![\\"logo\\"](\\"/img/logo-dpa-factchecking.svg\\"/) *About ![\\"IFCN](\\"/img/ifcn-certificate.png\\"/) ![\\"EFCSN](\\"/img/efcsn- certificate.png\\"/) # But very few glaciers grow 3.6.2020, 15:07 (CEST) Facebook claims that glaciers are "growing again worldwide". That must demonstrate that in these times when many warn of the dangers of further warming of the Earth, it will actually get colder on our planet planet. The statement was posted on a Facebook page apparently efforts against increased use of wind energy, one of the measures being taken deployed in the fight against global warming. ASSESSMENT: The statement is incorrect. Very few glaciers grow, most of them shrinking, with all the associated dangers due to sea level rise. FACTS: Greenpeace Netherlands refers the statement to the realm of fables. Greenpeace bases its opinion on, among other things, the climatologist and meteorologist Dr. Ernst-Jan Kuiper, PhD on the topic "The effect of deformation mechanisms for ice sheet dynamics" at Utrecht University, who says: "Yes, there are some glaciers in the world that are gaining mass, but one again a large majority (95-99%) lose mass. It's an old trick climate deniers to single out those glaciers that (temporarily) to grow. Perito Moreno (mentioned in the article) is one of those. This is a good paper on that, although a few years old now.\" But why can some glaciers temporarily thicken? The explanation: cold streams that cool the water around the glaciers. The cold currents are caused by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO); An varying air pressure difference between a low-pressure area (with Iceland as center) and a high-pressure area (with the Azores as the center). \"But that's a given is completely unfairly magnified here," says Samuel Helsen, Flemish climate scientist at the Belgian Royal University of Leuven. "The North Atlantic Occulation is a kind of index that shows whether you are in a region more often has high or low pressure areas. Of course it has that variation an important evolution: if that index reverses, you may have a year when the water is colder and ice growth is possible again. But you have also years when the reverse occurs.\" According to Helsen, the authors an incorrect link by stating that the NAO is the only cause for such variations, while the role of climate change is much more decisive, this is also stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The trend is also the same for other glaciers worldwide: the ice caps are gradually melting. That was scientifically proven and still is followed by the World Glacier Monitoring Service in Switzerland. The However, variability and the rate at which glaciers melt can vary from year to year and between different regions. \"Average, over a long period of time, the mass balance is negative and the mass of the glaciers," says Helsen. Also the recent report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows that there is no cooling worldwide. "In this article we are rather dealing with traditional climate deniers who want to present a completely different story than science states," Helsen concludes. "The wrong relationship is being made here between the growth of glaciers and sun variations. But when we look at the temperature trend that we have measured in recent years, you see that the temperature is rising more increase despite a temporary decrease in solar activity. The effect of solar variation on the mass evolution of glaciers is zero.\" \--- Left: Facebook posting (archived: Article from Journal of Glaciology: (archived: NASA message: (archived: IPCC report: World Glacier Monitoring Service: Case Greenland: WMO report: with the dpa fact check team: factcheck-netherlands@dpa.com powered by dpa-newslab | Imprint | Privacy | About:
Facebook claims that glaciers are growing again worldwide This should show that in these times when many warn about the dangers of further global warming it is actually getting colder on our planet The statement was posted on a Facebook page that apparently advocates against increased use of wind energy one of the measures used in the fight against global warming