According to PSU geography and geology professor Andrew Fountain,
the melting of alpine glaciers in particular is considerably
affecting the planet's sea levels. "These guys are melting like
crazy," says Fountain, whose research team studies glaciers
throughout the American West. "Right now, they're making the most
significant contribution to sea-level change, other than thermal
expansion of the seawater."
Although at present the planet is growing warmer, studies conducted
in
Antarctica by Fountain's team have found that glaciers at the
bottom of the world are neither growing nor shrinking. "They are in
wonderful equilibrium," Fountain says. "[But they're] kind of the
exception to the rule."
Those in Antarctica aside, the vast majority of the world's tens of
thousands of glaciers are undeniably receding. Here in the United
States, glacial melting is an accepted fact. A new study from the
National Climatic Data Center indicates that 2006 was the nation's
warmest year in history. Glacier
National Park in
Montana has only
27 glaciers remaining out of approximately 150; it's estimated that
by the middle of this century, nearly all the park's glaciers will
be gone. Some studies are even predicting that by 2100, ski season
in the
United States could run only from
Christmas to President's
Day, with that being the best-case scenario.
Which is why I'm here at White River. It's easy enough to view a
glacier from a plane, but some part of me wants to see one up
close, within the confines of the Lower 48. I want to feel the cold
under my boots and descend down into the belly of an ice mass
hundreds of years old - before it disappears into a photo
archive.
BY THE TIME my glacier-expedition posse
meets, at 4:30 a.m., the other groups have already departed for the
summit. My guide, Jon Bates, another TMG employee, double-checks my
gear and hands me a helmet lamp.