Glaciers getting smaller, faster, study finds

A new study is using millions of satellite images to generate a clearer picture of the fate of the world's glaciers than ever before.

Study co-author Brian Menounos of the University of Northern British Columbia says those glaciers are getting smaller, faster — with those in western North America thinning more quickly than almost any others in the world.

An international team of researchers used a UNBC/ @HakaiInstitute supercomputer to create digital elevation models demonstrating that the rate of mass loss from Earth's glaciers is accelerating. Prof. @brianmenounos is a co-author of the paper in @Nature https://t.co/Boq3rditiC pic.twitter.com/r802QrKR6O

— University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) (@UNBC) April 28, 2021

The amount of ice that the study says is melting away each year is almost unimaginable.

Menounos says it's 267 billion tonnes a year.

Just one billion tonne is equal to the mass of 10,000 fully loaded aircraft carriers.

The pace is picking up, especially in North America, where glaciers are melting four times faster now than they were 20 years ago.

With glaciers being a crucial source of fresh water, Menounos says the findings have important lessons for water managers.