All But One Of Norwegian Glaciers Surveyed Shrink For 4th Straight Year

March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Norwegian glaciers shrank for a fourth consecutive year in 2004 as below-average snowfall combined with warmer summers to melt the ice.

The shrinking icecaps are part of a global trend caused by global warming during the past century, Liss Marie Edvardsen, a senior engineer at the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, said in a telephone interview today.

``Some glaciers have retracted at the fastest pace since measurements started at around the year 1900,'' Edvardsen said. ``It's due to a combination of two record-warm summers and less winter precipitation than normal.''

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Of 26 glaciers measured, 22 showed a ``clear decrease'' last year, the directorate said. One glacier, the Enga glacier in northern Norway, grew. The Briksdals glacier in Western Norway retracted the most, losing almost 100 meters (328 feet) last year. ``We expect Norwegian glaciers to continue shrinking in the years to come,'' Edvardsen said. ``Still, they may expand this year because of more-than-average snowfall in western parts of Norway.''

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aQZc.aXPBOXc&refer=uk

got worried when you didn't seem to post anything for about 5 days....I felt environmentally deprived....
:hi: