The famed snows of Kilimanjaro have melted more than 80 percent since 1912. "It's now less than 250 acres (100 hectares)."Įverywhere on Earth ice is changing. "That's out of date," Fagre says, stopping to catch his breath. A trailside sign notes that since 1901, Sperry Glacier has shrunk from more than 800 acres (320 hectares) to 300 acres (120 hectares). "This glacier used to be closer," Fagre declares as we crest a steep section, his glasses fogged from exertion. In the past decade scientists have documented record-high average annual surface temperatures and have been observing other signs of change all over the planet: in the distribution of ice, and in the salinity, levels, and temperatures of the oceans. Most believe that human activity, in particular the burning of fossil fuels and the resulting buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, have influenced this warming trend. Scientists who assess the planet's health see indisputable evidence that Earth has been getting warmer, in some cases rapidly. "It's like watching the Statue of Liberty melt." "Things that normally happen in geologic time are happening during the span of a human lifetime," says Fagre. Fagre predicts that within 30 years most if not all of the park's namesake glaciers will disappear. Since then the number has decreased to fewer than 30, and most of those remaining have shrunk in area by two-thirds. When President Taft created Glacier National Park in 1910, it was home to an estimated 150 glaciers. So far, the results have been positively chilling. They're doing what they've been doing for more than a decade: measuring how the park's storied glaciers are melting. Geological Survey Global Change Research Program. I fall in step with Fagre and two other research scientists from the U.S. We're armed with crampons, ice axes, rope, GPS receivers, and bear spray to ward off grizzlies, and we're trudging toward Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park, Montana.
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"If we don't have it, we don't need it," pronounces Daniel Fagre as we throw on our backpacks.