Like Most Chilean Glaciers, San Rafael Receding Steadily - 100M/Yr - AFP

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SAN RAFAEL GLACIER, Chile (AFP) - Chunks of glacial ice tinkled in whisky glasses as chilled tourists gazed in wonder from their boat at the massive San Rafael glacier and the markers tallying its losing battle against global warming. "How can we stop this," asked German visitor Herman Kirst, 70, reflecting on the 100 meters (yards) that the glacier has shrunk this year, and every year since Captain Luis Kochifas began ferrying tourists to this spot in 1978.

"How sad, how devastating it is to think that all this, one day, could disappear," added Kirst, after being told the 30,000-year-old glacier has receded a total of 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) since 1871.

Global warming, Chilean scientists say, has done the most damage to the glacier, which lies 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) south of Santiago.

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The San Rafael glacier and its 741 square kilometers (286 square miles) has been receding at a steady pace of 100 linear meters per year, said the descendant of Greek immigrants, who have made their fortune from tourism in the region. "San Rafael glacier is in tune with the majority of Chile's glaciers that are also undergoing a process of retreat," Valdivia city's Scientific Research Center glaciologist Andres Rivera told AFP. The glaciers "are not in balance with current climatic conditions," he added, because rising temperatures above all else are making it difficult for new ice build-up to offset losses from when chunks break off, known as calfing, and melting.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071109/sc_afp/chileglacierenvironmentwarming_071109053301;_ylt=AorwxJ8mE4G9.tJv_okzmuVrAlMA