A national environmental group recently reported that North Cascades and Mount Rainier are among the dozen national parks most susceptible to climate change.
At Mount Rainier, which has more glacial ice than the rest of the Cascades combined and is among the best studied sites in the nation, the area covered by glaciers shrank by more than a fifth from 1913 to 1994, and the volume of the glaciers by almost one-fourth, the National Park Service says.
From 1912 to 2001, the Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier retreated nearly a mile. Since the first stirrings of the Industrial Revolution 150 years ago, glaciers in the northern Cascades have shrunk by 40 percent, and the pace is accelerating.
The South Cascades Glacier, one of the most studied in the nation, has lost roughly half its mass since 1928. In the Olympic Mountains, glaciers have lost about one-third of their mass.
"They are the canary in the coal mine," Ed Josberger, the head of the U.S. Geological Survey's ice and climate project in Tacoma, said of the glaciers in Washington state. "They are changing fast, and this is not good."
Subscribe
Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.
Posted on 6th September 2006
Latest Posts
-
IEMA focus on skills, adaptation and nature-based solutions in CCC report
- 18th July 2024 -
Labour's plan for economic growth must mean green growth – but there is a green skills gap looming
- 5th July 2024 -
As Labour plans to “slash red tape” for economic growth, YouGov poll finds 3 in 5 people want to increase public involvement in planning system
- 28th June 2024 -
Medtronic agrees partnership with IEMA to accelerate skills and standards in sustainability
- 21st June 2024 -
Landmark climate impact ruling for fossil fuel projects, cites IEMA guidance
- 20th June 2024 -
IEMA sets out 18 policy asks for the next Government
- 3rd June 2024