On Friday July 17th, we visited Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Forrest. It was an easy 1.3 mile round trip hike on a pretty flat trail to the glacier.
On Sunday, we're going to take an 8 mile hike that ascends 3000 feet to the Harding Icefield itself. The Harding Icefield feeds 38 or so glaciers around the Kenai region and is a vast area of snow and ice that receives approximately 100 feet of snow every year. The snow then compacts and slides down these rock pathways turning as ice flows. The glacier is constantly being renewed by new snow and melting as the glaciers get lower in elevation.
But the annual snow fall and ice flow is not keeping up with the warms at the bottom of the glaciers as the glaciers have been shrinking rapidly.
If the climate keeps warming as it is today these glaciers will continue to recede.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center keeps statistics about glaciers.
https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/questions/located.html
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| Exit Glacier is fed from the Harding Icefield |
But the annual snow fall and ice flow is not keeping up with the warms at the bottom of the glaciers as the glaciers have been shrinking rapidly.
If the climate keeps warming as it is today these glaciers will continue to recede.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center keeps statistics about glaciers.
https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/questions/located.html
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