2nd Highest Subantarctic Glacier Advance Of Last 1,000 Years Occurred 50 Years Ago

[rangerrebew]

New Paper Indicates Subantarctic Glacier Retreat More Extensive In 1700s Than Now

By Kenneth Richard on 13. July 2017
2nd Highest Subantarctic Glacier Advance
Of Last 1,000 Years Occurred 50 Years Ago

Yesterday we learned that a giant iceberg just split off from the Antarctic Peninsula.

Most media outlets were uncharacteristically mild with their declarations of concern.  Even The Guardian pointed out that the breakup of the ice is naturally occurring, glaciologists are “not unduly concerned about it“, and while the event “might look dramatic, experts say it will not itself result in sea level rises.”

http://notrickszone.com/#sthash.uBc77k0X.ziT7LoYF.dpbs

[Joe Wooten]

When we did an Alaska Inside Passage cruise four years ago, one of the glaciers we visited had drawings of the area as it was in the 1750's when a Russian exploratory ship visited that bay. The Glaciers were several miles back and there was a thriving Indian tribe living the summers in an area totally covered in ice now. There was a map showing how the glacier had advanced during the approximately every 20-30 years someone mapped the area again. I think the glacier hit its maximum advancement during the 1950's and has been retreating ever since.

[Suppressed]

When we did an Alaska Inside Passage cruise four years ago, one of the glaciers we visited had drawings of the area as it was in the 1750's when a Russian exploratory ship visited that bay. The Glaciers were several miles back and there was a thriving Indian tribe living the summers in an area totally covered in ice now. There was a map showing how the glacier had advanced during the approximately every 20-30 years someone mapped the area again. I think the glacier hit its maximum advancement during the 1950's and has been retreating ever since.

Yes, it's ridiculous to use ice extent alone as a measure.  As temperatures increase, ice flows more readily (like molasses on a hot pan), so ice extents can increase.  There are very complex interactions at the bed of the glacier with porewater pressures and bed friction, brittle fracture of the ice, etc.

[Joe Wooten]

Actually, when the temperature decrease, as they were during the little ice age, the glaciers grow and flow even faster due to the increasing pressure of the ice creating a bigger layer of water at the bottom, which acts as a lubricant. Increasing temperatures after WW2 caused the glaciers to start retreating, but slowly.