DENVER — Colorado’s best-known glaciers lost ice at double their recent pace this year after the state’s worst snowpack on record was followed by record summer heat, according to research reported by The Associated Press via KTAR News.
Colorado State University glaciologist Dan McGrath measured the Andrews Glacier thinning by more than 12 feet in a single year, the Arapaho Glacier by nearly 10 feet and the Isabelle Glacier by about 6.5 feet. In the decade before the past five years, thinning was a foot or less annually.
St. Mary’s Glacier, a perennial snowfield popular with hikers and skiers, disappeared completely in September. “What we’re witnessing is the loss of that part of Colorado’s identity,” McGrath said, adding that similar patterns are showing up across the western U.S., the Alps and other ranges.
The findings matter for Arizona as well: Rocky Mountain snowpack is the main source of the Colorado River, which feeds Lake Powell and Lake Mead and supplies a large share of the state’s water.
Sources: Associated Press via KTAR News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Jmpenzone at English Wikipedia / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
