Two ice fields in Glacier National Park are less than 25 acres in size

According to an article in the Associated Press, two of the glaciers in Glacier National Park in Montana, are gone. According to Dan Farge, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, warm temperatures are reducing the amount of glaciers in the park. The two ice fields that are now gone, the Miche Wabun and Shepard glaciers have shrunk by 55 percent since the 1960’s, according to Farge. 

The largest glacier in the park is the Harrison Glacier averages 465 acres, which Farge says could survive past 2020 or even 2030. But by that time, the ecosystem would have already been dramatically and irreversibly altered. The two glaciers that have shrunk are less than 25 acres now. Farge warned that the rest of the park’s glaciers may vanish by the end of the decade.

The area of the Rocky Mountains that is inside Glacier National Park was home to 150 glaciers, of which 37 were named. According to Fargo, for moving ice to be qualified as a glacier, it needs to be at least 25 acres to qualify. Scientists are still studying the effects of global warming and expeditions such as the Save The Poles Expedition may shed some light on what we can expect.