Our shrinking glaciers
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Canada's glaciers cover roughly 200,000 square kilometres, about 75% located on the Arctic Islands. Six glaciers in two regions of Canada—the Western Cordillera and the High Arctic—have been shrinking since standardized measurements of their mass began at various times during the 1960s and 1970s.
The Western Cordillera region includes the Helm Glacier and the Place Glacier in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia and the Peyto Glacier located in Banff National Park, Alberta. The Devon Ice Cap, the Meighen Ice Cap and the White Glacier, all in Nunavut, are located in the High Arctic region.
Although the mass of all six of these glaciers has declined, there are regional differences, with the three glaciers located in the High Arctic showing a less pronounced and slower loss of mass than those in the Western Cordillera. The Helm and Place Glaciers have shown the most significant shrinkage.
Because glacial mass integrates the long-term variability of precipitation, mean temperature and cloud cover, its changes are considered among the most robust indicators of climate change.
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