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The rate at which glaciers are melting on a large ice field in Alaska has doubled compared to ten years ago, raising serious concerns among experts. A study led by Newcastle University in the UK, which was published in Nature Communications, highlights a significant reduction in the ice volume of the Juneau Icefield since 2010, a marked increase from previous decades.
Located 2,000 feet north of Juneau and stretching into British Columbia, this ice field is the fifth largest in North America. The researchers utilized historical data to analyze three distinct phases of ice loss over time.
Initial findings show that from 1770 to 1979, the loss of glacier volume on the Juneau Icefield remained steady, averaging between 0.65 and 1.01 cubic kilometers per year. However, between 1979 and 2010, this figure increased substantially to between 3.08 and 3.72 cubic kilometers annually. The most alarming data emerged from the last decade, indicating an acceleration, with a loss reaching 5.91 cubic kilometers from 2010 to 2020.
“It’s incredibly worrying that our research found a rapid acceleration since the early 21st century in the rate of glacier loss across the Juneau Icefield,” Dr. Bethan Davies, the lead researcher and a lecturer at Newcastle, commented in Nature.
Dr. Davies further explained how Alaska’s ice fields, characterized by their flat, plateau-like nature, are exceptionally vulnerable to melting under the current climate conditions. This increased melting covers a vast area, thus affecting a larger expanse of the ice field.
The research additionally noted that since 1770, 108 glaciers in the Juneau Icefield region have completely vanished. Recent mapping in 2019 has shown thinning across all glaciers in the area.
Dr. Davies warned of a feedback process initiated by the melting and retreating ice, which could potentially hinder future regrowth of these glaciers and drive them towards an irreversible decline.