The largest glacier in Washington’s Mount Rainier and Glacier Peak mountain ranges has all but disappeared as glaciologists warn half of the planet’s ice caps are next.
Hinman Glacier, which sits atop the Cascade Mountains, has shrunk to 0.01 square miles, just 4 percent of what it was in 1958, reported Nichols College glaciologist Mauri Pelto.
“It’s completely gone,” Pelto told CNN of the melting glacier. “It was the largest glacier in this part of the mountain range – it was extraordinary.”
He noted that while it could reform a bit, “if we warm further into the future, it will be even less hospitable to the Hinman and glaciers around the world.”
Hinman Glacier has shrunk to 0.01 square miles, just 4 percent of what it was in 1958 when scientists began tracking its retreat. Pictured: The glacier area as it is (left) and the glacier area as it was in 1985 (right)
Nichols College glaciologist Mauri Pelto (pictured) said “it’s completely gone” while leading an expedition to the glacier last year
The melting glacier has also led to the formation of the unofficial Hinman Lake (above)
In his report released late last year, Pelto said scientists have been tracking the sinking of Hinman Glacier for decades, as evidenced by the unofficial Hinman Lake, which forms where the glacier melts.
The disappearing Hinman Glacier and accumulation in the lake pose problems for the local environment as the glacier normally feeds nearby rivers.
Along with Hinman, which lost nearly 95 percent of its size, Pelto said nearby Columbia Glacier receded 25 percent, Foss Glacier 70 percent, and Lynch Glacier 40 percent.
Overall, this has led to a sharp decline in freshwater in the Skykomish River drainage basin, a critical part of the Pacific Northwest’s salmon population, reports CNN.
Pelto said the Skykomish River drainage basin has lost 55 percent of its surface area since the 1950s.
Imaged in 1988, the glacier is unlikely to regress to its original size over the winter, as experts doubt it can actually be called a glacier in its current state
The retreating glaciers in the Pacific Northwest will likely impact local rivers and wildlife. Pictured is the Skykomish River drainage basin, which has lost 55 percent of its surface area
David Shean, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and a glacier expert at the University of Washington, noted that Hinman Glacier may no longer be classified as a true glacier in its current state.
He told CNN that even if the glacier gains mass over the winter, it’s likely to lose more than it’s gaining and will “disappear completely in the coming decade or more.”
The bleak outlook has also been predicted for up to half of the world’s glaciers, which experts said could be lost by the end of the century due to climate change, even if humanity makes traumatic changes to stem the outcome.
A UNESCO report last year said the Dolomites in Italy, Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the United States, and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania will disappear as early as 2050.
UNESCO monitors around 18,600 glaciers in 50 of its world heritage sites and said a third of them will disappear by 2050
Which glaciers are at risk?
Africa
- Glaciers in all World Heritage Sites including Kilimanjaro National Park and Mount Kenya
Asia
- Glaciers in three parallel rivers of the Yunnan Protected Areas (China)
- Glaciers in western Tien-Shan (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan)
Europe
- Glacier in the Pyrenees Mont Perdu (France, Spain)
- Glaciers in the Dolomites (Italy)
Latin America
- Glaciers in Los Alerces National Park (Argentina)
- Glaciers in Huascaran National Park (Peru)
North America
- Glaciers in Yellowstone National Park (USA)
- Glaciers in Yosemite National Park (USA)
- Glaciers in Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (Canada, USA)
Oceania
- Glacier in Te Wahipounamu (New Zealand)
UNESCO monitors around 18,600 glaciers in 50 of its world heritage sites and said a third of them will disappear by 2050.
While the rest can be saved by keeping global temperature rise below 2.7°F compared to pre-industrial levels, in a business-as-usual emissions scenario, about 50 percent of these World Heritage glaciers could almost entirely disappear by 2100.
The 50 World Heritage sites in the report are home to about 10 percent of the world’s glaciers.
However, the report warns that these glaciers have been retreating at an accelerated rate since 2000 due to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that are warming temperatures.
Together, glaciers lose 58 billion tons of ice every year — equivalent to the combined annual water use of France and Spain.
In addition, they are responsible for almost 5 percent of observed global sea level rise.
Disturbingly, the report concludes that glaciers will disappear at a third of the 50 sites by 2050, despite efforts to limit temperature rise.
In Africa, this includes all glaciers in World Heritage sites, including Kilimanjaro National Park and Mount Kenya.
In Asia, glaciers in the Yunnan Three Parallel Rivers Protected Areas and western Tian-Shan are at risk.
And in Europe, the glaciers in the Mont Perdu Pyrenees and the Dolomites will very likely disappear by 2050.
But there is hope.
UNESCO says it’s still possible to save the glaciers in the remaining two-thirds of the sites if global temperature rise is kept below 2.7°F.
Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said: “This report is a call to action.
“Only a rapid reduction in our CO2 emissions can save glaciers and the extraordinary biodiversity that depends on them.
“COP27 will play a crucial role in finding solutions to this problem. UNESCO is committed to assisting States in pursuing this goal.”