Adenture with a Purpose: Kilimanjaro 2015 #Trek4Hunger
The Ice Fields on Mt Kilimanjaro!!
These photos were taken during our 2009 Summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in October Month.
I cannot begin to explain the dramatic contrasts of the lunar like landscape with the complete contrast of blocks of ice. It is breathtaking, a once in a life time sight. I promised myself while I stood there in complete awe of this dramatic landscape and promised I would bring my children here to see glaciers in Africa!!
How do these incredible huge ice fields develope?
An ice cap is a glacier, a thick layer of ice and snow, that covers fewer than 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 square miles). Glacial ice covering more than 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 square miles) is called an ice sheet.
An interconnected series of ice caps and glaciers is called an ice field. Ice caps and ice fields are often punctuated by nunataks. Nunataks are areas where just the summits of mountains penetrate the ice.
Ice caps form like other glaciers. Snow accumulates year after year, then melts. The slightly melted snow gets harder and compresses. It slowly changes texture from fluffy powder to a block of hard, round ice pellets. New snow falls and buries the grainy snow. The hard snow underneath gets even denser. It is known as firn.
As years go by, layers of firn build on top of each other. When the ice grows thick enough—about 50 meters (165 feet)—the firn grains fuse into a huge mass of solid ice. At this point, the glacier begins to move under its own weight.
Ice caps tend to be slightly dome-shaped and spread out from their center. They behave plastically, or like a liquid. An ice sheet flows, oozes, and slides over uneven surfaces until it covers everything in its path, including entire valleys, mountains, and plains.
Ice caps and ice fields exist all over the world. Ice caps in high-latitude regions are often called polar ice caps. Polar ice caps are made of different materials on different planets. Earth’s polar ice caps are mostly water-based ice. On Mars, polar ice caps are a combination of water ice and solid carbon dioxide.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, the tallest mountain in Africa, used to have enormous ice caps on its summit. Today, the Furtwangler glacier is the mountain's only remaining ice cap, at 60,000 square kilometers (23,166 square miles). The Furtwangler glacier is melting at a very rapid pace, however, and Africa may lose its only remaining ice cap
About the Ice on Mt. Kilimanjaro
A continuous ice cap covering approximately 400 square kilometres down to an elevation of 3,200 metres covered Kilimanjaro during the maximum of the last period of glaciation in the Pleistocene, extending across the summits of Kibo and Mawenzi.
In the late 1880s, the summit of Kibo was completely covered by an ice cap covering about 20 square kilometres with outlet glaciers cascading down the western and southern slopes, and except for the inner cone, the entire caldera was buried. Glacier ice also flowed through the Western Breach.
This is an aerial view of the Kibo summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1938.
An examination of ice cores taken from Kilimanjaro's northern ice field indicates that the glaciers there have a basal age of 11,700 years.Those glaciers survived a widespread drought during a three century period beginning around 2,200 BC.
The slope glaciers retreated rapidly between 1912 and 1953, in response to a sudden shift in climate at the end of the 19th century that made them "drastically out of equilibrium", and more slowly thereafter. Their continuing demise indicates they are still out of equilibrium in response to a constant change in climate over the last 100 years.
In contrast to the persistent slope glaciers, the glaciers on Kilimanjaro's crater plateau have appeared and disappeared repeatedly during the Holocene, with each cycle lasting a few hundred years. It appears that decreasing specific humidity instead of temperature changes has caused the shrinkage of the plateau glaciers since the late 19th century. No statistically significant warming at the elevation of those glaciers occurred between 1948 and 2005. Although air temperatures at that elevation are always below freezing, solar radiation causes melting on their vertical faces. "There is no pathway for the plateau glaciers other than to continuously retreat once their vertical margins are exposed to solar radiation."
Almost 85 percent of the ice cover on Kilimanjaro disappeared from October 1912 to June 2011, with coverage decreasing from 11.40 square kilometres to 1.76 square kilometres. From 1912 to 1953, there was about a 1.1 percent average annual loss. The average annual loss for 1953 to 1989 was 1.4 percent while the loss rate for 1989 to 2007 was 2.5 percent. Of the ice cover still present in 2000, almost 40 percent had disappeared by 2011. The glaciers are thinning in addition to losing areal coverage. While the current shrinking and thinning of Kilimanjaro's ice fields appears to be unique within its almost twelve millennium history, it is contemporaneous with widespread glacier retreat in mid-to-low latitudes across the globe.At the current rate, most of the ice on Kilimanjaro will disappear by 2040 and "it is highly unlikely that any ice body will remain after 2060".
A complete disappearance of the ice would be of only "negligible importance" to the water budget of the area around the mountain. The forests of Kilimanjaro, far below the ice fields, "are essential water reservoirs for the local and regional populations".
so much has been written, claimed, disclaimed over the years that one does not really know what to think. I just know that each time mates have climbed Kilimanjaro the ice seems to be less. It will be interesting to compare my photographs from October 2009 to our October 20015. We will just have to wait and see.
Previously we were told the glaciers would completely disappear in 2010 then once again in 2020 as a result of global warming. I really hope that this won't happen and I found this recent article. I'm hoping this is valid and true. Why so many more can enjoy one of the worlds wonders right in our back yard!!
2 Articles for you to read!
___________________________________________________________________________
The issue is really quite simple.
These photos were taken during our 2009 Summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in October Month.
I cannot begin to explain the dramatic contrasts of the lunar like landscape with the complete contrast of blocks of ice. It is breathtaking, a once in a life time sight. I promised myself while I stood there in complete awe of this dramatic landscape and promised I would bring my children here to see glaciers in Africa!!
How do these incredible huge ice fields develope?
An ice cap is a glacier, a thick layer of ice and snow, that covers fewer than 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 square miles). Glacial ice covering more than 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 square miles) is called an ice sheet.
An interconnected series of ice caps and glaciers is called an ice field. Ice caps and ice fields are often punctuated by nunataks. Nunataks are areas where just the summits of mountains penetrate the ice.
 |
inside the crater, the many shades of greys and golds |
Ice caps form like other glaciers. Snow accumulates year after year, then melts. The slightly melted snow gets harder and compresses. It slowly changes texture from fluffy powder to a block of hard, round ice pellets. New snow falls and buries the grainy snow. The hard snow underneath gets even denser. It is known as firn.
As years go by, layers of firn build on top of each other. When the ice grows thick enough—about 50 meters (165 feet)—the firn grains fuse into a huge mass of solid ice. At this point, the glacier begins to move under its own weight.
Ice caps tend to be slightly dome-shaped and spread out from their center. They behave plastically, or like a liquid. An ice sheet flows, oozes, and slides over uneven surfaces until it covers everything in its path, including entire valleys, mountains, and plains.
Ice caps and ice fields exist all over the world. Ice caps in high-latitude regions are often called polar ice caps. Polar ice caps are made of different materials on different planets. Earth’s polar ice caps are mostly water-based ice. On Mars, polar ice caps are a combination of water ice and solid carbon dioxide.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, the tallest mountain in Africa, used to have enormous ice caps on its summit. Today, the Furtwangler glacier is the mountain's only remaining ice cap, at 60,000 square kilometers (23,166 square miles). The Furtwangler glacier is melting at a very rapid pace, however, and Africa may lose its only remaining ice cap
About the Ice on Mt. Kilimanjaro
A continuous ice cap covering approximately 400 square kilometres down to an elevation of 3,200 metres covered Kilimanjaro during the maximum of the last period of glaciation in the Pleistocene, extending across the summits of Kibo and Mawenzi.
 |
| me and the girls on the summit getting all sponsors out there |
This is an aerial view of the Kibo summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1938.
An examination of ice cores taken from Kilimanjaro's northern ice field indicates that the glaciers there have a basal age of 11,700 years.Those glaciers survived a widespread drought during a three century period beginning around 2,200 BC.
 |
| The different coloured lines(sediments) are from the various eruptions |
In contrast to the persistent slope glaciers, the glaciers on Kilimanjaro's crater plateau have appeared and disappeared repeatedly during the Holocene, with each cycle lasting a few hundred years. It appears that decreasing specific humidity instead of temperature changes has caused the shrinkage of the plateau glaciers since the late 19th century. No statistically significant warming at the elevation of those glaciers occurred between 1948 and 2005. Although air temperatures at that elevation are always below freezing, solar radiation causes melting on their vertical faces. "There is no pathway for the plateau glaciers other than to continuously retreat once their vertical margins are exposed to solar radiation."
Almost 85 percent of the ice cover on Kilimanjaro disappeared from October 1912 to June 2011, with coverage decreasing from 11.40 square kilometres to 1.76 square kilometres. From 1912 to 1953, there was about a 1.1 percent average annual loss. The average annual loss for 1953 to 1989 was 1.4 percent while the loss rate for 1989 to 2007 was 2.5 percent. Of the ice cover still present in 2000, almost 40 percent had disappeared by 2011. The glaciers are thinning in addition to losing areal coverage. While the current shrinking and thinning of Kilimanjaro's ice fields appears to be unique within its almost twelve millennium history, it is contemporaneous with widespread glacier retreat in mid-to-low latitudes across the globe.At the current rate, most of the ice on Kilimanjaro will disappear by 2040 and "it is highly unlikely that any ice body will remain after 2060".
A complete disappearance of the ice would be of only "negligible importance" to the water budget of the area around the mountain. The forests of Kilimanjaro, far below the ice fields, "are essential water reservoirs for the local and regional populations".
so much has been written, claimed, disclaimed over the years that one does not really know what to think. I just know that each time mates have climbed Kilimanjaro the ice seems to be less. It will be interesting to compare my photographs from October 2009 to our October 20015. We will just have to wait and see.
Previously we were told the glaciers would completely disappear in 2010 then once again in 2020 as a result of global warming. I really hope that this won't happen and I found this recent article. I'm hoping this is valid and true. Why so many more can enjoy one of the worlds wonders right in our back yard!!
2 Articles for you to read!
___________________________________________________________________________
"Kilimanjaro glaciers just won’t die – ‘nowhere near extinction’
From the we told you so, time and time again department comes this story about Gore’s buddy, Dr. Lonnie Thompson and his Kilimanjaro glacier that just won’t die like they want it to, even though they don’t believe their own hype.
From ETN Global Travel Industry News:
Mount Kilimanjaro Glaciers nowhere near extinction
The legendary glaciers, one of key tourists ecstasy, on Tanzania’s majestic Kilimanjaro mountain, will not melt anytime soon after all, as it was earlier predicted.
America’s renowned climatologist, professor Lonnie Thompson in 2002 projected that the snow on the summit of Africa’s highest mountain would completely disappear between 2015 and 2020, thanks to global warming.
But 12 years down the lane now, local ecologists who have been monitoring the trend say the ice, in fact, remains steady and it is nowhere near extinction.
“There are ongoing several studies, but preliminary findings show that the ice is nowhere near melting,” said Mount Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA)’s Ecologist, Imani Kikoti.
Mr Kikoti hints that sustainable rainfalls supply on Mount Kilimanjaro in recent years could be a factor behind the snow resilient.
“Much as we agree that the snow has declined over centuries, but we are comfortable that its total melt will not happen in the near future,” he stressed.
Sometimes in 2006, KINAPA installed three state-of-the-art automatic weather stations on mountain key areas of Shira 2, Mweka and Kibo huts to collect accurate data on weather trends.
Though scientifically, it takes up to 30 years to conclude on whether rainfalls are on increase or otherwise, but Mr Kikoti says the data are encouraging.
============================================================
As we’ve said before, it’s about sublimation and lack of water vapor in the atmosphere, not temperature.
The issue is really quite simple.
Much of the sublimation may be due to the forests around the base of Kilimanjaro being cleared for firewood and agricultural use by the locals. Just imagine if they had electricity- they’d no longer need firewood and the trees would return, along with theevapotranspiration that keeps the up-slope winds onto the mountain laden with water vapor.
For example, this is a photo (at left) of Dr. Thompson standing next to an ice spire on Kilimanjaro. Notice any meltwater pools nearby?
You won’t, because they aren’t there. Read this quote from this entry to understand why:
The ice cap on Kilimanjaro consists of ice on the 5,700-meter-high flat summit, some with vertical edges, and several slope glaciers, mostly at altitudes where temperatures stay well below freezing and the major source of energy is solar radiation. Considerable infrared radiation is emitted from the glacier surface into the surrounding air, and the glaciers lose the most mass through sublimation-the direct conversion of ice to water vapor. Observers have seen only a trickle of meltwater.
Dr. Thompson seems not to want to understand the process of sublimation on Kilimanjaro
Of course, it is easy to see why Dr. Thompson wants to keep claiming that the glaciers on Kilimanjaro will disappear, its his business:
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yet another article; 2015
WORTH INFINITELY MORE THAN YOU'VE PAID FOR IT.
21 APRIL 2015 09:58 (SOUTH AFRICA)
SCI-TECH
Revealed: the real cause of Kilimanjaro's melting ice cap
What does deforestation have to do with receding glaciers? More than you might think. According to a new study by a UK scientist, tree-felling is playing a crucial role in the decreasing amount of ice on Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak. And the subtext? It may be an inconvenient truth, but you can’t blame global warming for everything.
Mount Kilimanjaro is somewhat of an African anomaly – on a continent characterised by warm temperatures, the mountain’s peak is contrastingly snow-clad. But this could be about to change. Increasing deforestation on the mountain could be responsible for the receding ice cover. What Ernest Hemingway called the “immortal snows”, but which actually are glaciers, may be disappearing forever.
The ice on Kilimanjaro’s summit is now a mere 15% of 1912 levels. Proponents of the global warming and climate change theory are holding this up as a prime example of the deleterious effects of climate change.
In his contentious movie, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore stated that Kilimanjaro’s glaciers were receding because of global warming, a claim that sparked much interest and speculation on the issue. But Gore’s conclusions came under scrutiny from academics, with some of them contesting his assertion. (Interestingly enough, the BBC reported that a British court held that “Mr Gore’s assertion that the disappearance of snow on Mount Kilimanjaro in east Africa was expressly attributable to global warming” was bunkum, once it took into account scientific consensus on the point. The court felt that it could not be conclusively held that a recession in the snow level was due to human-caused climate change.)
Scientific opinion on the topic has remained divided. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Lonnie Thompson (a glaciologist at the Ohio State University) shows that while the decline started more than a hundred years ago, the pace of depletions has speeded up markedly in recent years. As much as 26% percent of the ice has been lost in this decade itself.
Philip Mote from Oregon State University’s Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, however, feels that melting has a smaller effect than is portrayed by other scientists. He holds that melting may indicate a rise in the air temperatures, but doesn’t conclusively prove such a fact. Since the temperature at the summit has always been sub-zero, he finds it hard to agree with findings of warming being behind the glacier loss. He – and other scientists of his persuasion – put forth a combination of factors, including an alteration in the weather pattern, as the reason for the changes in Kilimanjaro. More sunlight and fewer clouds would result in a pocket of warm air near the glacial surface, which could also result in melting.
This argument – of global warming not being the only factor at play – seems to have been reinforced. Recent data reveals that the air at the apex of the volcanic mountain is becoming drier. This leads to a decrease in the snowfall that would replenish the ice cover, and reflect back the sun’s radiation.
Nicholas Pepin and his colleagues from the University of Portsmouth in the UK feel deforestation is the crucial answer to the puzzle. The team has studied the area extensively; between September 2004 and July 2008, they recorded temperature and humidity readings at ten different sites and heights on the mountain, every hour.
They published their findings in the journal Global and Planetary Change, and reveal that heating that occurs in the day leads to a flow of moist, warm air that flows up the side of the mountain. Trees are instrumental at this stage, as they give moisture to the air through transpiration. Pepin and his team contend that the excessive and aggressive felling of trees in the last few decades has led to a decrease in the moisture flow. Since the peak does not get replenished by the water and moisture that the winds generally bring, the snow level starts decreasing. The ice starts evaporating through a process called sublimation – the direct conversion of ice into water vapour without going through the intervening step of being converted into water.
Scientific opinion does seem to be converging on deforestation being the underlying cause of the shrinking ice cap. When Mote’s study was published in the prestigious journal, Nature, he said that things need to be seen in perspective. Just because Mount Kilimanjaro’s loss of ice is not directly due to global warming does not mean that it can be denied that the Earth itself is warming. He reiterated that there is resounding, conclusive evidence that the average temperature of Earth is increasing, and that the decrease in the level of glaciers goes to prove that point.
Across the world, in many mid- and high-latitude areas (such as the Alps), once-mighty glaciers are receding and retreating. Heat fluxes from the warm air that is now circulating could lead to massive rives of melt-water. At this rate of reduction of the snow line, Kilimanjaro might soon lose its distinctive white peak – and Africa one of its icons. With Pepin’s latest study, it seems clear that the blame lies at the door of the tree-fellers in the region. Hopefully, they will heed the warning signs before it is too late. DM
____________________________________________
_______________________________________
The ice on Kilimanjaro’s summit is now a mere 15% of 1912 levels. Proponents of the global warming and climate change theory are holding this up as a prime example of the deleterious effects of climate change.
In his contentious movie, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore stated that Kilimanjaro’s glaciers were receding because of global warming, a claim that sparked much interest and speculation on the issue. But Gore’s conclusions came under scrutiny from academics, with some of them contesting his assertion. (Interestingly enough, the BBC reported that a British court held that “Mr Gore’s assertion that the disappearance of snow on Mount Kilimanjaro in east Africa was expressly attributable to global warming” was bunkum, once it took into account scientific consensus on the point. The court felt that it could not be conclusively held that a recession in the snow level was due to human-caused climate change.)
Scientific opinion on the topic has remained divided. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Lonnie Thompson (a glaciologist at the Ohio State University) shows that while the decline started more than a hundred years ago, the pace of depletions has speeded up markedly in recent years. As much as 26% percent of the ice has been lost in this decade itself.
Philip Mote from Oregon State University’s Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, however, feels that melting has a smaller effect than is portrayed by other scientists. He holds that melting may indicate a rise in the air temperatures, but doesn’t conclusively prove such a fact. Since the temperature at the summit has always been sub-zero, he finds it hard to agree with findings of warming being behind the glacier loss. He – and other scientists of his persuasion – put forth a combination of factors, including an alteration in the weather pattern, as the reason for the changes in Kilimanjaro. More sunlight and fewer clouds would result in a pocket of warm air near the glacial surface, which could also result in melting.
This argument – of global warming not being the only factor at play – seems to have been reinforced. Recent data reveals that the air at the apex of the volcanic mountain is becoming drier. This leads to a decrease in the snowfall that would replenish the ice cover, and reflect back the sun’s radiation.
Nicholas Pepin and his colleagues from the University of Portsmouth in the UK feel deforestation is the crucial answer to the puzzle. The team has studied the area extensively; between September 2004 and July 2008, they recorded temperature and humidity readings at ten different sites and heights on the mountain, every hour.
They published their findings in the journal Global and Planetary Change, and reveal that heating that occurs in the day leads to a flow of moist, warm air that flows up the side of the mountain. Trees are instrumental at this stage, as they give moisture to the air through transpiration. Pepin and his team contend that the excessive and aggressive felling of trees in the last few decades has led to a decrease in the moisture flow. Since the peak does not get replenished by the water and moisture that the winds generally bring, the snow level starts decreasing. The ice starts evaporating through a process called sublimation – the direct conversion of ice into water vapour without going through the intervening step of being converted into water.
Scientific opinion does seem to be converging on deforestation being the underlying cause of the shrinking ice cap. When Mote’s study was published in the prestigious journal, Nature, he said that things need to be seen in perspective. Just because Mount Kilimanjaro’s loss of ice is not directly due to global warming does not mean that it can be denied that the Earth itself is warming. He reiterated that there is resounding, conclusive evidence that the average temperature of Earth is increasing, and that the decrease in the level of glaciers goes to prove that point.
Across the world, in many mid- and high-latitude areas (such as the Alps), once-mighty glaciers are receding and retreating. Heat fluxes from the warm air that is now circulating could lead to massive rives of melt-water. At this rate of reduction of the snow line, Kilimanjaro might soon lose its distinctive white peak – and Africa one of its icons. With Pepin’s latest study, it seems clear that the blame lies at the door of the tree-fellers in the region. Hopefully, they will heed the warning signs before it is too late. DM
____________________________________________
#Trek4Hunger
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Kim Williams | Adventurer | Change Architect | Founder Team Zodwa | Founder Adventure with a purpose | Finalist Johnny Walker/Sunday Times Nation’s Greatest Hero Award | #Reachoutbeahero Ambassador | #Adventurewithapurpose Ambassador | #Trek4Hunger Ambassador | Global Give Back Circle Mentor |Ambassador Meals on Wheels SA | Public Speaker |Facilitator | Outstanding Founders list @MagnificHQ |Outstanding People List @GirlsRunThings | Blogger| Fizzical National Everyday Hero Winner
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