WHY ARE GLACIERS MELTING?

Glacier:- A glacier can be described as a huge block of ice that has formed from falling snow.
Glaciers contain almost all of the fresh water present on earth.

How is a Glacier Formed?

Glaciers are formed in places where the temperatures are extremely cold. This could even
include places that are at sea level, but are mostly places that are high up on mountains.

In such cold places it snows most of the year. This snow will settle down and when it snows
again the lower layer of snow gets compressed. Every time it snows, the below layers will
compress more, finally turning into hard ice. This ice is what forms the glacier.

When the temperature increases slightly, the outer edges of the formed glacier and fresh snow
will melt. For a glacier to form and sustain itself it is of prime importance that the amount of
snow that falls on it must be more than the amount of glacier that has melted. This is the only
way in which the glacier will be able to maintain itself and keep increasing in size year after
year. A glacier forms in a location where the accumulation of snow and sleet exceeds the
amount of snow that melts. Over many years, often decades or centuries, a glacier will
eventually form as the snow compacts and turns to ice. A glacier is distinct from sea ice and
lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water.

On Earth, 99% of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the polar regions, but
glaciers may be found in mountain ranges of every continent except Australia. In the tropics,
glaciers occur only on high mountains. Many glaciers store water during one season and
release it later as melt water, a water source that is especially important for plants, animals
and human uses when other sources may be scant.

Because glacial mass is affected by long-term climate changes, e.g., precipitation, mean
temperature, and cloud cover, glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive
indicators of climate change and are a major source of variations in sea level.

Glaciers Are Melting Faster Today

It was argued in the past that this was a normal process that takes place over time, but this is
now proving wrong. It has been noticed that glaciers have melted more than normal over the
past century. Many glaciers have melted so fast over the past few decades that they have
vanished from the face of the earth forever. Many glaciers that remain are today facing the
same fate. They are reducing in size year after year because the falling snow is not able to
replace the amount of melting ice.

Why are Glaciers Melting Faster Today?

The simplest answer to this question is because of the global warming. If we want to further
explain this then we would have to say that melting of the glaciers is happening because of
excessive CO2 emissions that are the result of fossil fuels burning. Fossil fuels are currently
dominant energy fuels, and fossil fuels combustion sends vast quantities of CO2 into the
atmosphere, much more than oceans and forests can absorb. Increased levels of CO2 in the
atmosphere give more impact to greenhouse effect making our planet warmer in the process,
and one of the most serious consequences of global warming is glaciers melting. 
Glaciers are melting faster today as compared to the past many centuries. Why this sudden
change? Almost everyone believe that the prime reason for this is sudden and rapid
industrialization which in turn has caused global warming - the prime culprit of fast melting
glaciers.

Global warming is the rise in average global temperature that has happened over the past
century. The 'industrial revolution' is the main cause of this rise in average temperature. The
indiscriminate burning of fossil fuels has resulted in extreme atmospheric pollution leading to
this condition. Coal is still burnt in huge quantities for various reasons such as electricity
production. Burning of oil is a major culprit in the past century. Deforestation has increased
to procure wood and make more space available for farming, resulting in an increase in
carbon dioxide concentrations. All these pollutants help in trapping more heat in the earth's
atmosphere, increasing global temperatures.

It is due to this increase in temperature that glaciers are melting more than they actually
should. When a glacier melts fully, it exposes the earth below. Glaciers absorb approximately
20% heat from the sun, reflecting back 80%. When the earth gets exposed this percentage
gets reversed. This in turn causes a further increase in temperature. This is a vicious trap
which has already begun and it will be almost impossible for us to stop it totally.

In the future the global temperature will in all likelihood keep increasing, melting glaciers
even faster than they are today.

Dangers of Fast Melting Glaciers

Faster melting of glaciers will cause the streams and rivers to overflow causing flooding. This
is a reality that has been observed at many places. Those living in close proximity to the
rivers need to relocate. Farmlands get destroyed in these flood waters. Melting of glaciers
could create real environmental havoc in years to come. Not only will the sea level rise and
flood many coastal areas turning many people into refugees, but this would also cause severe
water shortages problems because glaciers are world's largest reservoirs of water that contain
around 70% of total freshwater on our planet. Higher up on mountains this excess water
creates new ponds. As these ponds keep getting filled with more water they form lakes with
the pressure on the boundaries increasing. There is always a threat of these lakes bursting,
causing huge floods in villages situated below. Once the glacier has totally melted, the
streams and rivers will run dry. Farmland will turn dry. Those depending on freshwater from
the melting glacier will have to relocate.

Places that depend on the constant flow of this water for the production of electricity will
have to look for other sources to produce electricity. This will cause further atmospheric
pollution and cost much more to produce. Sea levels that have already risen due to warmer
waters will rise even further when all this water from melting glaciers empty into the sea. At
immediate risk will be to those living in low lying areas in close vicinity to seashores. These
areas will get flooded and sweet groundwater will get polluted with sea water making it unfit
for human use.

Many animals, birds, and fish that depend on the fresh water from glaciers will become
endangered. While many species are likely to be affected by changes in stream flow and sea
level associated with glacier melting, animals that dwell on or near glaciers may be pushed
towards extinction by the disappearance of their icy habitats.Far from being barren expanses
of ice, glaciers are home to some of the most unique organisms and ecosystems on Earth.

For example, the tiny ice worm spends its entire life on ice, roaming over glaciers at night,
feeding on glacial algae Corals will suffer because of low sunlight due to increasing sea-
levels. Fish who feed on these corals will get badly affected. Animals and birds feeding on
these fish will be affected.

Himalayan glaciers are also melting at a rapid rate, for instance two very big Himalayan
glaciers are melting extremely fast; Gangotri glacier is shrinking at a rate of 17 m per year,
while glacier Pindari is shrinking at around 10 m per year. This will in short term create
flooding and in the long term severe water shortages for big parts of Asia. Sea-level rise will
affect coastal regions throughout the world, causing flooding, erosion, and saltwater intrusion
into aquifers and freshwater habitats.

There are many more dangers that could crop up due to fast melting glaciers in the coming
years if we do not do something to reduce the menace of global warming immediately. Each
one of us can play a part in helping reduce harmful emissions, leading to a possible reduction
in future global warming.

Solution:

Limit global warming to a maximum of 2ºC over pre-industrial levels. Although a warming
of 1-2ºC will clearly threaten human health, water supplies and vulnerable ecosystems, a
warming of at least 1ºC appears unavoidable.

Warming beyond 2ºC will result in rapidly escalating damages, with severe threats to human
populations and the loss of unique and irreplaceable ecosystems. It is therefore imperative
that emissions of the main heat-trapping gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), are significantly reduced,
in order to avoid exceeding this 2ºC threshold.

The majority of CO2 pollution is released when fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas
are burned for transportation, heating, or the production of electricity. Coal is particularly
damaging, as it produces 70% more CO2 emissions than natural gas for the same energy
output. Electricity generation is the single largest source of manmade
CO2, amounting to 37% of worldwide emissions. WWF is challenging the electric power
sector to become CO2-free by the middle of this century in industrialized countries, and to
make a significant shift towards that goal in developing countries. A number of power
companies have already signed on to WWF’s vision, but in order to reduce emissions
significantly, power utilities, financial institutions, consumers, and policy makers must all
play a role:

Utilities can support meaningful global warming legislation, improve the energy efficiency
of power plants, increase their use of renewable energy sources, and halt investment in new
coal plants and coal mining.

Financial institutions call upon the companies they invest in to disclose their emissions
policies, and switch their investments to companies that are striving to be more competitive
under future limits on carbon emissions.

Electricity consumers should opt for “green power” where it is available; demand this choice
where it is noted invest in highly efficient appliances. Policy makers must ease the transition
to a carbon-free energy industry by passing legislation that creates favourable market
conditions, shaping new frameworks for change, and ensuring that the Kyoto Protocol, the
world’s primary legal tool to combat global warming, enters into force as soon as possible.