typhlonectes:Not-So-Glacial Pace:Alaska is losing 75 gigatons of ice every year. by Clara ChaissonRe
typhlonectes:Not-So-Glacial Pace:Alaska is losing 75 gigatons of ice every year. by Clara ChaissonResearchers from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and the U.S. Geological Survey have published some staggering numbers about Alaska’s inland glaciers: They’re disappearing so fast that their collective meltwater could soak the entire state, one foot deep every seven years. While that thought conjures up powerful images of a soggy tundra, in reality, 75 gigatons—FYI, one gigaton is one billion tons—of ice go into the oceans, where they raise global sea levels by two-tenths of a millimeter every year.Just 0.008 inches annually may seem like a drop in the bucket, but it’s a major contribution for such a small source. Alaska has 20 times fewer ice-covered areas than Greenland, but the state’s melting made up one-third of global ice sheet loss between 2005 and 2010…(read more: OnEarth.org)images via: NASA Earth Observatory -- source link