2/18/08
Day 2
Sunday evening - 7:30 Kenyan time. We're here, we're safe! After one long flight from Boston to London, a day spent in London, and one very long flight from London to Nairobi, we finally made it. Not a lot of sleep! When we finally arrived in Nairobi, all the flights were worth it. We drove through the city on our way to our hotel. The hotel seemed like something that Disney would plan - all tropical - lots of birds, huge flowers, four-poster beds with mosquito nets. We went to Karen Blixen's estate (author of Out of Africa - nice, but not so patient with the museums - show me the rocks and the animals!). Then we went to the Giraffe Manor, where we fed giraffes with long, sandpapery tongues. The night was spent at Carnivore, a restaurant that serves meat (duh!), and we tried the ostrich meatballs and the crocodile. Day 2 began with a drive from Nairobi to the Mount Kenya area. We stopped at a small artsy cooperative where we had to barter with the salesmen - they started the price at about $1000 for the items we wanted to buy - you can believe we didn't pay that much! From there we came to the Serena Mountain Lodge - it is amazing! We have a balcony overlooking a watering hole. We took a nature walk around the forest, where we saw evidence of hyenas, elephants, and other creatures. Then we came back to find two elephants at the watering hole. Soon they were joined by a herd of Cape Buffalo - about 22 of them, including a baby. I'm trying, but it is indescribable, and there are so many things I'm leaving out! Finally - geologists - I can sit in my room and look at the summit of Mount Kenya (volcanic) and gaze on the equatorial glaciers at its peak. Awesome! If you're in NASC130, post comments here - give me a fact or two about equatorial glaciers! Next post in a few days, hopefully. Having a blast! - Liane
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Equatorial Glaciers are said to disappear within the next 20 years because of global warming.
Researchers have found that equatorial glaciers in East Africa have shrunk to half their size between 1987 and 2003.
Equatorial Glaciers in East Africa are projected to disappear within 20 years. Higher temperatures may be responsible for the melting. The melting of the equators may decrease tourism in the Rwenzori Mountains and increase the spread of malaria as mosquitoes would be able to bread in the no longer icy environment.
http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20060417014356data_trunc_sys.shtml
Most of Kenya's shaky-at-best electrical power is fueled from waters streaming off of Mount Kenya. Scientists predict that the glacier rivers of Mount Kenya and the rest of east Africa could dry up in 15 years.
During the period when global climates were significantly cooler than they are today and large ice sheets covered much of northern Europe and Canada, the glaciers on Mt. Kenya extended down to about 3000m. The erosive work of these glaciers was responsible for cutting the deep U-shaped valleys around the slopes of the cone.
In response to global warming, almost all of the 300 large glaciers studied around the world are retreating. They are expected to disappear within the next two decades.
http://www.thestar.com/Life/article/164466
That sounds like an incredible experience, as for a quick fact- Although there are many glaciers near the equator only Mt. Cotopaxi in Ecuador has a glacier specifically on the equator. Also as everyone else has said, equatorial glaciers are rapidly disapearing and they will most likely be extinct in 20 years.
The Equatorial Glaciers of East Africa are one of many examples of melting glaciers. As glaciers begin to melt our planet will struggle to maintain ecological balance in many areas, as colder weather climates give way to warmer weather. Insects, such as mosiquitos, will go unchecked under the new environment. The flooding that would result is also an area of major concern. Global Warming is a real issue and its effecting our glaciers!
The largest of The Mt.Kenya Glaciers is called the Lewis Glacier
In the 1980 the area of the claciers was measured to be about .25 square miles.
A study done by the University College London has shown that the glaciers are due to disappear in the next 20 years due to global warming. The glaciers were first discovered on Mount Kilimanjaro in 1848 by Europeons and before that the ancient Greeks believed glaciers from Uganda's Rwenzoris to be the source of the Nile River.
- Christina Vavlitis
The Equatorial Glaciers are located in the Rwenzori Mountains on the border between Uganda and Congo.
The glaciers will be gone within the next 20 years if current global warming continues.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-123605819.html
-Diana Mac
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