Global Melt

Selected Examples of Ice Melt Around the World

Arctic Sea Ice, Arctic Ocean

Has shrunk by 6 percent since 1978, with a 14 percent loss of thicker, year-round ice. Has thinned by 40 percent in less than 30 years.

 

Greenland Ice Sheet, Greenland

Has thinned by more than a meter a year on its southern and eastern edges since 1993.

 

Columbia Glacier, Alaska, United States

Has retreated nearly 13 kilometers since 1982. In 1999, retreat rate increased from 25 meters per day to 35 meters per day.

 

Glacier National Park, Rocky Mtns., United States

Since 1850, the number of glaciers has dropped from 150 to fewer than 50. Remaining glaciers could disappear completely in 30 years.

 

Antarctic Sea Ice, Southern Ocean

Ice to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula decreased by some 20 percent between 1973 and 1993, and continues to decline.

 

Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

Grounding line (where glacier hits ocean and floats) retreated 1.2 kilometers a year between 1992 and 1996. Ice thinned at a rate of 3.5 meters per year.

 

Larsen B Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula

Calved a 200 km2 iceberg in early 1998. Lost an additional 1,714 km2 during the 1998-1999 season, and 300 km2 so far during the 1999-2000 season.

 

Tasman Glacier, New Zealand

Terminus has retreated 3 kilometers since 1971, and main front has retreated 1.5 kilometers since 1982. Has thinned by up to 200 meters on average since the 1971-82 period. Icebergs began to break off in 1991, accelerating the collapse.

 

Meren, Carstenz, and Northwall Firn Glaciers, Irian Jaya, Indonesia

Rate of retreat increased to 45 meters a year in 1995, up from only 30 meters a year in 1936. Glacial area shrank by some 84 percent between 1936 and 1995. Meren Glacier is now close to disappearing altogether.

 

Dokriani Bamak Glacier, Himalayas, India

Retreated by 20 meters in 1998, compared with an average retreat of 16.5 meters over the previous 5 years.

 

Duosuogang Peak, Ulan Ula Mtns., China

Glaciers have shrunk by some 60 percent since the early 1970s.

 

Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia

Twenty-two percent of glacial ice volume has disappeared in the past 40 years.

 

Caucasus Mountains, Russia

Glacial volume has declined by 50 percent in the past century.

 

Alps, Western Europe

Glacial area has shrunk by 35 to 40 percent and volume has declined by more than 50 percent since 1850. Glaciers could be reduced to only a small fraction of their present mass within decades.

 

Mt. Kenya, Kenya

Largest glacier has lost 92 percent of its mass since the late 1800s.

 

Speka Glacier, Uganda

Retreated by more than 150 meters between 1977 and 1990, compared with only 35-45 meters between 1958 and 1977.

 

Upsala Glacier, Argentina

Has retreated 60 meters a year on average over the last 60 years, and rate is accelerating.

 

Quelccaya Glacier, Andes, Peru

Rate of retreat increased to 30 meters a year in the 1990s, up from only 3 meters a year between the 1970s and 1990.