4 Effect of Global Warming and Climate Change
on Glaciers
4.1 Glacier Protection
Briefly speaking, glacier is an extended mass of ice formed from snow falling and
accumulating over the years and moving very slowly, either descending from high
mountains, as in valley glaciers, or moving outward from centers of accumulation,
as in continental glaciers. According to the USGS (US Geological Survey), a glacier
is a large, perennial accumulation of crystalline ice, snow, rock, sediment, and often
liquid water that originates on land and moves down slope under the influence of its
own weight and gravity. Typically, glaciers exist and may even form in areas where:
Table 1.1 Global per capita carbon emission estimates versus years [15]
Per capita carbon emission
Year metric ton/capita
0.65
1950
0.85
1960
1.10
1970
1.14
1975
1.19
1980
1.11
1985
1.16
1990
1.13
1995
1.11
2000
1.23
2005
1.30
2010
Table 1.2 Increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere [4]
Carbon dioxide
Year concentration, ppm
316
1960
318
1965
324
1970
330
1975
335
1980
345
1985
350
1990
355
1995
364
2000
375
2005
385
2010
400
2015
1 Effect of Global Warming and Climate Change on Glaciers and Salmons
11