• IESP
  • Goals and Mission
  • Steering Committee
  • Members
  • Partners
  • History of IESP
  • Disclaimer
• Events and Projects
• News
• Literature and Links
  • Climate and Energy
    • General background on climate and energy
    • Climate and Energy policy
    • Links to scientific institutions, NGOs, and blogs
    • Geoengineering
    • Educational material
    • Data, figures, and presentations
  • Water and Food
  • Biodiversity
    • Arctic
    • Biodiversity General
    • Glaciers
  • Social Inequality
• Contact
• Members Area

Glaciers

Glaciers are a unique ecosystem for relatively few species adapted to permanent ice. As the species have nowhere to escape to (if they cannot fly), they are at risk of extinction if the current rate of glacial melt continues, and if they are not able to adapt to the changing environmental conditions quickly enough.

Most glaciers on earth are currently retreating, as the amount of added snowfall packed down to ice on top of the glacier is less than the amount of ice melting at the bottom of the glaciers.

In the following, we will collect the most recent information on the state of the different glacier regions of the world.

1. Global
   
2. Himalaya
3. Alps
4. Rocky Mountains

1. Global

Understanding Glacier Melt: UNEP and WGMS report highlights global trends on glaciers and ice caps

Nairobi, 21 January 2010 - The last assessment on glacier melt by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) shows that the average annual melting rate of glaciers doubled after the turn of the millennium....

Link to webpage

Regional glacial changes

2. Himalaya

A report by UNEP from 2009, called "Recent Trends in Melting Glaciers, Tropospheric Temperatures over the Himalayas, and Summer Monsoon Rainfall over India", summarizes the current state of glaciers in the Himalaya.

Link to website

Download the report