| Furtwängler Glacier | |
|---|---|
Furtwängler Glacier (foreground) as it appeared in August 2003. Behind the glacier are snowfields and the Northern Icefield
| |
  Furtwängler Glacier Location in Tanzania Show map of Tanzania Furtwängler Glacier Furtwängler Glacier (Africa) Show map of Africa | |
| Type | Mountain glacier |
| Location | Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa |
| Coordinates | 3°4′15″S 37°21′07″E / 3.07083°S 37.35194°E / -3.07083; 37.35194 |
| Area | 11,000 square metres (2.7 acres) (in 2018) |
| Thickness | 6 metres (20 ft) (in 2006) |
| Terminus | Moraine/talus |
| Status | Retreating |
 | |
Furtwangler Glacier is located near the summitofMount KilimanjaroinTanzania. The glacier is named after Walter Furtwängler [de] who, with Siegfried König, formed the fourth party to ascend to the summit of Kilimanjaro in 1912.[1]
The glacier is a small remnant of an ice cap that once crowned the summit of Kilimanjaro. Almost 85 percent of the ice cover disappeared from October 1912 to June 2011.[2] In 2013 it was estimated that at the then-current rate, most of the ice would disappear by 2040 and "it is highly unlikely that any ice body will remain after 2060".[2]
Furtwängler Glacier is ephemeral, existing continuously only since about 1650 CE, which corresponds with very high levels in Kenya's Lake Naivasha and the beginning of the Maunder Minimum.[3] Between measurements in 1976 and 2000, the area of this glacier was cut almost in half, from 113,000 square metres (1,220,000 sq ft) to 60,000 m2 (650,000 sq ft).[4] By 2018 the size had shrunk to 11,000 m2 (120,000 sq ft). In 2022 it was thought that the glacier would cease to exist by 2023 at a rate of loss of 2,524 m2 (27,170 sq ft) per year.[5]
During fieldwork conducted early in 2006, scientists discovered a large hole near the center of the glacier. This hole, extending through the 6 metres (20 feet) remaining thickness of the glacier to the underlying rock, split the glacier in two by 2007.[4]
 | This article about a glacierinTanzania is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
