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Not by Fire but by Ice THE NEXT ICE AGE - NOW! |
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Discover What Killed the Dinosaurs . . . and Why it Could Soon Kill Us |
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Alaska’s Hubbard Glacier still advancing, but at a slower pace By Climatologist Cliff Harris __________________ |
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“For much of this past spring, Skip told us that the glacier was advancing at the rather astounding rate of two meters (7 feet) per day. “In Skip’s June 16th e-mail to me, he reported some late spring changes to the advancing Hubbard Glacier. Here (are excerpts from) his report: "Russell Fjord is the depository for over seventy freshwater streams which feed a current that gradually intensifies as the gap between the glacier and Gilbert Point narrows. The fast current erodes the glacier’s protective moraine in Disenchantment Bay causing it to calve and pull back. “However, while the glacier retreats from Disenchantment Bay, it appears from recent aerial photos to be continuing its advance into the fjord and should eventually (maybe as early as next year, but almost certainly within the next thirty or forty years) wrap itself around Gilbert Point and turn the fjord into a glacier formed lake. “If you are monitoring the Corp’s website, you may notice some erratic data as large calving ice flows traverse the gap and interrupt the laser. Once the fjord is dammed, those seventy streams mentioned earlier will cause its level to rise. When it has risen an additional 132 feet, it will eventually overtop the dam and form a new thirty-three thousand cubic feet per minute river that will join seven thousand cubic feet per minute of existing Situk River and braid its way to the Gulf of Alaska. “As spectacular and exciting as that event will be to witness, it will have a significant negative economic impact on our borough as it disrupts the sensitive spawning cycles for five varieties of Pacific Salmon that spawn there as well as the world class Steelhead Trout run the Situk supports.” See entire article: |
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