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7.13: Climate Change and Glacial Loss

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    There has been a lot of conversations and research in the scientific community about the dramatic amount of glacial melt that has been occurring around the planet as of late. Glaciers flow incredibly slowly down slope under the influence of gravity. But satellite imagery and on the ground data have shown that these glaciers are melting back and receding at an incredible rate. Because glaciers take so long to form and flow, they are excellent indicators of the temperature of the planet. As the planet has continued to warm over the last 100 years, glaciers from all around the world are retreating back. This is important to humanity because glaciers make up a large portion of the usable fresh water on the planet. As these glaciers melt away, so do huge amounts of fresh drinking water, just at a time when the human population continues to grow at an exponential rate.

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    • National Geographic Live! - Erin Pettit: Glaciers on the Run. Authored by: National Geographic . Located at: https://youtu.be/1hWp5Qaapi4. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube License
    • Time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss - James Balog. Authored by: TED-Ed. Located at: https://youtu.be/yTDdY1UG7ug. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube License

    7.13: Climate Change and Glacial Loss is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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