Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Glacier going, going, almost gone…

summit-kilimanjaro300
The volcanic crater at the summit of Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, as it has not been seen before in 11,000 years. The snow and glaciers that have crowned it in all that time are melting and by 2020 are likely to have disappeared completely.

This image by Alex Majoli appears in a new book NORTHSOUTHEASTWESTa 360 degree view of climate change being sold for the benefit of The Climate Group, a leadership coalition of organizations committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

For a picture showing the shrinkage of the glacial coverage of the mountain over time, check out this.

I thought it might be fun to display some pictures of what those sublimating glaciers look like when you stand next to them near 19,000 feet above sea level. The glaciers lie around a huge crater plateau; the actual summit is on the edge of the rim. Below is kind of the ant's eye view, in contrast to the giant's view above.

12:26 - glacier end from above! copy
Looking down on a scrap of glacier

12:26 - reusch crater copy
Reusch Crater up close; it still smells of sulfur

12:27 - ice field, from summit, surreal! copy
One of the remaining vast glacial walls as seen from the actual summit, 600 feet above the plain where the crater lies.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

uh.. hi. i just want to know what is happening to glaciers and why they are so important?