Journal of the North Atlantic & Arctic interviews Mayewski about glacial melt
Paul Mayewski discussed “Why Our Glaciers are Melting — The Simple Truth” in the May issue of the Journal of the North Atlantic & Arctic. The director of the University of Maine Climate Change Institute said while “glaciers have always fluctuated in size and shape ever since glaciers existed on Earth … [w]hat is different today is that greenhouse gases are rising higher and faster than anything any time over at least the last 800,000 years and likely much longer. This greenhouse gas change is solely due to human activity: CO2 rise due to the burning of fossil fuels, ozone depletion due to ozone-killing substances emitted by humans, and methane due to agricultural activities and now permafrost melting.” Mayewski, who has led nearly 60 expeditions in more than four decades, said, “Realistically for glacier melt to slow or stop, there is only one way to make that happen and that would be to return temperatures to pre-massive melt times, which means several decades ago.” He encouraged readers — including the public, journalists and scientists — interested in learning more to visit the CCI’s Climate Reanalyzer site.