unfortunately, it has also been retreating during the last 30 years. It has color photos and interesting material. The web cams are a joint initiative between Franz Josef Glacier Guides and The Department of Conservation and assist the operations team at Franz Josef to determine the status of the glacier … He took an arrow in the back and died in the path of the glacier. just like the bog-men in Denmark, right down to the wrinkles around the eyes. (how numbers are fudged by a factor of more than 60 to fit their hurricane victim toll.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujjk7qOr7lQ(4:00-4:30), President Obama could just have easily stood at the southern end of Budd Inlet in Olympia, WA, to gin up a good photo op about retreating glaciers. The second fastest rate of retreat occurred from 1914 to 1926, at 49.4 m/yr. They calculated that the glacier melted underwater at a rate of almost 5 feet per day in May and up to 16 feet per day in August. Since that time, warmer temperatures have reduced the glacier mass of Exit Glacier, and it. The above photo is some great evidence of that. The Athabasca Glacier in the Canadian Rocky Mountains is probably the easiest glacier in the world to access by car. He could have mentioned that the Puget Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet has completely disappeared! Since I was a kid growing up in Seward in the late 1940s and into the 1950s, the Exit Glacier near Seward has withdrawn about ½ mile, and … Exit Glacier is located about 15 miles from downtown Seward. will likely never look like this photo again. According to a recent study , Alaska’s glaciers lost about 75 billion tons of ice a year from 1994 through 2013, representing a third of all ice sheet lost from 2005-2010. And that the towering 3,000 feet of ice over the Seattle metro area a mere 17,000 years ago… gone. Exit Glacier is located about 15 miles from downtown Seward. Needless to say – similar findings have been discovered recently at the Mendenhall Glacier, in the Alps, in S. America and elsewhere (I assume). Of course the glacier is retreating with never seen before speed.I would do the same if Obama is getting so close. Unfortunately, in 2016 the glacier retreated almost one foot a day so the walk is going to get further over the coming years. Per the NPS graphic, The 2008 terminus is in roughly the same place as in 1973. Last year, 2.9 million visitors came to the park. Cottonwood centers can also be rotten, losing the earlier rings. Exit Glacier is the sole glacier accessible by road in the park. So . Tyndall Glacier became separated from the retreating Guyot Glacier in the 1960s and has retreated 24 km (15 mi) since, averaging more than 500 m (1,600 ft) per year. It is obvious looking at the spreadsheet provided that the highest rates of retreat were all prior to 1920 when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at the IPCC-preferred <350 ppm level. as it offers spectacular mountain views as well as tours, exhibits, off-piste ski runs, and restaurant/hotel. On Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, the Argentière Glacier has receded 1,150 m (3,770 ft) since 1870. Labeled retreat rates are average rate for select periods of rapid retreat. Retreating Exit Glacier has become an icon of climate change – Anchorage Daily News. Upon the arrival of snow, usually in mid-November, the road to Exit Glacier is inaccessible to cars, due to a state road closure, but open to winter recreation, including snowmobiles, dogsleds, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and fat bikes.The road often remains … Harding Icefield Trail. It's just a few hundred metres' stroll from the nearest parking lot on the magnificent Icefields Parkway in Alberta. I took the National Park Service table above, added 600 meters of retreat since 1974 based on the map in the Anchorage Daily News, and graphed the retreat rates since 1815. All gone. Park Service personnel recently discovered evidence of a buried forest dating back to at least 1170 AD high in the Forelands near the current glacier’s edge.https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/retreating-alaskan-glacier-reveals-remains-of-medieval-forest/, https://www.desmogblog.com/gernot-patzelt, Patzelt’s research focus is in “Glacier and climate history research,” “Mass movements (landslides, fluvial Sedimentationsereignisse),” “Historic natural and cultural landscape development in alpine areas,” and “Participation in projects of Antarctic Research.”. Since 1961, the world has lost 10.6 trillion tons of ice and snow. Zachariae Isstrom glacier, in northeast Greenland, for instance, is losing 5 billion tons per year. Your email address will not be published. ”. Whatever you do don’t tell them that the tide will come back in. Exit Glacier retreated a total of 735.4 feet (224.1 m) over this five year span. In a sense, Obama was correct – the Exit Glacier was retreating much faster one hundred years ago than it is now. More recently, Exit Glacier shrunk 262 feet from the fall of 2015 to the fall of 2016. Glaciers respond to slight but prolonged changes in climate. Then, the glacier began advancing, knocking over and burying the tree stumps under the growing glacier for the next 600+ years. Europe's glaciers have lost about two thirds of their volume since 1850, but last year the Hornkees glacier in the Austrian Alps retreated by 446 feet while Pasterze glacier retreated by 177 feet. This useful relationship was the basis for scientific activity … "It's spectacular," Obama said, casting a glance over his shoulder and pausing, as the cameras clicked. Exit Glacier retreated approximately 187 feet (57 m) from 2013 to 2014 and park scientists continue to monitor and record the glacier's accelerating recession. "It's spectacular," Obama said, casting a glance over his shoulder and pausing, as the cameras clicked. If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via, captures the massive, but fragile beauty of amazing ice and snow formations. At least some aspects of these climate changes may be deduced from observations of glacier fluctuations. The glacier was retreating much faster before 1918 than it has been since 1918. A glacier with a sustained negative balance loses equilibrium and retreats. Mer De Glace drains the north side of Mont Blanc. The glacier is a major tourist attraction, and the gravel road to the glacier snout, visible in the photograph, is one of the most frequented hikes in Switzerland. I don’t know how many times I have tried to make the point that the CO2 argument is nonsense taken in the context of past warm periods. (For reference, the tallest building in Seattle is 967 feet.) Last year alone, the Exit Glacier melted and retreated 57 metres toward the Harding ice field, which itself has lost 10 per ent of its mass since 1950, mainly due to climate change. About the Glaciers in Glacier National Park. Barack Obama visited the site in September last year (pictured). Interpretative signs along the way point out where Exit Glacier was during times in history. In 1991, a retreating glacier in the Otzal Alps revealed the corpse of a 5300 year old copper age man. Barack Obama took a selfie in front of the glacier to highlight climate change. Seasons. Located in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, According to park research studies and recent enhanced monitoring and. Like all cowardly loudmouth idiots, he deserves to have his nose rubbed in his stupidity and cowardice. One imagines that the glacier must have retreated further up the mountain, and remain so, for at least a couple hundred years in order to allow for trees to take root and grow into a forest. These two regions support glacier ice from mountain glaciers, valley glaciers and even smaller icecaps, which are usually located in higher mountainous regions. He was covered in snow and ice, buried under a glacier. I cut it in a few places to move it. The primary months to visit are June - August, with reduced services in the area during the shoulder seasons. A maximum of one measurement per year is shown, using fall measurements near the end of the water year, and omitting those made in spring and mid-summer. Tony, I couldn’t agree more on the excellent work and fantastic graph. It is one of the most accessible valley glaciers in Alaska and is a visible indicator of glacial recession due to climate change. Over the previous 5-year period from 2006- ... positions on this map we can see that nearly half of the distributary of Exit Glacier has … The park is open year-round; however, changing conditions can dictate what areas are accessible. During this time glaciers expanded in the northern regions, moving down the mountains and scouring the vegetation that had been in the valleys below. This dissolve shows five years of melt and retreat at Exit Glacier from July 26, 2011 to August 25, 2016. So – approx 848 years ago, there was a mature conifer forest growing at that location at high altitudes. In France all six of the major glaciers are in retreat. In the past 125 years, the Athabasca Glacier has lost half of its volume and receded more than 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles), leaving hills of rock in its place. The timelines for each bar should be of an equal time period to get a more accurate representation. Mer de Glace (Mg) and Argentiere Glacier (A) in a 1990 Landsat image left and 2015 image right. Required fields are marked *. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The 2011 photo of the toe of Exit Glacier was taken from the Outwash Plain below. Red arrow is the 1990 terminus, 2015 terminus is at yellow arrow, purple arrow indicate higher elevation thinning of a tributary that is retreating. Take as much time as you have and experience your park. Measurements made with the centerline method are shown in red, and box method in blue. Otzi didn’t have the keys to an SUV in his pocket. The most rapid period of retreat during the period of record occurred from 1889 to 1899, at 57.6 m/yr. Check out the Resurrection River Trail at Mile 7 of Exit Glacier Road. Had mine in the back yard trimmed back to help prevent it being blown over into my neighbors barn but that doesn’t stop the sap problem. Once again, AGW alarmists have shot themselves in the foot using the government’s own data. Glacier retreat boundaries courtesy of the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. Photographed May 17 in Kenai Fjords National Park. According to park research studies and recent enhanced monitoring and mapping, Exit Glacier has retreated about a mile in the past 100 years, and shrinking has escalated during the last few years with 187 feet (57 meters) lost from 2013-14 and another 136 feet (41.5 meters) in 2015. Tidewater glaciers, like this one in Alaska, experience underwater melting 100 times faster than scientists previously estimated from theoretical models. 8 is also noteworthy.“Retreat of Exit Glacier from 1815 Little Ice Age maximum to September 2015. A marker shows how far Exit Glacier has receded since 2005. The Exit Glacier in Alaska has been retreating since the Little Ice Age. yep, and he looks just like a modern man too. The shuttle leaves every hour on the half hour from their location in downtown Seward, and then leaves every hour on the hour from Exit Glacier. There wasn’t even a need to calculate the retreat since 1973. Local guide, Rick Brown, explained what they were seeing and what’s been happening at Exit Glacier in this short video documentary, In order to understand why glaciers are considered a. Glaciers that terminate in a lake or the ocean also lose mass through iceberg calving. Glacier National Park has 37 named glaciers and they are one of the reasons people come to Glacier each year. Portland State University, offering opportunity to 27,000 students from all backgrounds, is Oregon’s only urban … However they are work to clean up after and they do cause a kind of spreading of a sap stain on things that sit around or under them for a time. They have several characteristics that make me wish I had none at all. The glacier has lost about half its thickness in that time and its two main branches no longer meet at the sea. Where is the concern for the lost ice in Washington State? Exit Glacier has retreated about a mile in the past 100 years, according to park scientists. Exit Glacier retreated approximately 187 feet (57 m) from … . The park's manager says the glacier could disappear within one generation. Filmakers, Raphael Rogers, Kristin Gerhart and Paul Rennick, traveled to Alaska to explore Exit Glacier, but along with stunningly beautiful mountain views and amazing blue ice, they saw melting. From 1815 to 1950, the glacier retreated 4,892 ft, for an average rate of 36 ft/yr.