Melting of Southern European Glacier is Faster Than in any Previous Warm Phase During the Last 2000 Years

The Cryosphere, March 3

The response of glaciers in southern European mountain ranges, such as the Pyrenees, to previous warm periods in the Holocene (an epoch covering the previous 12,000 years) has not been well documented. This study concludes that the Monte Perdido Glacier, located in the Central Pyrenees of northeastern Spain, lost significant mass but never fully melted during the abnormally warm periods in Roman and Medieval eras. However, the current melt rate of this glacier is more rapid than that observed then, suggesting that present-day warming in the Pyrenees is faster and more intense than in any previous warm phase of the last 2000 years. Under current warming, authors anticipate the disappearance of this glacier, as well as other glaciers in the Pyrenees and in southern Europe, over the next few decades.

https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/1157/2021/

Compiled by Amy Imdieke.