Alexandria, VA – Resting in the Karakoram Range between northern Pakistan and western China, the Karakoram glaciers are stumping scientists. Unlike most mountain glaciers, the Karakoram glaciers, which account for 3 percent of the total ice-covered area in the world, excluding Greenland and Antarctica, are not shrinking. On the contrary, a team of French glaciologists has recently confirmed that these glaciers on average have remained stable or may have even grown slightly in recent years.
Although all glacial regions evolve in unique ways, why are these glaciers bucking the global trend? The answer to this question could have major implications for local water supplies and glacial hazards, and could help glaciologists better understand how glaciers react on a regional scale. To find out more, read the story online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/karakoram-glaciers-buck-global-regional-trends.
Read this story and more in the July issue of EARTH Magazine, available online now at http://wwweathermagazine.org. Find out why Louisiana is drowning; get trapped by geology in Iceland; and learn how egg laying may have led to the dinosaurs's decline.
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The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.