Alaska is disappearing slowly, but surely. It is believed that since the 1950s, as much as 15% of Alaska's land area has disappeared. How can a whole Alaska be disappearing? The problem is that Alaska's glaciers are melting (融化). The state has more than 100,000 glaciers. These glaciers account for about 75,000 square kilometers, or 5% of the state's area.
According to a recent report by the US Geological Survey, 99% percent of Alaska's glaciers are diminishing (减少). This diminishing seems mainly because of the increase in global temperatures. Since the 1960s, the average year-round temperature has increased by almost 3℃. Besides, the average winter temperature has increased by over 6℃. Presently, an estimated 100 cubic kilometers of ice is disappearing from Alaskan glaciers every year. It may be even more in the near future.
Another problem facing Alaska is its melting permafrost (冻土). Much of the land in Alaska used to be forever frozen or frozen for most of the year. Now, the melting permafrost is causing a number of problems for people living in Alaska. Roads and public poles are falling down. Also, the hard permafrost that prevented beaches from eroding (被侵蚀) during storms is now melting. People who live along Alaska's coasts are being forced to move away. For villages on small low islands, one terrible storm could wipe out the whole community.
The melting permafrost and increasing temperatures are both influencing the forests of Alaska.As the permafrost under the forests melts, insects that normally do not turn up until the warmer seasons are appearing sooner. If something can't be done to change things, people will not see Alaska's forests at the end of the century.
Some scientists believe that human activities have something to do with a global increase in weather temperature. Whatever the cause of rising temperatures may be, the fact remains that temperatures are warming, influencing Alaska for the worse. Terribly, this could be a preview of what will happen to the rest of the world in the next century.
