Alaska’s glacier photographs become especially informative when an older view is paired with a later image from the same position. Mountains provide a reference while ice fronts, open water and vegetation change around them.
Match the location and the dates
The original gallery included comparisons from Muir, Plateau, Bear, Northwestern, Pedersen, Reid and Yale glaciers. Its later photographs mostly date from the early 2000s. They document change between those stated dates, not the glaciers’ exact appearance today.
Look beyond the missing ice
A retreating terminus may reveal water or ground that plants later colonise. Seasonal snow, lighting and camera angle can also differ, so compare fixed landscape features before judging the extent of change. Repeat photography contributes visible evidence; glacier measurements and climate observations help explain processes that a single pair cannot quantify.
Further information: National Park Service glacier comparisons with sliders
Explore more: Mendenhall’s changing landscape; the difference between land ice and sea ice.
Or maybe it's just that the old pictures are taken in broad winter while the others were taken during spring or summer
ReplyDeleteI am sure the dead of winter was prime tourist time at the turn of the century.
DeleteGlaciers don't disappear in the summer.
Delete...Not sure if herping or just really derp.
DeleteNo, if these pictures were taken in the winter, there would be no open water and no bare ground.
DeleteI watched Childs glacier and Sheridan Glacier in steady retreat over ten years, living in Cordova AK. Childs shriveled to half its height between 1998 and 2008, and Sheridan retreated so far upriver in the same time period that where once you could see it just by standing on the bridge, you needed binoculars to see it in 2008.
I can't imagine either have grown at all in the last six years.
"maybe it's just that the old pictures are taken in broad winter while the others were taken during spring or summer"
DeleteJesus Christ but that is one of the dumbest fucking things I have ever heard. Do you even know what a glacier is?
You are right about that!
Delete"Broad Winter"? Maybe you should just stick to looking at the pretty pictures and leave the discussion about climate change to those of us that passed geology class.
Deletehey he could be talking about the lack of vegitation the photos keep pointing out
DeleteThe lack of vegetation are things like trees. Pretty sure you can still see trees in the winter. ><
DeleteAre you seriously trying to claim that glaciers, hundreds of feet thick, retreated several miles in summer and returned in winter?
DeleteThat first commenter must be a congressman.
DeleteGlaciers aren't a result of one season's snowfall.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you all talking about, are you kidding? This is a direct result of climate change, whether man made or not, are you blind, or just dense?
ReplyDeleteMore room for fishing!
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for the world to tilt on it axis so we can see where the new ones will form! It's just life happening...geezzz people. It will continue after your dead to the same as it happened before you came.
ReplyDeleteExactly. To think that what we have witnessed in our miniscule time here is "normal" and should never change is awfully conceited of us. And exactly how is increased vegetation a bad thing, especially considering the need to feed an ever increasing global population?
DeleteThe updated pics are not taken at the same time of year and some are not the same area or point of view as originals. Yes glacial ice melts, yes with more or less snowfall it affects the glaciers. Up north where these glaciers are, they are totally different than the tide water glaciers in Southeast Ak. The glaciers around Petersburg are closely watched and have actually grown in the past decade. Stop whining about them and instead go and actually see for yourselves. Get the facts yourself and 2nd or 3rd person opinions.
DeleteYeah, cause glaciers recede during the summer. My god, how fucking stupid can someone be?
DeleteAll photographs taken from the same point with meticulous care. If you can't see that then you have extraordinarily poor observation skills. Yes they can be taken in different seasons, but you know of course that glaciers were there winter and summer back in the 20s. Like hell you're from AK.
DeleteOkay, so the thing here I see is this, the glaciers in water melted faster than those on land, that can be attributed to rising water temperatures not climate change or air temperatures. Also, if you take into account that the climate cycles with mild winters and heavy winters in subseqant orders back too back, it can contribute to such stong changes. Like right now Alaska has had 2 or 3 years of very mild winters, the melting and receding of glaciers is imminent. However, they are over do for a few heavy winters like they had back in 2012 (I think) which will definitely show growth in glaciers, not to the extant to what was mind you.
DeleteAlso, glaciers do grow and recied based on the seasons, that IS how it works. More snow during winter more glacier growth. No to little snow during summer means melting and receding or glaciers. That's how they operate.
Btw, I was born and raised 37yrs in S.E. AK.
ReplyDeletehow can you not see they're from the same point of view???...for an alaskan, you're an embarassment!...
DeleteThey are taken from nearly the exact same location. Most of the old photos have time of year attributed to them, most in summer.
DeleteGlobal warming makes this snowy landscape less beautiful.
DeleteApparently Gaia is replacing all the rainforest losses with her own vegetation. Despite all the global warming caused by the sun, she is replenishing herself quite well thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see before and after pictures of Portage Glacier on Turnagain Arm.
ReplyDeleteThank you Andreas! .The results of the rising sea levels are already being seen in Miami, especially South Beach.
ReplyDeleteThe hoax is that man caused it and that man can stop it. Some people are just easily fooled as is evidenced by the above.
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming is precisely a phenomenon caused by human activity--there's no way to wiggle out of our responsibility for this. Whether we can slow down, stop or even reverse the event is another question.
DeleteYour an idiot if you think man can alter the planet like this.
DeleteClearly your the idiot here. Why do you think it's so hard? Want a faster example? Drop a couple Megaton nukes on Yellowstone park and then try to tell us you can't change the planet halfwit.
Deleteconsidering algae alone has been able to alter earth's climate and atmospheric composition on multiple occasions in the past (ie: great oxidation event responsible for mass extinctions of nearly all life on the planet), yes, humans certainly can
DeleteIs it just me or water look higher in the older pics. And for the geology type, uplift, is that the land springing back after the weight is gone.
ReplyDeleteThere is a certain amount of isostatic rebound after the glacial load is removed. The Scandinavian area is still rebounding after the last ice sheet retreat.
DeleteThe first country who doesnt care about climate change is usa, but im happy that florida, new york and california will be the first places under water.
ReplyDeleteThese pictures are compelling. Clearly, the glaciers in North America are shrinking and have been for some time. Likewise, much of the USA used to have glaciers that have melted. It's reall no debate: there is climate change. The debate is whether it is human caused. My perspective is the climate of Earth is not static. It shows signs of change over it's history prior to the use of fossil fuels and factories. We need to be responsible but not think more highly of ourselves than we ought. We really aren't sovereign over our planet.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and the fact that the current pace of climate change is MANY times faster than anything the planet has -ever- seen is totally irrelevant, even though the dates and rates of change line up pretty damn close with the pace and scale of human industrial advancement.
DeleteIf you understand the scale of our planet's history compared with that of our species, and then look at the rate and timing of these changes. there is no possible way you can claim, with a straight face, that it's a coincidence. Even ignoring almost all the data and just focusing on the broad strokes, it would be by far the most unlikely coincidence in the history of our planet.
Correct!
DeleteThis is over the course of a century. The earth has been around for 45,000,000 centuries. Has -ever- there been a climate change so dramatic in any of those 45,000,000 centuries compared to what we're seeing today? The only time it ever has been is if there was something extraordinary causing such change.
DeleteAnd that change quite simply is us. There is no other explanation.
Hmmm, That is 4,500,000,000 years, as in 4.5 billion years before present. And, as to major climatic changes, there have been great ones in the geologic past, but geologists rarely count in decades, or a few hundred years. Major climatic changes in geologic history usually took a very long time. But, there were the impact phenomena, and the arrival of man.
DeleteThe most logical and well stated post on here.
Deletelisten, the govt knows ,and they will tell you,,,that if you walk too heavy and too many people on edge of an island it will tip and dump you into the water.
ReplyDeleteYes it is hard to believe... but when the gov't says these things (islands tipping over) you can be sure as the sun that they are telling the truth because governments would NEVER do anything to cause consternation to a nation...
DeleteWe are truly living in the twilight zone... anyone with half their marbles can see that !
As soon as you talk to a religious person about climate change, the conversation becomes insane. Dogma blinds people to the reality before their very eyes.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
DeleteThe entire US was covered in ice at one point. Thats why we now have the great lakes. This stuff has been melting for eons and will continue to do so until we get slapped upside the head with another comet or yellowstone blows creating another iceage. It's not rocket science for crying out loud.
ReplyDeleteNo, not even all of Canada was covered. And the ice stopped at about halfway through Ohio because there were mountains in the way. Glacial ice has never covered all of the US.
DeleteCorrect, It did not cover all of the US but it wasn't stopped my any mountains-there haven't been any in Ohio is millions of years since before any ice ages. The ice just finally reached a point where the temperature had warmed up sufficiently that it ran out of steam. West of the Mississippi the Missouri River marks the southern terminus of the ice sheets and East of the Mississippi the ice stopped about 100 or so north of the Ohio River. Even north of the terminus though there were "driftless areas" where ice went around hilly spots and didn't cover everything.
DeleteBut to the point of this website, humans are quickly changing the environment and warming the planet to the point that we will have great difficulty surviving as a species and it's insane to pretend otherwise.
There are definitely mountains in Ohio. There is a 1600 ft above sea level peak in the middle of Lancaster for Pete's sake. It's right on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains.
DeleteI was shocked to see how..much the New Zealand glaciers
ReplyDeleteHad receded. Do you have any old pics of Frans Joseph and the othet one on the south island. Thanks for this great article
climate change happens ,the earth is constantly morphing.and yes this type of rapid change over the centuries has probably happened before.but people were not around to see it so we do not know for sure.saying that people do effect climate with all our pollution. can we reverse it ? no. the only real way for people to reverse it is for the human population to die off.sounds stupid does it not,but is a fact the earth is overpopulated.another thing is have you ever melted an icecube?it first starts melting slowly but the more mass it losses the faster it appears to melt.the same with the glaciers they reach a tipping point and appear to melt faster .I highly doubt that man in all his brilliance can reverse that.a 1000 years from now who can say it might go back the other way.
ReplyDeleteLocally, man's (meaning mankind) activities MAY affect weather, in example, stronger storms, drought in a local area, but, I am VERY skeptical that it can AFFECT or EFFECT the CLIMATE as it is currently "sold" by the likes of those in power. THAT is a political ploy and sales job to get the Federal Representatives elected so they can make TAX SLAVES out of all of us. Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. The Atmosphere, earthquakes and even large storms are more controlled/affected by Sun Spots and Solar Flares.
DeletePictures and perspectives aside: We need to take better care of our planet, period.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should realize that not all "facts" are truly FACTS. Out solar system, atmosphere all the way down to the way our bodies work to take in nutrition and excrete waste is based on + and - ions. Even lightening and thunder is based on this and it is an attempt to "balance". NO ONE ever talks about our use of ELECTRICITY as a possible cause......Why do solar discharges AFFECT (as in FRY) out electric grid? What attracts these to the Power centers of our GRID? Research how the climate and strength of storms have changed since the massive use of ELECTRICITY and the Electromagnetic field of the EARTH changes since as well as the WEATHER, Climate, etc. Who decided to blame this on CO2 use? Why not our massive, worldwide use of Electricity? What happens when you put thousands of satellites over our atmosphere and beam electric signals back to earth through our atmosphere? The earth is a gigantic Electromagnet......what impact does the slowing of the molten iron core of earth have? What causes the "slowing of the currents in the core of earth"? Why is it slowing? Come on folks, study your science. NEVER trust your politicians who want your vote and use blame and fear to get it.
DeleteAs the late George Carlin said..........."The planet will be fine, Saying we need to save the planet is ridiculous. We just arent going to be here."
ReplyDeleteWe should all be dead from the Bird Flu Pandemic by now.
ReplyDeleteThe real debate shouldn't be whether humans are causing global climate change. It should be how our quality of life is going to change once the local glaciers are totally melted. Where does your water come from? Add in pollution from any number of industrial sectors and the current population levels and die off numbers have the potential to destabilize the economy more than the bankers.
ReplyDelete100 years from now when your grandchildren stop hearing about "climate change" because it has become "land change", and our country begins to experience underwater coastlines, you would believe it. If you weren't already dead. If it can't hurt the future to take a chance on saving it, why wouldn't you try, whether you believe or not?
ReplyDeleteWould you buy insurance for your house, if the annual premium was more than the value of your house???
DeleteThat is why, the risk is so tiny, and the insurance costs are ridiculously high
Sea rising at 7 inches a century, for the last 200+ years, and temps have been flat for 18+ years, me not worried.
Je to krásné! Tolik nové zeleně místo špinavého ledu.....
ReplyDeleteClimate science or no climate science, we desperately need to clean up the planet and stop burning fossil fuels which are causing massive pollution and huge health problems throughout the world. Apart from anything else, these are non-renewable resources that once burnt are gone forever. And soon we will have wars between nations fighting to get these resources from the Arctic and Antarctic. Just so we can keep on polluting?How crazy is that? We need to get our act together to stop massive consumption and make a concerted effort to clean up the earth's air and oceans, regardless of whether climate change is caused by humans or not.
ReplyDeleteJust think, in another hundred years it could look just like it did 100 years ago. AGAIN! AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN. WE can't do anything about any of it, nor have WE caused any of it. How on earth did these same things happen time and time again before humans even walked the planet!
ReplyDeleteReading some of the comments here made me realize 2 things:
ReplyDelete1) We are doomed
2) It's a good thing
Alot of the pictures look like you are comparing a summer picture to the same area in winter time in the next picture. Very deceiving to say the least. Also black and white photos compared to a color photo will look vastly different even if taken of the same subject at the same time. These prove nothing.
ReplyDeleteTake a gander at Revelation 16:8-9. It's going to get MUCH hotter, and soon, guys...
ReplyDeleteEvery living thing in the sea dies too...(Rev. 16:3) It's already starting.
Numbers are down on a massive scale worldwide. Habitat is dying.
We are rapidly approaching the terminus of this age.
There's only one answer and only one way out...or UP, as the case may be...
really, there are more people on the earth today, than ever before, Ive heard and heard your story for hundreds (maybe thousands) of years, frankly it will take a lot more than a little bit of heat to get rid of many people. they thrive in the heat, not the cold, just look at where everyone lives, near the equator, because its warm there...
DeleteHoly cow Bat man...who has time for all of this? Not I replies the Batman! So,on with life I go!
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the maps of Glacier Bay, you will see the vast majority of the retreat was from about 1780 (when Capt Cooke) to the early 1900's, hundreds of KM, in recent times, the retreat is much slower and some glaciers are actually increasing in size. I was there less than a year ago, ask the park rangers for a map, and ask them if some glaciers are growing...
ReplyDeleteYet the Hubbard Glacier continues to grow at astronomical rates. And the Bering Glacier. And the Juneau Ice Field. And McGinnis and Taku.... Yep, according to the National Parks Service, there are 616 "officially named" glaciers in Alaska - and the Alaskan Almanac estimates that the state probably has has 100,000 glaciers. So, if you only list the glaciers that are retreating, are you really reporting the facts? More important, isn't retreating and expanding what glaciers are suppose to do?
ReplyDeleteThe Hubbard Glacier advances and retreats, so does the Taku, but most of the glaciers are receding rapidly. The Juneau Ice Field is the source of many glaciers, and all but two are receding. Glaciers that begin high in the mountains still accumulate enough snow/ice to be more or less stable, but they are not making any permanent advances.
DeleteHaving lived in Juneau for over 30 years I can tell you that is not true. Don't believe everything you read. The Mendenhall glacier (and many others) are a mere fraction of what they once were.
Deletekilling myself right now. no really im going to to do it? nobody cares? I thought we were talking about things nobody cared about or could change? ohh
ReplyDeleteNot a denialist, but this really does have a touch of alarmism. Especially when several of the photos admit that the glaciers were already retreating even in the early 1900s. Haven't you people ever heard of the Ice Age? The Earth's been warming for over 10,000 years now. I sincerely hope your concern over man-made climate change isn't resting on "Oh noes, Alaskan glaciers have all gonez away!!"
ReplyDeleteThe warming is accelerating, and the ice is melting faster than ever before. I have only been in Alaska for 35 years, but I have seen glaciers recede over a mile.
DeletePerhaps I'm talking through my hat ... I'm aware of climate chanes around the world. And the poles retreating or melting glaciers. I wonder if this had any effect. If I'm not mistaken a few or several years ago there was a tetonic shift of the Earth's crust causing the poles to shift or causing the Earth's axis to change a bit. How much? I do not recall. I wonder though if it be enough to contribute to the melting off of the glaciers? If it shift, it might be exposing more of the glaciers to warmer areas a little bit, no?
ReplyDeleteIf you believe that global warming is such a threat I suggest that you shut off you computer, sell your car, call the power company and have your lights disconnected. Take the money from the car go buy a tent and move down to the river.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what we label it most of us fail to admit that each of us contribute to the destruction of this planet. So many simple changes will make a huge difference, drive less, own smaller cars or none at all, eat less, live in smaller houses, use less paper, buy less stuff. The list goes on but moist folks just won't admit they are a big part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who thought the after pictures looked better? Looked like a life supporting environment? A healthy ecosupportive system. An improvement for sure. I guess you see what you want to see.
ReplyDeleteImagine what it looks like now in 2015 as these comparisons were made back in 2005. Anyone want to argue that climate change does not exist ?
ReplyDeleteOf course they will continue to deny Climate change, after all, they're morons. They suffer from Cognitive Dissonance Disorder. They refuse to believe Science facts, Even if proven by hundreds of renowned Scientists.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteChanges that are very far from the place filled with snow to the unseen.
Deletesuch a nice blogs.
ReplyDeletethanks
ReplyDeleteEverything has changed because of the global warming created by the whole world. This condition is very alarming.
ReplyDeleteI am very sad to see the state of global warming that is being carried out by humans in this world uncontrollably.
ReplyDeleteJAMIN55 permission to read the contents of this article.
ReplyDeleteThe visual comparison through repeat photography is a truly powerful way to document and understand environmental changes over time. Seeing the transformation of Alaska's glaciers side by side highlights the immense importance of accurate visual records and consistent tracking. Having such reliable references and structured data makes complex observations simple to grasp—much like relying on dedicated step-by-step instructions whenever you need to generar la constancia de situacion fiscal accurately online. Thank you for sharing such an educational and visually compelling article!
ReplyDelete