Is Climate Change affecting Glacier Bays glaciers?
Scientists who observe Earth’s climate have documented warming temperatures in Alaska. Of the more than 100,000 glaciers in the state, 95% are currently thinning, stagnating, or retreating, and Glacier Bay’s glaciers follow this trend. However, due to heavy snowfall in the soaring Fairweather Mountains, Glacier Bay remains home to a few healthy and advancing glaciers, a rarity in today’s world. What is the chance of seeing an ice fall or calving? Chunks of ice break from the glacier year around. Calving happens regardless of sun or rain, hot or cold, sometimes not at all in your one hour visit, sometimes multiple times in that hour, no one can predict this very dramatic event.
