Melting of Glaciers Reaches Record Levels

Scientists say tens of thousands of glaciers are melting faster than ever − and many will continue to do so even if climate change can be stabilised

The world’s glaciers are melting fast − probably faster than at any time in recorded history, according to new research.

Measurements show several hundred glaciers are losing between half and one metre of thickness every year − at least twice the average loss for the 20th century − and remote monitoring shows this rate of melting is far more widespread.

The World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), based at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, has compiled worldwide data on glacier changes for more than 120 years.

Drawing on reports from its observers in more than 30 countries, it has published in the Journal of Glaciology a comprehensive analysis of global glacier changes.

Pictorial sources

The study compares observations of the first decade of this century with all available earlier data from field, airborne and satellite observations, and with reconstructions from pictorial and written sources.

Dr Michael Zemp, director of WGMS and lead author of the study, says the current annual loss of 0.5-1 metre of ice thickness observed on “a few hundred glaciers” through direct measurement is two to three times more than the average for the last century.

“However, these results are qualitatively confirmed from field and satellite-based observations for tens of thousands of glaciers around the world,” he adds.

The WGMS compiles the results of worldwide glacier observations in annual calls-for-data. The current database contains more than 5,000 measurements of glacier volume and mass changes since 1850, and more than 42,000 front variations from observations and reconstructions stretching back to the 16th century.

Glaciers provide drinking water for millions of people, as well as irrigating crops and providing hydropower. When they melt, they also make a measurable contribution to sea level rise.

The researchers say the current rate of glacier melt is without precedent at the global scale − at least for the time period observed, and probably also for recorded history, as reconstructions from written and illustrated documents attest.

Source: Eco-Business

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