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Glacier melt destroys important climate archive. As part of the Ice Memory initiative, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) researchers, with colleagues from the University of Fribourg and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice as well as the Institute of Polar Sciences of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), analyzed ice cores drilled in 2018 and 2020 from the Corbassière glacier at Grand Combin in the canton of Valais.
Glacier Melt: A Grave Loss for Climate Archives
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Introduction:
Glaciers serve as invaluable archives of climate history, preserving information about past climatic conditions and atmospheric compositions. However, the effects of global warming are posing a significant threat to these archives, as evidenced by a recent study conducted by researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). This commentary delves into the findings of this study, highlighting the implications of glacier melting on our understanding of climate change.
Glacier Melt: A Lost Climate Archive
The study, published in Nature Geoscience, focused on the Corbassière glacier located in the Grand Combin massif of the Swiss Alps. Ice cores drilled from the glacier in 2018 and 2020 revealed a stark contrast, indicating that global warming has rendered this glacier unusable as a climate archive. The comparison of the two sets of ice cores showed that the signatures of particulate matter, which provide valuable information about past climate and air pollution, were significantly distorted in the 2020 core.
The researchers attributed this discrepancy to the accelerated melting of the glacier, which allowed water from the surface to penetrate deep into the ice, carrying trace substances away and disrupting the layered inclusions that contain climate data. This phenomenon, termed “flushing,” essentially erases the climate record stored in the glacier.
Glacier Melt: Implications for Climate Research
The loss of the Corbassière glacier as a climate archive is a sobering reminder of the rapid pace at which glaciers are melting due to global warming. The study highlights the urgency of preserving existing glacier archives and underscores the need for immediate action to mitigate climate change.
The melting of glaciers not only destroys valuable climate data but also hinders our ability to reconstruct past climate patterns and understand the long-term impacts of human activities on the environment. This loss of information poses a significant challenge to climate research and our efforts to develop effective strategies for addressing climate change.
Glacier Melt: The Race Against Time
In response to the alarming rate of glacier melting, the Ice Memory Foundation has initiated a global effort to collect ice cores from 20 endangered glaciers around the world and store them in a secure ice cave in Antarctica. This initiative aims to preserve these valuable climate archives for future generations, ensuring that they remain accessible for scientific study even as glaciers continue to melt.
The project, however, faces significant challenges, including logistical difficulties, political and administrative hurdles, and the ever-increasing pace of glacier melting. The failure of an expedition to Kilimanjaro last year due to administrative issues underscores the urgency of this endeavor.
Glacier Melt: A Call for Action
The findings of the study on the Corbassière glacier serve as a stark warning about the consequences of inaction on climate change. The loss of glacier archives not only erases valuable climate data but also hampers our ability to understand and mitigate the impacts of global warming.
The Ice Memory Foundation’s initiative to preserve glacier archives is a commendable effort, but it is a race against time. The success of this project and the preservation of these invaluable climate archives depend on our collective efforts to address the root cause of glacier melting – global warming.
It is imperative that we take immediate and decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to sustainable energy sources. By working together, we can protect these natural archives and ensure that future generations have access to the critical information they hold about our planet’s climate history..
FAQ’s
1. What is the significance of glaciers as climate archives?
Glaciers serve as invaluable archives of climate history, preserving information about past climatic conditions and atmospheric compositions. They contain layered inclusions that hold trace substances, such as particulate matter, which provide valuable insights into past climate and air pollution.
2. How does global warming affect glaciers as climate archives?
Global warming accelerates the melting of glaciers, which leads to a phenomenon called “flushing.” Water from the surface penetrates deep into the ice, carrying away trace substances and disrupting the layered inclusions that contain climate data. This process essentially erases the climate record stored in the glacier.
3. What are the implications of glacier melting for climate research?
The melting of glaciers not only destroys valuable climate data but also hinders our ability to reconstruct past climate patterns and understand the long-term impacts of human activities on the environment. This loss of information poses a significant challenge to climate research and our efforts to develop effective strategies for addressing climate change.
4. What is the Ice Memory Foundation doing to preserve glacier archives?
The Ice Memory Foundation has initiated a global effort to collect ice cores from endangered glaciers around the world and store them in a secure ice cave in Antarctica. This initiative aims to preserve these valuable climate archives for future generations, ensuring that they remain accessible for scientific study even as glaciers continue to melt.
5. What can we do to protect glacier archives and mitigate climate change?
It is imperative that we take immediate and decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to sustainable energy sources. By working together, we can protect these natural archives and ensure that future generations have access to the critical information they hold about our planet’s climate history.
Links to additional Resources:
https://www.psi.ch/ https://www.unifr.ch/ https://www.unive.it/.Related Wikipedia Articles
Topics: Ice cores, Glacier melting, Ice Memory FoundationIce core
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The retreat of glaciers since 1850 is well documented and is one of the effects of climate change. The retreat of mountain glaciers provide evidence for the rise in global temperatures since the late 19th century. Examples include mountain glaciers in western North America, Asia, the Alps in central Europe...
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Ice Memory
Ice Memory is an international initiative which aims to constitute the first world library of archived glacier ice, to preserve this invaluable scientific heritage for the generations to come, when future techniques can obtain even more data from these samples. In 2015, the Ice Memory project started with the meeting...
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