Alexandria, VA – Resting in the Karakoram Range between northern Pakistan and western China, the Karakoram glaciers are stumping climate scientists and Associated Press journalists declaring a localized heat wave is proof of global warming.
Unlike many mountain glaciers, the Karakoram glaciers, which account for 3 percent of the total ice-covered area in the world outside Greenland and Antarctica, are not shrinking.
On the contrary, a team of French glaciologists has recently confirmed that these glaciers on average have remained stable and may have even grown slightly in recent years.
How could they not know if the glaciers have grown when some are convinced they have shrunk? Growing evidence of the Look-Elsewhere effect in climate science should be considered. And measurements are not very accurate.
Using spaceborne data to study a 5,615-square-kilometer section of the Karakoram Range of northern Pakistan and western China, the researchers found an increase in ice thickness of 0.11 (plus or minus 0.22) meters of water equivalent (w.e.) per year between 1999 and 2008.
Although all glacial regions evolve in unique ways, why are these glaciers bucking the majority? The answer to this question could have major implications for local water supplies and glacial hazards, and could help glaciologists better understand how glaciers react on a regional scale.
Estimating the past and future behavior of glaciers for which there is no direct evidence available, as well as their impact on sea-level change, is based on extrapolations of other glaciers and must be done carefully.
Article: Karakoram glaciers buck global, regional trends - Eartmagazine.org