Why care about the ice?

[Ladywriter 7,783]

About three-quarters of the Earth’s fresh water is held in ice sheets and mountain glaciers, so recognizing glacial changes is crucial to monitoring water supplies. “Glaciers serve as a natural regulator of regional water supplies,” said Kargel. During periods of warm weather and intense sunlight, such as during dry seasons and droughts, glaciers melt vigorously and provide a water source for the surrounding ecosystems and communities. Conversely, during cold, rainy seasons, glaciers produce less meltwater. “Glacier changes, especially recent melting, can affect agriculture, drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power, transportation, tourism, coastlines, and ecological habitats,” he added.

In areas with very large glaciers, increased melting could result in temporary increases in meltwater available for human use. But as the world’s glaciers continue to melt and shrink, over time there will be less water to sustain the communities that have come to depend on that meltwater.

Excessive glacial melt can also result in increased hazards or disasters for communities living near glaciers. “Glaciers don’t always behave nicely. They’re a type of natural reservoir with a temper, in some cases. Some glaciers have a nasty habit of storing up large amounts of water and then releasing it suddenly in a massive melt or calving episode, which may involve floods, landslides, or avalanches,” said Kargel.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/GLIMS/

In 2002 an Antarctic ice shelf that was 200 metres thick and had a surface area of 3,250 square kilometres has broken apart in less than a month.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1880566.stm

The animation at the bottom, put the top of your cursor on the edge of Larsen B in Jan and just let the thing cycle through

Not bad enough?

The glaciers of Glacier National Park, like glaciers all over the world, are shrinking. Slowly, inch by inch, warming temperatures are melting them away. On any given day, or any given year, the changes are not dramatic. But over decades, the impact rising temperatures have had upon the park is truly awesome. If nothing is done to curb global warming, by the year 2030 Park scientists predict there may not be a single glacier left in Glacier National Park.

Some of the Park's best known glaciers have already shrunk by more than half. The number of glaciers in the park has dropped from an estimated 150 in 1850 to approximately 35 today. Since 1968, as the warming trend has worsened, and the human influence on it been more sharply defined, many of the smaller glaciers have disappeared entirely.

http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/articles/glacier.asp

Its not just here or in the artic

The Pasterze, Austria's longest glacier, was about 2 kilometers longer in the 19th C. but is now completely out of sight from this overlook on the Grossglockner High Road. The Margaritzen-Strausee, a dammed artificial lake, now is in the place where the glacier terminus was in 1875. Measurements of the Pasterze began in 1889 and it has been pulling back the entire time, in approximate step with regional temperatures that have been increasing. The glacier is now about eight Km long and loses about 15 meters per year. However in 2003 the Pasterze decreased 30 meters in length and 6.5 meters in thickness. 1875 image, photographer unknown, is courtesy H. Slupetzky, from the University of Salzburg archives. Gary Braasch photo made Aug 14, 2004

http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/glaciers.html

* Runoff from melting glaciers may

trigger earthquakes(July, 2006)

[Torreyjs 64]

my only question is how can fresh water run out? (or maybe i misread)

i mean i assumed the water cycle renewed our fresh water supplies

[Ladywriter 7,783]

The first article explaines it like so In Kazakhstan, for example, glaciers feed many of the rivers used for agricultural irrigation, and the recent glacial retreat in that region is now compromising the area’s water supply. “It’s kind of like a bank account—when you’ve withdrawn all the water, there isn’t any more,” said Kargel.

Basically it couldn't rain enough to replace the fresh water lost if a glacier is wiped out. Fresh water ends up in 2 places, it sinks into the water table below the surface or it flows into the sea and takes on the salinity of salt water and is no longer fresh.

China is going to be in serious trouble by 2030.

Chinese experts warn that by 2030 when China's population reaches 1.6 billion, per capita water resources will drop to 1,760 cubic meters -- perilously close to 1,700 cu m, the internationally recognized benchmark for water shortages. http://www.china.org.cn/english/SO-e/33957.htm

a little closer to home http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar%5Cglobalwarming.nsf/content/ImpactsMountainsWesternMountains.html