found that two-thirds of the world’s glaciers could disappear by the end of this century. That may sound pretty far into the future, but in Alaska those frozen landmarks are a strong attraction for the state’s tourism industry.
The receding Exit Glacier is located at the edge of the Harding Icefield just west of Seward, and it’s shrunk by more thanIn 2005, Ryan’s company started taking hikers out through a backcountry trail that took them directly onto Exit Glacier. They now offer helicopter tours and ice climbing as well, but the guided hikes that they’re known for are becoming more challenging.
“I like to say that in Alaska, the glaciers are not ornaments on the mountains,” Loso said. “To a large extent, they are the mountains.” Because they’re so large, most of Alaska’s glaciers won’t go extinct any time soon, he said, they’ll just shrink out of the views we’ve become accustomed to. Loso said that many of our tourism patterns are oriented around where glaciers are now. Exit Glacier and the Kenai Fjords are popular because they’re easy to get to from the road system.
According to Loso, the National Park Service is now partnering with the researchers behind the January study, Carnegie Mellon University and authorIn the meantime, tourists will continue flocking to communities like Seward, where the harbor comes alive every summer with tens of thousands of people eager to see the glaciers and wildlife of Kenai Fjords National Park.
I live on an island that was under a glacier a mile high 20,000 years ago, geological time does not care what you feel.
It is a receding glacier. It has been receding for well over a century and well before your climate change.
Glaciers melt away, that's what they do. Portage Glacier is a perfect example of why we probably shouldn't pin our hopes and dollars on tourism to glaciers.
geologicalJo