Most Sierra Nevada Glaciers In Rapid Retreat - LA Times [View All]

Sierra Glaciers in Rapid Retreat
At the same time, ice slabs at Mt. Shasta have grown. A warming trend is responsible for both developments, researchers say
 


By Usha Lee McFarling, Times Staff Writer


"A new survey of glaciers in the Sierra Nevada shows the thick slabs of ice that have frosted many of the state's high peaks for the last thousand years are dramatically shrinking and, in some cases, disappearing altogether.

Darwin Glacier near Bishop is an estimated 50 to 100 feet thinner today than it was in historical photos from the early 1900s. The Lyell Glacier off the popular John Muir Trail in Yosemite National Park is retreating to the peaks above Tuolumne Meadows from which it springs.

EDIT

'There's been lots of melt,' said Nathan L. Stephenson, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey based at Sequoia National Park. Stephenson led a glacier survey of the Evolution Range in Kings Canyon National Park in August.

At the same time, a few glaciers to the north, atop Mt. Shasta, are growing — an unexpected development, given that the majority of the world's glaciers are in retreat."

EDIT

LA Times - Free Registration Required