Hello Friends,

What is a glaciers? Why do we consider them to be indicators of global warming? These are the questions I wish to give the answers to in this first article about glaciers. A glacier is a large body of dense ice that forms over time periods of hundreds to thousands of years. It forms as a result of accumulation of snowfall and ice over long periods of time and eventually uppermost layers compressing the lower layers into a single, solid mass called a glacier. Glaciers exist mostly at northern locations in Canada, Alaska, and Greenland are where the most famous glaciers can be found. Glaciers, however, are never totally stable. Glacier mass depends greatly upon the climate conditions Therefore, they are subjected to seasonal changes. However, if we start to notice the mass of a glacier getting smaller over a period of 2 or more years we can conclude that the climate conditions have become warmer and are constantly melting the glacial ice. This is why glaciers are such a good indicator of climate conditions. Their mass can reflect the temperature and precipitation conditions in the region. However, when almost all of the world?s glaciers start to shrink in size and continue to do so for more than a decade then it is cause for alarm. They may serve as the ultimate proof and motivator to solve global warming. 87% of worlds freshwater is in glaciers and polar ice caps. If this is melted we will lose a vital source of freshwater as well as significantly raise water levels. In the next article I will show some startling examples of glacier retreat in Canada and what it could mean for the future?

Regards,

Nitish Bhatt