April 28, 2021

expert reaction to study looking at global glacier mass loss in the 21st century

A study published in Nature looks at a diverse archive of satellite and aerial imagery to study mass changes of individual glaciers. 

Prof Andrew Shepherd, Professor of Earth Observation at the University of Leeds, said:

“These findings are consistent with our January 2021 assessment based on multiple satellite techniques, which showed the same trends.”

“Glacier melting accounts for a quarter of Earth’s ice loss over the satellite era, and the changes taking place are disrupting water supplies for billions of people downstream – especially in years of drought when meltwater becomes a critical source. Although the rate of glacier melting has increased steadily, the pace has been dwarfed by the accelerating ice losses from the Antarctica and Greenland, and they remain our primary concern for future sea level rise.”

‘Accelerated global glacier mass loss in the early twenty-first century’ by Romain Hugonnet et al. was published in Nature at 4pm UK TIME on Wednesday 28 April 2021.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03436-z 

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