Dear Tom,
My family visited Glacier National Park in July and a park ranger said the glaciers were in retreat. Could you provide more information?
–The Stein family
Dear Stein family,
U.S. Geological Survey researchers are monitoring the disappearance of glaciers and snowfields in Glacier National Park and they indicate that it is occurring quickly.
A report prepared in 2008 says, “Glaciers don’t respond to anything else except climate change … In 1850 there were an estimated 150 alpine glaciers of 25 acres or larger (in the park). Now there are only 25 glaciers left. By 2030, computer models suggest that all the remaining glaciers and snowfields will be gone.”
Park snowfall has increased 10 percent in the past 50 years, researchers say, but higher temperatures and melting have overwhelmed the heavier snows.
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