Glaciers in Western Canada appear to be in danger, as a group of researchers believe a majority will disappear by 2100.
According to CBC News, authors of a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience determined British Columbia and Alberta will lose up to 80 percent of their glaciers mass by the year 2100. For their projection they compared the region's glacier mass to what it was in 2005.
"Most of our ice holdouts at the end of the century will be in the northwest corner of the province," study lead author Garry Clarke, a professor emeritus of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences at the University of British Columbia, said in a press release. "Soon our mountains could look like those in Colorado or California and you don't see much ice in those landscapes."
The researchers said their projections are highly troubling for the region's ecosystems, power supplies and water quality. Massive glacier loss should also affect energy generated through the region's hydroelectric systems.
"These glaciers act as a thermostat for freshwater ecosystems," Clarke said. "Once the glaciers are gone, the streams will be a lot warmer and this will hugely change fresh water habitat. We could see some unpleasant surprises in terms of salmon productivity."
Clarke and his team pointed to human-influenced climate change, as pointed out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He said he hopes his study can get people outside the scientific community to actively combat practices harmful to the environment.
"If you look and say, 'Here's a glacier that you ski on right now and here's what it will look like 20, 30, 50 years in the future' and they can see the consequences, I think it's a stronger message," Clarke told CBC News. "It works a little bit more viscerally for people that are not scientists."
