Alaska’s Mendenhall glacier is about 20 minutes by car from Juneau, the state capital. It is one of the area’s most popular sites for tourists. But climate change has caused the ice to melt and the glacier to retreat. That means it is losing more snow and ice than it gains. Researchers from the University of Alaska, Southeast say the Mendenhall glacier retreated about 800 meters between 2007 and 2021. Mendenhall pours down from rocky land between mountains and into a lake filled with icebergs. Special signs mark the glacier’s retreat, showing where the ice once stood. Experts estimate that by 2050, people will not be able to see the Mendenhall glacier from the visitor center that was built for it. That is already the case at some other glacier visitor centers in Alaska.
