Climate change taking toll on Glacier National Park
Rapid climate change is resulting in the disappearance of the glaciers at Glacier National Park, in Montana. Scientists estimate the last glacier in the park could be gone by 2030. There were at least 150 of them identified in 1850.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)Note: All information in this story, unless otherwise noted, is from the National Park Service's pamphlets on and in-park signs about climate change and Glacier National Park.
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Mont.--The small graphics on a single sign, deep inside this incredible natural treasure says just about all you need to know about the drastic effects of rapid and intense climate change on the park and what's inside it.
"With warmer temperatures and changes to the water cycle, Glacier National Park will be glacier-free by 2030," the sign reads. "These changes will also have consequences for park vegetation, which will migrate up the mountains with temperature and moisture gradients."
I had come, on Road Trip 2009, to this incredible national park in northern Montana, just below the Canadian border, to see its beauty and grandeur. But I quickly realized what the real story is: in a place like this, the effects of climate change can be seen, right before every visitor's eyes.
"In the last 100 years, global average temperature has increased by 1.5 degrees Farenheit, with accelerated warming over the last two to three decades," a National Park Service brochure on climate change at Glacier National Park begins. "Scientists project that by 2100, the Earth's surface could warm by as much as 10 degrees. While this may not seem like much, it could bring major changes to our water cycle and to many...species that are adapted to the current climate. High latitude and high altitude environments, such as those found in Glacier National Park, are especially vulnerable."
In the mid-1800s, the park was known to feature about 150 glaciers. As the 1960s wound down, warming trends had already reduced that number to around 50. And today, on the heels of the six hottest years in recorded history, there are just 26 glaciers still standing in the park, and the same pattern is being seen globally.
"While Earth's climate has undergone cooling and warming cycles in the past, the rate and magnitude of the change we are witnessing today has not occurred since human civilization began," the brochure reads. "If the current rate of warming persists, scientists predict the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be completely gone by 2030."
"Water towers of the world"
The rapid retreat of the glaciers may seem like bad news for visitors hoping to see the giant ice rivers at Glacier National Park. But there's more to glaciers than just beauty. They also play a crucial role in the ecosystem, and their disappearance may have widespread consequences.
"More than 50 percent of the world's fresh water supply comes from runoff in mountain environments," the so-called "Water Towers of the World," the brochure reads. "Alpine glaciers are an important contributor to mountain streamflow. Globally, glacial meltwater provides one-fourth of the water in mountain streams."
This National Park Service graphic explains the drastic effects of climate change on Glacier National Park.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)Thus, glaciers are obviously a major player in the healthy maintenance of aquatic and riparian ecosystems. "They also provide fresh drinking water for downstream populations and dilute pollutants that are generated mostly in lowland areas," the brochure explains. "As climate warms and glaciers melt, mountain systems, and the downstream communities they serve, are losing an important source of fresh water."
Global warming also means changes in the timing of regular weather patterns. Because temperatures are warmer, that means there's less snow, and more rain. And that means earlier snowmelt and earlier spring runoff. The National Park Service estimates that spring runoff in the Pacific Northwest now occurs two weeks earlier than in the past, and that, over time, will likely mean an increase in flooding. It also means less water later in the year, and the eventual drying out of many rivers, something that would have far-reaching effects on the ecosystem.
Wildlife in trouble
Inside Glacier National Park, there are all kinds of wild animals: grizzly bears, mountain goats, big-horned sheep, white-tailed deer and many more, not to mention the abundant plant species.
But with changes in the aquatic ecosystem, all that wildlife and plant life is in danger. Those species dependent on the ecosystem will have to adapt to changes in the climate and the ecosystem, or they will face peril. "Of major concern is the potential loss of alpine and subalpine environments that provide prime habitat for plants such as Jones' columbine and White Mountain avens, animals like big-horn sheep and mountain goats, and winter hibernation space for bears. Species living (in Glacier National Park) cannot migrate to higher ground."
As a result, what visitors may be able to see--animals and plants native to environments like Glacier National Park--may soon change forever. Scientists are working on management plans for how to deal with the changes, but some effects may be irreversible.
There may be controversy about whether climate change and global warming are real. But to see it in action, all one has to do is drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, and what you don't see speaks volumes: dozens of glaciers that used to dominate. Today, it is still a wondrous beauty. But the days before some of the park's treasures are gone for good may not be far off.
Over the last two weeks, Geek Gestalt has been on Road Trip 2009. After driving more than 12,000 miles in the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest and the Southeast over the last three years, I'm now writing about and photographing the best in technology, science, military, nature, aviation and more in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Colorado. If you have a suggestion for someplace to visit, drop me a line. And in the meantime, join the Road Trip 2009 Facebook page and follow my Twitter feed.
Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel. 
The climate has varied quite a lot over thousands if not millions of years. Ever heard of the "little ice age"? They use to make wine in Ireland and Scotland until around 1650 A.D. when the climate changed so that it got very cold in what is now Europe. Greenland got it's name because it used to be green, not covered with ice!. Suddenly it was snowing in July in France(called Gaul in those days) So there was a major famine and increase in disease(black plague) because the tribes in Ireland and clans in Scotland and every population in Europe and Britannia could not grow the crops they were used to. They had to switch to making alcohol from grains instead of grapes. (beer and whiskey instead of wine. The beginnings of Irish and Scotch whiskey) The Thames river used to freeze over in the winter so that shops were set up right in the middle of the river and people ice skated on it. The "little ice age" lasted until around 1850. Now we have a swing in the other direction. It is a scientific and observable fact that ocean levels have risen. I live near the Atlantic shoreline in Virginia. I was a lifeguard in the 70's there. If the government had not added sand to the beaches every year, the ocean would come right up to the boardwalk. Then there would be no beach for the tourists, severely hampering our tourist revenue. So in conclusion, climate changes drastically from man made influences and natural consequences.like a major volcanic eruption in the South Pacific that caused the "little ice age". Read up on that!
Peace,
Jonathan
Norfolk, VA
http://www.climatedepot.com/
CLIMATES CHANGE. Most of New England was under water at one point. Man didn't alter that. There are glacial valleys all over the rockies that haven't seen glaciers for centuries. Man didn't do that.
The pride of man is to believe that their actions have lasting impact, when we are but a fleeting blip in the history of the earth. Worry about real pollution, worry about famine, worry about urban decay, but CO2 is not something to waste money on.
Or else we must start painting roofs & roads white to reflect the heat back into space.
You do raise one good question. Would we have lost the glaciers anyway without the rise in CO2? Don't know.
You want FACTS? The models used to predict all of this DON'T WORK. FACT. They are not even useful for looking at the past, as if you put in the inputs from the 1980s, they don't predict the 1990s. FACT. The amount of CO2 in the air, using the "accepted" models would predict a higher temperature than we are seeing and have seen for 10 years. FACT.
There are hundreds of well respected, renowned scientists around the world who don't agree with your FACT. But it's easy to ignore them if you want to believe in what you want to believe.
Climate Change legislation is about socialism and government control. It will do nothing to help anything, but will cost us quite a deal, and transfer control of many facets of our lives to a central authority. Nations like India and China are not going to "play ball" for two reasons. 1. They know it's a sham and will damage their economies. 2. They already have more central control of their countries and don't need this sham to take that control in the first place (especially China).
Global Warming is a fact. It's been measured. Now a politician may want to change the meaning of "Global Warming" to be something other than the observed fact and now call it climate change. Fine. It doesn't change the fact that average temperatures have been rising across the globe. Hence the name global warming.
Debate is built up from the facts.
Haha :)
But remember, the glacier and polar ice are like ice cubes in a drink, once gone, temperatures will rise very rapidly.
Now if you want to debate how long a cycle is, how much impact man has had on this one, there is room for debate. Your point though doesn't at all change anything about the facts.
Whether it is truly attributable to human (in)action or not, the current climatological changes are continuing the devolution of what was once Glacier National Park's key features. Whether you want to attribute it to people or normal global cycles is your call. However, the disappearance of the glaciers themselves is undeniable - and I believe most likely, irreversible, no matter what we do.
That said, thank you, Daniel for writing this article. Perhaps it will convince some that they can make a difference, and burning fossil fuels isn't the most expedient way to ensure that our planet is hospitable for us and for generations to come, and for the other creatures that don't get a say in how climate might be positively helped.
God, what a disaster the algore lickers have created.
Get smart - treat the planet well.
Clean up our collective act.
Recycle.
Build nukes.
But for the love of god and ice, don't blame this on cars.
Just buy land in Central Canada, your grandchildren will thank you.
Rising sea levels will flood out major populated areas. They need to move somwhere.
Deserts will grow. Food crops will be impacted. At best agriculture will adapt, at worst less land will be arid.
Some models predict more varied wheather with more extremes. More floods, more heatwaves, more cold snaps, more and bigger hurricanes, and more death and destruction as a result.
The next intelligent questions are:
Can we model this better to better know the impacts?
Can we actually do anything?
Should we do anything? (Growing tomatoes in the hinterlands of russia may be a good thing after all)
Yeah, only in America people are free to think freely.
You OTOH, drink the KoolAid algore and his ilk have fed you via IV.
Depending upon what your news source is, or whatever is the popular opinion of the science field that panders to the media, you can find two things prominent:
GLOBAL WARMING: The earth has been heating up over the last few decades due to all the greenhouse gases trapping heat and altering weather patterns. Glaciers are retreating and the polar ice caps are melting.
NEW ICE AGE COMING: The earth has been cooling down over the last few decades due to all the greenhouse gases / pollution blocking the amount of sunlight the planet is receiving, and this is affecting weather patterns, causing hurricanes to be more intense with longer seasons. Glaciers are encroaching upon civilization and the polar ice caps are slowly taking over the regions.
It all depends on what sort of agenda of the day whomever is reporting is has. Don't like global warming? Wait a few days and you'll be hearing about the planet going into another ice age. Don't like ice? A few days after that will be more global warming.
I wish everyone would get on the same page here so I know if I'm supposed to wear a parka or swim trunks tomorrow morning.
The media loves it because you can always get a sensationalistic headline either way.
Here's the simple truth based on the reports: Global Warming is causing an Ice Age. :)
I come to you for news not for you to give your political opinion. It does not matter what side of the argument I am on. Report the news and don?t participate in the politics.
Scientists' Report Documents ExxonMobil?s Tobacco-like Disinformation Campaign on Global Warming Science
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/ExxonMobil-GlobalWarming-tobacco.html
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- by hpew July 24, 2009 11:37 AM PDT
- The best way so stop "Global Warming" apparently is POPULATION (BIRTH) CONTROL. There is apparently a direct link between population and global atmospheric temperature (from a lecture on University of California TV)
- Reply to this comment
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(50 Comments)And YES, EVERY REAL climatologist - that means not on Big Oil payroll - AGREES it has been happening since the start of the "Industrial Revolution" of the 19th century; with a sharp increase in the last several decades.