"We've never seen it": Huge Canadian glaciers shrink quickly | News from the world

Canadian scientists have warned that Yukon's huge glaciers are shrinking even faster than we would expect with global warming – and bringing dramatic changes to the region.

After a series of recent reports chronicling the disappearance of ice fields, researchers hope that greater awareness will help the public better understand the rapid pace of climate change.

The warming rate in the north is double that of the global average temperature rise, concluded the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in its annual report on the Arctic, who called warming "unprecedented".

"The region is one of the hotspots of global warming, a reality we've been realizing for 15 years," said David Hik of Simon Fraser University. "The magnitude of the changes is dramatic."

In their recent state of the mountains According to a report released earlier this summer, the Canadian Alpine Club has revealed that the St. Elias Mountains – which cover British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska – are losing ice faster than the rest of the country.

Previous research had revealed that between 1957 and 2007, the coverage area had lost 22% of its ice cover, enough to increase the global seal level by 1.1 millimeters.

"When I went to St Elias for the first time, it was like a trip back in time," said Hik, co-leader of the report. "What we see now is like a trip back in time in the future. Because massive glaciers retreat, they cause a complete reorganization of the environment. "

The accelerating melting of the glacier has resulted in significant changes to lower elevation water sources.

In 2016, glacier meltwater radically moved away from the Slims River, cutting off the essential water supply for Lake Kluane, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since the diversion, the lake's water level has dropped more than 6.6 feet – blocking thousands of fish from their spawning rivers.

Dust storms began to form along some sections of the busy Alaska Highway – sometimes interrupting traffic because of the bottom of a dry river covered with glacial silt. The events at Lake Kluane are a precursor to what can be expected elsewhere, Hik said.

The dramatic changes in the landscape occur when the Arctic region was expected to experience a much faster and potentially devastating warming in the years to come.

"We are seeing a 20% difference in glacier coverage in Kluane National Park and Reserve and in the rest of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. [over a 60-year period]CBC / Radio-Canada Diane Wilson, Manager of the Parks Canada Field Unit, told CBC / Radio-Canada. "We have never seen that. It's out of the normal range.

Researchers at St Elias have found that warming is intensifying at higher altitudes, a phenomenon that they are not able to explain.

"These types of events are not isolated from the ice events of St Elias," said Zac Robinson, co-author of the report and a professor at the University of Alberta. "We are about to lose 80% of the ice cover in the Rockies over the next 50 years."

Earlier this year, the Auditor General of Canada found that none of the three northern territories were adequately prepared for the effects of climate change.

But Robinson and Hik cautioned against a too pessimistic view of the rapidly changing ecosystem.

"Never before in human history have mountains been revered as they are today. Mountains are landscapes that people love – and with an awareness, real change can be affected, "said Robinson.

"When we have an early warning opportunity, we might as well enjoy it," said Hik.