Glaciers on a remote Australian sub-Antarctic island are shrinking rapidly, losing almost a quarter of their size in just 70 years, with researchers fearing glaciers on a neighbouring peninsula may have already disappeared.<\/p>\n
Analysis of aerial photographs and maps going back to 1947 were combined with satellite data to track melting on 29 glaciers on the uninhabited wilderness of Heard Island, 4,100km south-west of Perth and 1,500km north of Antarctica<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scientists said global heating was the most likely cause of the dramatic ice losses. Between 1947 and 2019, the island had warmed by 0.7C, while the area covered by glacial ice fell from 289 sq km to 225 sq km.<\/p>\n The most dramatic changes were recorded on the island\u2019s east, in particular on Stephenson glacier, which has retreated almost 6km since 1947. In the last 20 years, the glacier retreated on average 178 metres a year, the research, published last week in the scientific journal the Cryosphere<\/a>, found.<\/p>\n \u201cGlaciers are extremely sensitive to small changes in temperature. As the air warms the ice surface gets closer to melting point,\u201d said Prof Andrew Mackintosh, one of the paper\u2019s authors and chief investigator at Monash University\u2019s Securing Antarctica\u2019s Environmental Future (SAEF).<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got no doubt the increase in temperature is primarily responsible for driving the glacier retreat. This shows that no place is free from the influence of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018It is an absolutely mind-blowing place \u2026 with king penguins all around.\u2019 Photograph: Matt Curnock\/Australian Antarctic Division\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA member of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition in 1948 surrounded by penguins. Photograph: Bettmann\/Getty Images<\/p>\n On the neighbouring Laurens peninsula, where there are 11 small glaciers, the losses were even more dramatic. The 10.5 sq km of glacier ice that was there in 1947 was at just 2.2 sq km in 2019, the final year of data for the research.<\/p>\n \u201cOne or two of those glaciers may have already disappeared now,\u201d said Dr Levan Tielidze, the paper\u2019s lead author and research fellow at SAEF.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are small glaciers, but it\u2019s a sign of what will happen in the future to the larger glaciers on Heard. These findings are a bellwether of change for our global climate system.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton\u2019s Clear Air column as a free newsletter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n SAEF is now using climate models to understand what could happen to the island\u2019s glaciers in the future under different levels of greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n Mackintosh said: \u201cAlthough this mapping shows stark glacier retreat and further ice loss is unavoidable, whether we retain glaciers or lose most of them entirely is up to humans and the greenhouse gas emission pathway we follow.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might also mean the difference between a future where biodiversity is devastated, or one where key parts are secured.\u201d<\/p>\n Pristine but vulnerable<\/p>\n Heard Island made headlines earlier this year<\/a> when Donald Trump listed it as being subject to a 10% trade tariff, despite nobody actually living there.<\/p>\n The pristine world heritage-listed island includes Australia\u2019s only active volcano, Big Ben, and is a magnet for seabirds such as penguins, petrels and albatross, as well as elephant seals and unique slow-growing cushion plants.<\/p>\n Dr Justine Shaw, an associate professor at SAEF with the Queensland University of Technology, visited the island in 2003.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Clear Air Australia<\/p>\n Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n