Alaska's Top-Heavy Glaciers Are Melting, Approaching an Irreversible Tipping Point
The Juneau Icefield, one of North America's largest ice fields, is experiencing accelerated melting that may soon reach an irreversible tipping point. This stark conclusion comes from new research published in Nature Communications, revealing a grim future for this expansive ice field straddling the Alaska-Canada border near Juneau. In the summer of 2022, researchers, including myself, skied across the flat, smooth plateau of the Juneau Icefield under a blazing sun. From this plateau, approximately 40 massive, interconnected glaciers descend toward the sea, surrounded by hundreds of smaller glaciers perched on mountain peaks. This seemingly tranquil scene hides a worrying reality: the ice field is rapidly losing mass, driven by rising temperatures and diminishing snow cover. Our research highlights a troubling climate feedback loop at work on the Juneau Icefield. As temperatures rise, less snow remains through the summer, causing the "end-of-summer snowline" to c...
