Near total loss of glacial ice in B.C., Alberta expected by 2100, researchers say

Glaciers will be largely a thing of the past in Western Canada by the end of the century, placing stress on fish such as salmon that thrive in cold water and affecting hydro generation, according to a study by two B.C. researchers.

Results of a 3D computer simulation, published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, reveal in more detail than ever before the magnitude of glacial thawing. Seventy per cent of glacial ice in B.C. is likely to disappear by 2100, research coauthors Garry Clarke and Brian Menounos say. Glaciers play a key role in freshwater ecosystems, said Menounos, the Canada research chair in glacier change at the University of Northern British Columbia.