North America's most visited glacier could disappear within a generation, says manager
Source: Canadian Press
What's believed to be the most-visited glacier in North America is losing more than five metres of ice every year and is in danger of completely disappearing within a generation, says a Parks Canada manager.
The Athabasca Glacier is the largest of six ice sheets that form part of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park. It is a popular destination for tourists from around the world who climb aboard huge snow coaches to get an up-close look.
While it receives about seven metres of snowfall annually, the glacier has been slowly shrinking for about 150 years.
"It's astonishing," John Wilmshurst, Jasper National Park's resource conservation manager, said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "Every year we drive stakes five metres deep into the glacier in the fall. We have to return and re-drill them in mid-summer because a lot of those stakes on the Athabasca Glacier, the one that a lot of people go visit, will be lying flat on the ice at that time.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/athabasca-glacier-could-disappear-within-generation-says-manager-1.2653641