The disappearing ice in the European alps

The melting cryosphere

Image credit: 1960 photo Bradford Washburn; 2005 photo David Arnold/ Panopticon Gallery, Boston.

Via Facebook

Most of the worlds glaciers and ice caps are shrinking at an astonishing rate (compared to the worst case predictions being made just a few years ago), and a variety of projects have showcased this fact. This pair of photos released by NASA shows the changes in the 45 years between August 1960 and 2005 (August 16, 1960 9.00 am and August 18, 2005 at 9.10 am respectively) on the iconic Matterhorn (aka Cervino, whose geology we covered in depth at http://on.fb.me/1fVu9MR, sited on the Swiss/Italian border.

The loss of glaciers is evident, and proving a growing hazard to mountaineers as rock or ice falls increase in frequency and intensity as the glaciers and permafrost that hold many of these masses of tectonically shattered rock that we call mountain peaks together slowly warms and turns to mush. Similar melting caused the serac (an overhanging wall of glacial ice) to collapse last year onto some working sherpas on the Khumbu icefall on Everest, since shattered by the recent quake. As the world warms, mountains are a place where the changes are more obvious than many others.

A note from a reader: 

I was just there. There's even less snow...and I was in short sleeves at 10,000 feet.

To see the same process in the Nepalese Himalayas read Kevin Hester's story

Kevin Hester’s trip to Nepal

Trekking in Nepal to study the effects of Abrupt Climate Change, feel free to use the pictures as you wish on the basis of the creative commons. The purpose of the trip is to identify the consequences of abrupt climate change on Nepal and to hopefully study the effect of aerosol and black soot on the albedo effect/ reflectivity of the snow and ice.

Everest to the right in the distance with the ever present vapour trail.

Followthe ridge line down and on the central forested ridge is Temboche Monastery our destination, circa 4000m. Note how high the snow line is.

This photo was taken in the Annapuna mountains in the Himalaya at 4000m with the snow line 500m above us.

Read his account of Kevin’s trIp HERE