This is actually two graphs in one: the top half shows changes in average thickness of mountain glaciers worldwide since 1955. The red bars indicate years in which there was a net increase in glacier thickness; blue bars indicate years where there was a net decrease in glacier thickness. Since the late 1950s, average glacier thickness has been steadily decreasing every year.
The bottom half of the graph shows the cumulative change in average glacier thickness. This part of the graph shows a downward trend, indicating that glaciers are getting cumulatively thinner as the years pass.
Glacial changes are also apparent in these “then and now” photographs:
The bottom half of the graph shows the cumulative change in average glacier thickness. This part of the graph shows a downward trend, indicating that glaciers are getting cumulatively thinner as the years pass.
Glacial changes are also apparent in these “then and now” photographs:
Muir and Riggs Glaciers are located in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Muir Glacier is not visible at all in the 2004 photo; in the years between 1941 and 2004 it retreated more than 20 kilometers. The part of Riggs that is visible in the 2004 photo has retreated approximately 3 kilometers.
McCarty Glacier is located in Kenai Fjords National Park, in Alaska. It retreated approximately 20 kilometers between 1909 and 2004, when these photos were taken. The glacier is not visible at all in the 2004 photo.