[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/EW-09-12-12-Glacier-National-Park.mp3|titles=EW 09-12-12 Glacier National Park]
Located in Montana, Glacier National Park owes its rugged topography to the carving action of massive sheets of ice. Its mountain ranges bear evidence of glaciers from the last ice age – with U-shaped valleys, knife-like ridges, and lake-impounding moraines.
Covering a million acres, with habitat ranging from prairie to tundra, the park is home to grizzly bears, lynx, and mountain goats. Some 2 million sightseers take in the park’s beauty each year; and they are seeing less and less of the glaciers that made it all possible.
There once were an estimated 150 glaciers within the park’s borders. Now, less than 20% remain. While the glaciers have been melting since the 1800s, climate change has hastened their retreat. The park’s average temperature for the past decade was two degrees higher than during the prior 30 years. Spring has been arriving earlier and snowpack is declining.
The U.S. Geological Survey has been systematically studying the glaciers since the 1980s and predicts they could vanish in a few decades. Their Repeat Photography Project matches historic photos of glaciers with current conditions. Of the remaining 25 glaciers, archive images have been found for seventeen. And thirteen show marked recession—with some 1/3 of their previous size.
Scientists don’t fully understand the impact glacier retreat will have on the park’s ecosystem. Less glacier melt could translate into drier conditions during the summer and fall, upping the risk of forest fires. In 2003, some 10% of the park burned.
One thing is certain: If seeing Montana’s glaciers is on your bucket list, you’ll want to plan your trip soon.
Photo, taken on July 18, 2011, courtesy of Steve Wilson via Flickr.