Glaciers May Melt Even Faster Than Expected, Study Finds

A new study by Nature has suggested that glaciers may well recede even faster than anticipated as the ice sheets increasingly melt. Previously thought to recede at a rate of 200 metres per day at the height of the last ice age, these rates may in reality have been 2,000 feet a day, according to the study. The periods of rapid melting were short-lived, lasting just a few days or months, yet they add up to substantial losses when combined. If modern day glaciers in regions such as Greenland show similar types of bedrock to the former European glaciers, then the rate of melting may well prove faster than anticipated. Thwaites Glacier, which contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by two feet on its own, is of particular concern.



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