How long can we expect the present Interglacial period to last?
No one knows for sure. In the Devils Hole, Nevada, paleoclimate record, the last four interglacials lasted over ~20,000 years with the warmest portion being a relatively stable period of 10,000 to 15,000 years duration. This is consistent with what is seen in the Vostok ice core from Antarctica and several records of sea level high stands. These data suggest that an equally long duration should be inferred for the current interglacial period as well. Work in progress on Devils Hole data for the period 60,000 to 5,000 years ago indicates that current interglacial temperature conditions may have already persisted for 17,000 years. Other workers have suggested that the current interglacial might last tens of thousands of years.
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Glaciers Rapidly Shrinking and Disappearing: 50 Years of Glacier Change in Montana
The warming climate has dramatically reduced the size of 39 glaciers in Montana since 1966, some by as much as 85 percent, according to data released by the U.S. Geological Survey and Portland State University.
Fifty Years of Glacier Change Research in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the longest continuous glacier research efforts in North America.
From Icefield to Ocean - What Glacier Change Might Mean for the Future of Alaska
Frozen bodies of ice cover nearly 10 percent of the state of Alaska, but the influence of glaciers on the environment, tourism, fisheries, hydropower, and other important Alaska resources is rarely discussed.
Melting Glaciers Increase the Flow of Carbon to Downstream Ecosystems
ANCHORAGE, Alaska Melting glaciers are not just impacting sea level, they are also affecting the flow of organic carbon to the world’s oceans, according to new research that provides the first ever global-scale estimates for the storage and release of organic carbon from glaciers.
ICE AGE STILL AFFECTING GLOBAL CHANGE... NEW ATLAS PRESENTS MOST COMPLETE LOOK OF GREENLAND ICE SHEET
Greenland’s inland glacier ice -- covering a combined area larger than Alaska and Oregon and the largest remnant of the last "Ice Age" in North America -- is described and illustrated in the latest chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) "Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World."
Glacier off Sargent Icefield
Landscape view of an un-named glacier off the Sargent Icefield, directly across from Wolverine Glacier, above the Nellie Juan River, in Alaska. Taken during a visit to a wolverine glacier field site as part of a study to examine how alpine areas are changing as temperatures rise in Alaska.
USGS Public Lecture: Warm Ice—Dynamics of Rapidly Changing Glaciers
- Glacier Numerology – The how big, how long, how thick, how much, how often, of glacier science.
- Glacier Photography – While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a collection of images may tell a complete forensic story.
- Glacier Geophysics – How new technologies are being introduced to reexamine and refine decades old glacier analyses.
Glacier Animation
The simulation below reflects the predicted exponential rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, a 2xCO2 "global warming" scenario, with a concurrent warming of 2-3 degrees centigrade (4-5 degrees Fahrenheit) by the year 2050. In addition it assumes that precipitation, primarily in the form of rain, will increase over the same time period about 10 percent (based on the
...Monitoring glaciers in Glacier National Park.
Monitoring glaciers in Glacier National Park.
The Cold Facts About Melting Glaciers
Most glaciers in Washington and Alaska are dramatically shrinking in response to a warming climate.
USGS scientist Edward Josberger discusses research from the past 50 years to measure changes in the mass (length and thickness) of three glaciers in Alaska and Washington. These are the longest such records in North America and among the longest in the world.
Tidewater glaciers of south-central Alaska
Present-day tidewater glaciers of south-central Alaska can be found in Prince William Sound and southern Kenai Peninsula. Icebergs form as portions of the glacier terminus collapses. Modern tidewater glaciers in Alaska are very small in comparison with massive glaciers that reached the sea during full glacial time.
Muir and Riggs Glaciers, Muir Inlet, Alaska - 1941
This northeast-looking photograph, on the southeastern side of White Thunder Ridge ,shows the lower reaches of Muir Glacier, then a large tidewater calving valley glacier, and its tributary Riggs Glacier. The séracs in the lower right-hand corner of the photograph mark Muir Glacier’s terminus. The ice thickness is more than 700 meters. Muir Glacier had been retreating
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