Drop by drop, Slovenia is losing its ice.
asserted
Slovenia → lose → ice
Faced with rising temperatures and declining snow in winter, the Alpine nation has seen one of its two glaciers melt away, and the remaining one shrinking irreversibly.
asserted
one → face → glaciers
Slovenians know that they are no exception to the global trend of warming that scientists say partly is the result of human-induced climate change.
asserted
scientists → know → change
A record hot and dry summer in Europe this year further aggravated the situation — the glacier on Mount Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak, completely melted away by the end of the summer, while the remaining one is still holding on.
asserted
one → aggravate → summer
It is called Skuta and is located in the Kamnik-Savinje Alps to the north.
asserted
It → call → north
The change, he said, has been especially noticeable over the past decade or so.
asserted
he → say → decade
“We are standing here by the last remaining glacier in Slovenia,” Slak showed an Associated Press reporter after the two climbed a rocky terrain to reach the remains of Skuta.
asserted
two → stand → Skuta
“Just look at what is left of it — barely anything more than a small patch covered in grit and debris.
asserted
what → look → grit
The change is striking.
asserted
change → strike → ?
”
What remains is a patch of ice on the surface of the mountainside, and the rest buried under stones, with a narrow opening leading into a crevasse.
asserted
rest → remain → crevasse
Slak said the glaciers have served as vital water reservoirs for the surrounding valleys over centuries.
asserted
glaciers → say → centuries
Shepherds once used icy hollows like this to store and preserve meat but such ice pockets can no longer be found, he explained.
asserted
he → use → meat
In the capital Ljubljana, Anton Melik Geographical Institute at the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts has kept the monitoring records for both glaciers for the past 80 years.
asserted
Institute → keep → years
Geographer Miha Pavsek said Skuta initially had about 2.5 to 3 hectares (6.1-7.4 acres) of ice underneath.
asserted
Skuta → say → ice
Now there are 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) and the ice has thinned from dozens of meters (feet) to just a few meters thick.
asserted
ice → be → meters
The now-gone Triglav Glacier had covered a little more than 14 hectares (34.5 acres) 80 years ago.
asserted
Glacier → go → hectares
It then gradually disappeared.
asserted
It → disappear → ?
The tipping point, Pavsek said, came from a combination of two factors: very little snow, meaning a very low maximum seasonal snow depth, followed by a very warm summer.
asserted
Pavsek → say → summer
These two factors, he said, “coincided very well this year.”
asserted
he → say → ?
On Skuta, a marker painted on a rock shows how far the glacier reached in 1994.
asserted
glacier → paint → 1994
The ice has pulled back from it since then, and Pavsek predicted that Skuta is on the same trajectory as the lost Triglav Glacier.
asserted
Skuta → pull → Glacier
Most of the remaining ice surface on Skuta is covered in gravel, which gives it some protection from the sun, Pavsek said.
asserted
Pavsek → remain → sun
Still, though 80 to 90% of the ice was covered in gravel a week ago, the glacier was still melting — water could be seen dripping in a cave below.
uncertain
water → cover → cave
The effects of the glacier melting are felt far beyond the mountains.
asserted
effects → feel → mountains
In Slovenia, meltwater from glaciers and the snow normally feeds major rivers, including the Drava in Croatia and the Mura, which originates in Austria.
asserted
which → feed → Austria
Experts predict that all glaciers below 3,500 meters altitude in Austria are also expected to disappear by 2050, which would further affect the two rivers, Pavsek explained.
asserted
Pavsek → predict → rivers
“These rivers feed the groundwater, where we have wells and pumps for drinking water,” he said.
asserted
he → feed → water
Already, mountain huts at high altitudes in the Slovenian Alps have faced water shortages during past two summers and are asking visitors to economize.
asserted
huts → face → visitors
Known as a nature-loving country, Slovenia has mountain climbing and hiking as part of the country’s tradition.
asserted
Slovenia → know → tradition
Locals have followed closely the change as it unfolded before them.
asserted
it → follow → them
Tanja Plavec, from Ljubljana, is worried that the entire world is yet to face the consequences.
asserted
world → face → consequences
“Glaciers serve as a vital reserve of the Earth’s water.
asserted
Glaciers → serve → water
As they disappear, that reserve disappears with them,” she said.
asserted
she → disappear → them
“Furthermore, glaciers host a unique ecosystem that also vanishes as the perennial ice disappears.”
asserted
ice → host → ecosystem
The Aporia
