Alaska's Shrinking Glaciers

Monitoring Glaciers in a Warming Climate

Alaska is one of the most heavily glaciated areas in the world outside of the polar regions. Approximately 23,000 square miles of the state are covered in glaciers—an area nearly the size of West Virginia. Glaciers have shaped much of Alaska’s landscape and continue to influence its lands, waters, and ecosystems. Because of their importance, National Park Service scientists measure glacier change. They have found that glaciers are shrinking in area and volume across the state.

The effects of climate change are felt more in high-latitude regions like Alaska than in most other regions of the world. Over a 50-year interval—between the 1950s and early 2000s—glaciers within Alaska national parks shrank by 8%. From 1985 to 2020, glacier-covered area in Alaska decreased by 13%, indicating that the rate of glacier loss accelerated in recent decades. As our climate continues to warm, glacial retreat will likely accelerate, profoundly impacting the landscape of Alaska and our parks for generations to come.

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