Melting glaciers are changing landscapes and national borders around the world

15.01.2025/18/30 XNUMX:XNUMX    484


Glaciers, often associated with the vast melting ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, are much more widespread and diverse than commonly thought. With over 200 glaciers outside the polar regions, these icy giants are key players in shaping the Earth’s topography and regulating ecosystems. However, the rapid rate of glacier melt, accelerated by human-induced climate change, is causing profound ecological and geopolitical changes. Researchers Elze Buslaviciuņė and Dr. Laurinas Jukna from the Institute of Earth Sciences at Vilnius University have investigated these transformations and shown how satellite observations reveal the scale of glacier loss and its far-reaching consequences.

Understanding Glaciers – The Basics

In addition to shaping global landscapes and borders, glaciers act as the planet’s natural air conditioners, playing a crucial role in regulating Earth’s climate. These massive ice formations store about 75% of the world’s fresh water and act as giant reservoirs that slowly release water into rivers and lakes, ensuring a steady supply even during dry seasons. They also reflect sunlight back into space, helping to keep our planet cool. Without glaciers, many ecosystems would struggle to survive, and countless communities that rely on glacial meltwater for drinking, agriculture, and hydropower would face severe water shortages.

As glaciers shrink, sea levels rise, which can lead to coastal flooding, erosion, and the displacement of millions of people living in low-lying areas. Melting glaciers also contribute to ocean warming, which can harm marine life and disrupt global weather.

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Melting glaciers of modern Europe

During the last ice age, approximately 20–000 years ago, glaciers from Scandinavia carved much of the European landscape, leaving behind the features that define the geography of the continent today. These glaciers, although they have shrunk, continue to play a vital role in storing freshwater, supporting rivers and lakes, and regulating water flow and temperature. The glaciers of modern Europe are mostly concentrated in regions such as the Alps, Svalbard, Iceland, and the Pyrenees. Unlike their colossal polar counterparts, these smaller glaciers, classified as valley glaciers, ice caps, and hanging glaciers, are located in mountainous terrain. They form when snow accumulation exceeds ablation, eventually compacting into dense glacial ice.

Tracking melting glaciers using space technology

While the glaciers of the Alps have been retreating since the Ice Age, their melting has accelerated significantly in recent decades.




The Glacier Monitoring Program in Switzerland (GLAMOS) shows a sharp decrease in glacier area in the Swiss Alps, where the ice cover has shrunk from 1311 km² (500 sq mi) to2) in 1973 to 961 km² (371 sq mi)2) by 2016 – loss of almost 350 km² (130 mi²)2) in under 50 years. This data is mainly derived from archival aerial photographs and satellite images, such as NASA's Landsat mission, which has been operating since 1972.

Rhone Glacier in Switzerland in August 2001 and August 2024 based on false-color images from Landsat 7 and 8 satellites. Credit: Vilnius University
Rhone Glacier in Switzerland in August 2001 and August 2024 based on false-color images from Landsat 7 and 8 satellites. Credit: Vilnius University

By analyzing false-color satellite images, scientists can observe glacier retreat, glacier height changes, and volume changes. For example, Landsat images of the Rhône Glacier in Switzerland show a dramatic decrease in ice cover between August 2001 and August 2024. In addition, advanced sensors such as IceSAT-2/GLAS and radars aboard the Sentinel-1 satellites are used to detect glacier movement and mass changes. These tools allow researchers to quantify the impact of climate change on glaciers with unprecedented precision.

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Melting glaciers are shifting national borders

The environmental consequences of glacier melt are well documented, but its geopolitical implications are no less significant. In Europe, where many national borders align with watershed lines along high mountain ranges, the movement of glaciers is redrawing maps. One striking example is the borders between Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. When glaciers retreat or peaks collapse, these natural boundaries shift. In 2006, Italy and Austria tentatively signed an agreement on possible border changes. Similarly, the retreat of the Matterhorn glacier in 2024 slightly expanded Switzerland’s territory, moving the mountain’s highest point closer to Italy.

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These shifting boundaries are more than technical nuances. They affect economic and cultural ties, as well as tourism and resource management. The Alps, for example, are home to major rivers such as the Rhone and Rhine, which are crucial to the water supply and agriculture of many countries.

Tourism and local adaptations in the Alps

In Switzerland, villages near glaciers rely heavily on tourism, which is closely linked to these natural wonders. Visitors flock to see these majestic ice formations, which helps boost the local economy. However, as the glaciers shrink, these communities face economic uncertainty. Some regions have resorted to innovative measures to slow the melting of glaciers, such as covering glaciers with reflective geotextiles to reduce heat absorption. While such local efforts are effective in the short term, they are not enough to counteract the broader trend of global warming.

The retreat of Europe's glaciers

The rapid melting of glaciers highlights the urgency of coordinated global efforts to combat climate change. The retreat of Europe’s glaciers affects everything from freshwater resources to national borders and economic stability. As Buslavicute and Jukna from Vilnius University point out, addressing these challenges requires long-term global strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change on vulnerable regions such as the Alps. In light of these monumental changes, space technology offers hope, providing precise data for shaping policies and strategies. However, without immediate and sustained international action, landscapes and borders shaped by glaciers over millennia could become unrecognizable within our lifetimes.


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