A total of 326 square kilometers of Norwegian glaciers have disappeared during the past 30 years, according to new figures in a doctoral thesis delivered at the University of Oslo. The figures were compiled by its author and researcher Solveig Havstad Winswold at the university’s Institutt for geofag.
Winswold studied maps published between 1947 and 1985 and compared them with satellite photos taken between 1999 and 2006. The university’s website Titan reported that she has thus concluded that the geographical area covered by Norwegian glaciers has shrunk by 11 percent in the past 30 years.
“Most Norwegian glaciers have declined considerably in size, a clear sign that the climate has become warmer,” Winsvold told Titan. “Charting the glaciers and measuring the changes is important because it’s an indicator of how the climate is changing, and also how much sea levels will rise.”
newsinenglish.no staff
