How does the Chacaltaya glacier in Bolivia completely vanish if the world is cooling?

I love these people who say "some glaciers are growing and others are melting". Sure, it's true, but about 90% are retreating.

http://climateprogress.org/2009/01/30/world%E2%80%...

They're retreating because the planet is warming. It's really not a difficult concept!

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/Fig.A2.lr...

Peter,

Reading between the lines, it appears what you’re really saying is that claims that the world has been cooling recently are not true. Would that be correct?

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s actually an undeniable fact. According to all four of the major global temperature datasets the trend for the last 8.5 years has been one of cooling. (See my answer to Dana’s question here: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=As... Even Dana, one of the most notorious Global Warming Lairs on Y!A had to admit that the data showed it has been cooling and felt obliged to give me Best Answer for it. Which I must admit was a pleasant surprise for me.)

Also, it’s important to remember that the planet is on a warming trend anyway since the nadir of the Little Ice Age. While it’s reasonable to assume that the extra CO2 that mankind has pumped into the atmosphere may have accelerated that warming by some (highly debatable) amount, the warming would be happening anyway. People seem to have the impression that, had we only avoided adding any CO2 to the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, then the warming wouldn’t be happening at all. This simply isn’t true. In those circumstances, we may have warmed slightly less, but we’d still be on a warming trend.

So, the glacier that you’ve mentioned (and others) would very probably have melted anyway, without the influence of mankind’s CO2 production. It may have taken a few years longer, but it was still destined to happen.

People need to open their eyes and realise this sort of thing, and stop allowing themselves to be brainwashed by the Global Warming Lairs.

As ever with Global Warming - don’t believe the hype.

First off, I would serious doubt the 18,000 year life of the glacier since the last ice age ended 12,000 years ago and it lasted for longer than 6,000 years. This tells me that they made up the age of the glacier. Also, a lot of the tropical glaciers have been melting faster not because of temperature change but by amount of rain fall to replace the yearly melt. That is what is happening with Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa.

Also, since we have exited a mini ice age only 150 years ago, and we don't have any good records of the temperatures before the mid 1800's we don't know for sure what the global average temperature was during either the Medieval Warming period or the Roman Warming period. Than again most AGW believers say that all previous warm ups and cool downs were only regional but this time it's global.

Love once again the data from Dana who shows a link to a graph that doesn't tell you what the base line is and only shows change in temperature from some unknown point to make his point. That is why people like me are so skeptical, these "scientists" are blatantly manipulating data to "proof" their version. These same scientists don't do any research into trying to disproof their theories. Good scientific research first tries to proof their theories than looks for holes in it. Instead, the AGW crowd defends their data by disregarding any opposing view as unfounded or an out right lie.

Chacaltaya Glacier

Some glaciers grow and some glaciers don't.

For Dana.....

Your source is flawed.... please try to do a better job of vetting your sources.

"After years of decline, glaciers in Norway are again growing, reports the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). The actual magnitude of the growth, which appears to have begun over the last two years, has not yet been quantified, says NVE Senior Engineer Hallgeir Elvehøy.

The flow rate of many glaciers has also declined. Glacier flow ultimately acts to reduce accumulation, as the ice moves to lower, warmer elevations.

The original trend had been fairly rapid decline since the year 2000.

The developments were originally reported by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).

DailyTech has previously reported on the growth in Alaskan glaciers, reversing a 250-year trend of loss. Some glaciers in Canada, California, and New Zealand are also growing, as the result of both colder temperatures and increased snowfall.

Ed Josberger, a glaciologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, says the growth is "a bit of an anomaly", but not to be unexpected.

Despite the recent growth, most glaciers in the nation are still smaller than they were in 1982. However, Elvehøy says that the glaciers were even smaller during the 'Medieval Warm Period' of the Viking Era, prior to around the year 1350.

Not all Norwegian glaciers appear to be affected, most notably those in the Jotenheimen region of Southern Norway."

http://www.dailytech.com/Glaciers+in+Norway+Growin...

It seems that the problem is the same as in Africa, less snow to make up for the melt loss which is about the same as before. So the problem is altered ocean currents that no longer bring storms to snow on the glacier.

Glaciers are not fixed objects, they flow like water but at a much slower rate whether it is a small mountain glacier or Antarctica the flow rate from source to edge can vary from decades to centuries to 100s of thousands of years in the case of Antarctic glaciers.

Glaciers constantly lose mass at the edges usually were the edge reaches warmer conditions or the sea, this mass is replaced by precipitation (snow).

While a few mountain glaciers are growing probably due to increased precipitation compensating for the small rise in global temperature, most of the worlds mountain glaciers are retreating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retreat_of_glaciers_s...

As are the larger glaciers of Alaska

http://www.usgs.gov/global_change/glaciers/repeat_...

The theory that the world has been cooling is complete fiction

http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/info/warming/

2008 was down a little but that is hardly a ten or even 5 year pattern, the temp data for 2009 show that (so far) it is well above 2008 and will, if the trend continues to years end it be in the top 5-6 years for temp.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2009/...

jagsfan: "Why do alarmists only point to the glaciers that are getting smaller? There's just as many getting larger."

This speaks for itself yellow-red is shrinking, blue is growing, the number in the majority is pretty plain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Glacier_Mass_Bal...

Ice will melt if it's warm enough for it to melt. It doesn't have to continue to warm once it's warm enough for the ice to melt. If I leave a block of ice on the sidewalk in 85 degree heat, it will melt. It will continue to melt tomorrow even if the temperature drops to 75.

The Alps had lower ice cover during the MWP and were almost ice free 2000 years ago.

EDIT - and some glaciers are growing. The explanation that "just because it's called global warming doesn't mean it's warmer everywhere" applies to past periods just like it applies to the present.

The whole earth is constantly cooling and warming. Why are there other glaciers if the world is warming? Wouldn't they all melt? Or is global warming finicky about where it decides it wants to warm up.

It's warmed before. What makes you think this is different?

Below is a link to another shrinking glacier in Europe.

As it retreats, human artifacts are exposed.

It's really not a difficult concept!

Is it above freezing there? Yes, well then guess what ICE MELTS WHEN THE TEMP IS ABOVE FREEZING!

You have NO common sense whatsoever! Example temperatures cools from average of 60F to average of 50F (obvious cooling trend!) and still hot enough for ice to melt. Do you get it?

So since you know everything: 1) why ask a question? 2) show some proof to back up your claims!