Peyto Glacier, 1999-2021.
Scientists have been observing Peyto Glacier in Alberta because the 1960s.
Peyto Glacier in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada is among the many most intently monitored glaciers on this planet. In 1968, the United Nations chosen Peyto as a reference glacier for the International Hydrological Decade analysis initiative. Ever since, groups of researchers have traveled to the Canadian Rockies frequently to conduct area work and calculate modifications within the mass of the glacier, offering the scientific neighborhood with an extended and extra detailed knowledge document for Peyto than most different glaciers.
Peyto Glacier on August 24, 1999.
Peyto Glacier on August 12, 2021.
In most years, Peyto has misplaced way more mass than it gained, based on knowledge revealed by the World Glacier Monitoring Service. Experts say Peyto misplaced about 70 % of its mass throughout the previous 50 years.
The extent of the change is seen in satellite tv for pc imagery acquired by the Landsat program. The natural-color pictures above present the glacier in 1999 and 2021. As the glacier has thinned and narrowed, the terminus has retreated by about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles). A rising lake of meltwater now sits close to the terminus.
Most observers attribute the ice losses to rising summer season temperatures. In 2021, this space confronted a record-breaking summer season warmth wave, whereas wildfires raged west of Banff National Park. According to some scientists, heat-absorbing soot from wildfire smoke has been accumulating on prime and could also be accelerating the speed of ice loss. Winter snowfall accumulation, in distinction, has remained roughly the identical over the a long time.
Some consultants estimate the glacier will lose about 85 % of its present mass by 2100. Meltwater from the glacier helps maintain the North Saskatchewan River, and the degradation and eventual lack of this glacier may have vital impacts on folks in Alberta and Saskatchewan who’re accustomed to utilizing the river’s water.
The retreat shouldn’t be restricted to Peyto Glacier. Notice within the wider model of the photographs (click on the picture for a wider, high-resolution view) how a number of different glaciers within the Wapta Icefield have additionally misplaced vital space since 1999, together with Yoho Glacier.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland.
