World Day For Glaciers March 21 2025

On By mspeltoIn Glacier Observations

March 21, 2025, the “World Day for Glaciers”, is part of the UN International Year for Glaciers’ Preservation.” Rapid and accelerating glacier loss this century led to this day. In 2023 and 2024 for the first time all 58-reporting Global Reference glaciers had a negative mass balance. Acceleration of glacier’s disappearing led to creation of an extinct glacier data layer in GLIMS global glacier inventory. 

To preserve a glacier, we have to understand how a glacier is formed. Easton Glacier, Mount Baker is our sample location, we’ve monitored this Global Reference for four decades. Easton still has an accumulation zone and may survive current climate at a reduced size. We’ve observed 28 North Cascade glaciers disappear this century, including Ice Worm Glacier after visiting every year for 40 years, lost in 2023. 

Recipe: Creating a North Cascade Glacier 

  • Location with cold temperatures 7+months/year.  
  • Substantial snowfall 10 m on slope of 10-30O. 
  • Let stand 2-4 decades, with melting, refreezing and burial creating dense ice, until thickness exceeds 20 m and a volume over 500,000 m3. 
  • Movement will commence and crevasses develop. 

Snowmaking  

  • Easton Glacier area is 2.5 km2 and is losing 1.5 m water equivalent thickness annually, this is 3.75 million m3 of water equivalent snow. 
  • Largest snow making operation is Killington, VT, daily maximum capacity of 35,000 m3 of water converted to snow. 
  • At max-capacity the 2000+ snow guns require 108 days to produce 3.75 million m3. 
  • Address environmental laws and logistics of deployment and maintenance for water piping, snow gun placement and electricity in harsh environment of avalanches and crevasses. 

Geotextile: 

  • Cover 1.5 million m2 (60%) of Easton Glacier with geotextiles installed each summer and removed in winter. 
  • Summer recreation would no longer viable.  
  • The short-lived geotextiles cost ~$2 m2.  
  • Anchoring and connecting on a crevassed glacier very difficult,  

Renewables: 

  • When I began in 1984 solar and wind power were not significant electricity sources. 
  • Global Solar Photovoltaic energy production capacity rose from 4 GW in 2004 to 1600 GW in 2023. 
  • Global Wind power capacity rose from 48 GW in 2004 to 1070 GW in 2023. 
  • With 500 MW added in 2023 this is a preservative that can work in concert with power grid improvement.