Glacier-like hazards found on Ben Nevis (Scotland)

Hoosier8 · Aug 25, 2014

team of climbers and scientists investigating the mountain's North Face said snowfields remained in many gullies and upper scree slopes.

On these fields, they have come across compacted, dense, ice hard snow call neve.

Neve is the first stage in the formation of glaciers, the team said.

The team has also encountered sheets of snow weighing hundreds of tonnes and tunnels and fissures known as bergschrunds.

The large, deep cracks in the ice are found at the top of glaciers.

The team of mountaineers, geologists and botanists is recording wildlife and rock forms on the North Face.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Midland Valley Exploration and the Nevis Partnership, an organisation based at Torlundy, near Fort William, are involved in the three-year project.

So far, many new populations of rare fauna such as highland saxifrage, tufted saxifrage and wavy meadow grass have been recorded.

Lead survey botanist, Ian Strachan, said: "Many of the rare arctic-alpine species we are searching for are relics from soon after the last ice age.

"Ben Nevis and a few other peaks in the Scottish Highlands provide the most southerly refuge for some of these species which can only survive due to the altitude and presence of semi-permanent snow fields."

Cathy Mayne, of SNH, said work so far had exceeded the project team's expectations.

She said: "Not only have we gathered potentially ground-breaking geological data and significantly added to the known populations of arctic-alpine species, the team have also discovered alpine saxifrage, which has never been found on the mountain before."
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This is how glacial periods start, ice builds up and doesn't melt in the Summer.

expatriate · Aug 25, 2014

I'm curious.... around the world, how many glaciers are forming or existing glaciers growing versus the number that are shrinking? Got any data on that?

waltky · Dec 7, 2015

Then what they gonna call it?...

DOI: Climate Change Will Melt Glaciers in Montanas Glacier National Park in Next Two Decades
December 4, 2015 The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) claims that climate change will cause the disappearance of the glaciers in Montanas Glacier National Park in just 20 years.

Climate change affects every corner of the American continent, the DOI website stated. It is making droughts drier and longer, floods more dangerous and hurricanes more severe. The glaciers in Montana's Glacier National Park are melting so quickly, theyre expected to disappear in the next two decades, the website stated, although no documentation is provided to substantiate that claim. The section of the DOI website dedicated to climate change also reveals how much of the land in the United States and its resources are controlled by the federal government: one-fifth of the land in the country, 35,000 miles of coastline, and 1.76 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf. The impacts of climate change are forcing us to change how we manage these resources, the website stated. Climate change may dramatically affect water supplies in certain watersheds, impact coastal wetlands and barrier islands, cause relocation of and stress on wildlife, increase wildland fires, further spread invasive species, and more.

Montanas Glacier National Park

The DOIs National Park Service (NPS) website also described the more than one million acre park: Glacier National Park is not named so much for its small glaciers, but for the colossal work of colossal glaciers in the past, the NPS website stated. Ten thousand years ago, the topography of Glacier looked much the same as it does today. The NPS website also predicted the end of glaciers at the park in just 15 years. Since the last ice age ended, around 10,000 years ago, there have been many slight climate fluctuations that have been mirrored by the growth or recession of glaciers, the NPS website stated. Based on current trends, however, glacier recession models predict that by 2030, Glacier National Park will be without glaciers.

The NPS website also credited weather for the diversity of plants and animals in the park. Glacier Park's varied climate influences and its location at the headwaters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Hudson Bay drainages have given rise to an incredible variety of plants and animals, the website stated. Its diverse habitats are home to nearly 70 species of mammals including the grizzly bear, wolverine, gray wolf and lynx. Over 270 species of birds visit or reside in the park, including such varied species as harlequin ducks, dippers and golden eagles, the website stated. The NPS website also tells potential visitors about how unpredictable the weather is at the park. Weather is always unpredictable in the mountains, the website stated. Be prepared for all types of weather!

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article...-glaciers-montanas-glacier-national-park-next
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MrNick · Dec 8, 2015

waltky said: ↑

Then what they gonna call it?...

DOI: Climate Change Will Melt Glaciers in Montana’s Glacier National Park in ‘Next Two Decades’
December 4, 2015 – The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) claims that climate change will cause the disappearance of the glaciers in Montana’s Glacier National Park in just 20 years.
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And 15 years ago Al Gore said the glaciers would be gone by 2012...

These fools have been making predictions and using scare tactics for 50 years...

Guess what?

Not one has come to fruition...

waltky · Mar 16, 2016

Granny says, "Dat's right - alla glaciers gonna melt, den we all gonna get drownded out `cause it's the end times...

Rapid melt of New Zealand glaciers ends hikes onto them
Mar 16,`16 -- New Zealand is renowned for its wondrous scenery, and among the country's top tourist attractions are two glaciers that are both stunning and unusual because they snake down from the mountains to a temperate rain forest, making them easy for people to walk up to and view.

But the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers have been melting at such a rapid rate that it has become too dangerous for tourists to hike onto them from the valley floor, ending a tradition that dates back a century. With continuing warm weather this year there are no signs of a turnaround, and scientists say it is another example of how global warming is impacting the environment. Tourism in New Zealand is booming and nearly 1 million people last year flocked to get a glimpse of the glaciers and the spectacular valleys they've carved. But the only way to set foot on them now is to get flown onto them by helicopter.

Tour operators offer flights and guided glacier walks, although logistics limit this to 80,000 tourists per year, half the number that once hiked up from the valley floor. Up to another 150,000 people each year take scenic flights that land briefly at the top of the glaciers. Flying in the UNESCO World Heritage area comes with its own risks, highlighted in November when a sightseeing helicopter crashed onto the Fox Glacier, killing all seven aboard.

Tourists who have taken a helicopter trip onto the Fox Glacier climb through a hole in the ice in New Zealand. The Fox and Franz Josef glaciers have been melting at such a rapid rate that it has become too dangerous for tourists to hike onto them from the valley floor, ending a tradition that dates back a century.

Sitting near the base of the Franz Josef Glacier, Wayne Costello, a district operations manager for the Department of Conservation, said that when he arrived eight years ago, the rock he was perched on would have been buried under tons of ice. Instead, the glacier now comes to an end a half-mile (800 meters) further up the valley. "Like a loaf of bread shrinking in its tin, it's gone down a lot as well," Costello said. "So it's wasted away in terms of its thickness, and that's led to quite a rapid melt."

Because of that melt, the valley walls that were once braced by the glaciers have been left exposed and vulnerable to rock falls, making hiking up too dangerous. Tour operators stopped taking guided hikes onto the Franz Josef in 2012 and the nearby Fox in 2014. A 2014 paper published in the journal Global and Planetary Change concluded the two glaciers have each melted by 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) in length since the 1800s, making them about 20 percent shorter. The glaciers have recently been melting at a faster pace than ever previously recorded, the authors said.

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Glacier-like hazards found on Ben Nevis (Scotland)

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