Glaciers in Chile 'melt at fastest rate in 350 years'

international | environment | other press Monday April 04, 2011 13:51 by Namor

More evidence of a rapid increase in ice melt: Studies showed glaciers have lost volume on average "10 to 100 times faster" in the last 30 years. Full text at url below.

Melting mountain glaciers are making sea levels rise faster now than at any time in the last 350 years, according to new research. Universities at Aberystwyth, Exeter and Stockholm looked at longer timescales than usual for their study. They mapped changes in 270 of the largest glaciers between Chile and Argentina since the "Little Ice Age". Studies showed glaciers have lost volume on average "10 to 100 times faster" in the last 30 years.

The rapid melt rate is linked to their contribution to global sea level.

San Rafael Glacier in Patagonia, one of the 270 glaciers included in this study, has retreated about 8km since the peak of the 'Little Ice Age'

The new research was published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Sunday. Their survey centred on remotely sensed images of outlet glaciers of the south and north Patagonian icefields, but used longer timescales than previous studies. The glaciers straddle the Andes, on the border between Chile and Argentina.

Satellite image of Upsala Glacier in Patagonia, which has retreated about 13km since 1750