8 | New Scientist | 21 September 2019“IT’S very fast. We are confronted
with the reality of the retreat,” says
glaciologist Luc Moreau about the
rapidly vanishing ice at France’s
biggest glacier. We are looking at
the unmistakeable fingerprint
of climate change as told by the
historical photos hanging in a
hotel overlooking the Mer de
Glace, the “sea of ice” near the
Alps’ highest summit, Mont Blanc.
About a century ago, women
with boaters and parasols sat
near the Montenvers train station
above the glacier, which then
was almost level with a tongue
of jagged ice snaking into thedistance. Today, visitors are
greeted by a slightly sad and
largely grey glacier that is about
100 metres lower.
From the station, a short trip
by cable car takes me to the height
where, in 1988, a visitor could
descend down three steps to reach
the glacier. There are 580 steps
down to the glacier now. Of these,
80 were added this year – a stark
illustration of the accelerating
effects of global warming.
The fate of the world’s glaciers
will be laid bare by the UN climate
science panel on 25 September,
just days after research is
expected to confirm that the
extent of Arctic sea ice this
summer reached the second
lowest level ever recorded.
There are some 170,000 glaciers
worldwide covering an area of
about 730,000 square kilometres.
Monitoring of 500 glaciers
globally shows they are retreatingThe AlpsSpecial report Ice loss
Vanishing glaciers
As the UN prepares its report on the fate of the world’s ice,
Adam Vaughan visits a dramatically changing landscapeFrance’s two biggest glaciers are
a short journey from the popular
Chamonix resortMont BlancChamonixMontenversArgentière
Argentière
glacierFRANCE Mer de GlaceSWITZERLANDITALYThe Mer de Glace glacier.
Aerial shots from 1909
and 2019 (below) reveal
how much ice has been lostLEFT: WALTER MITTELHOLZER, ETH-BIBLIOTHEK ZÜRICH; RIGHT: KIERAN BAXTER, UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEEMountain
guide Andy
Perkins says
warming is
causing
havocK ATIE MOORE FOR NEW SCIENTISTK ATIE MOORE FOR NEW SCIENTIST