bye-bye glaciers

[mikegarrison]

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo1324

Quote

Glacier mass loss affects sea level rise, water resources, and natural hazards. We present global glacier projections, excluding the ice sheets, for shared socioeconomic pathways calibrated with data for each glacier. Glaciers are projected to lose 26 ± 6% (+1.5°C) to 41 ± 11% (+4°C) of their mass by 2100, relative to 2015, for global temperature change scenarios. This corresponds to 90 ± 26 to 154 ± 44 millimeters sea level equivalent and will cause 49 ± 9 to 83 ± 7% of glaciers to disappear. Mass loss is linearly related to temperature increase and thus reductions in temperature increase reduce mass loss. Based on climate pledges from the Conference of the Parties (COP26), global mean temperature is projected to increase by +2.7°C, which would lead to a sea level contribution of 115 ± 40 millimeters and cause widespread deglaciation in most mid-latitude regions by 2100.

As a lifelong fan of the Cascade Mountains, this makes me incredibly sad. There is nothing quite like climbing around or even camping out on a glacier. Descending on a rope into a crevasse is an unforgettable experience.

[StrandedonEarth]

Some ski hills will be running into trouble…

”Good bye, glaciers”  [repeat two more times to the tune of “Goodbye Sunshine”]

Edited January 7, 2023 by StrandedonEarth

[farmerben]

2.7C by 2100 is a lukewarm scenario.  There are two ways to look at it, we could hope to slow down the melt, which is hopeless.  Or we could work on increasing the snow.

[Codraroll]

On 1/7/2023 at 12:38 AM, StrandedonEarth said:

Some ski hills will be running into trouble…

Will be? They are already. It was, what, +15C in Salzburg last week and the ski slopes are green. Sure the resorts can withstand one bad season every once in a while, but they are coming more and more often, and eventually continued operation cannot be economically justified.