Scientists Warn , Mt. Everest's Highest Glacier , Faces Rapid Melting From Climate Change.
Live Science reports that a record-setting study found
that Mount Everest's highest-altitude glacier is losing
ice about 80 times faster than it took to form. .
Scientists monitored the South Col Glacier, which
stands at almost 26,000 feet above sea level,
for signs of climate-related ice loss. .
The team's report was published
on February 3 in the journal
'NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science.' .
According to the study,
ice that took 2,000 years to form has
completely melted away since the 1990s. .
Currently, the data suggests that
the glacier is losing several decades
worth of ice accumulation each year. .
[This study] answers one of the big
questions posed by our [expedition]
— whether the highest glaciers
on the planet are impacted
by human-source climate change, Paul Mayewski, study co-author, glaciologist and director of the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute, via Live Science.
The answer is
a resounding yes,
and very significantly
since the late 1990s, Paul Mayewski, study co-author, glaciologist and director of the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute, via Live Science.
According to the study's authors, the rapid decline of the glacier could have major impacts on the mountain and the surrounding area. .
The glacier's swift melting could lead
to more avalanches on Everest and make terrain more
treacherous for climbers by exposing more bedrock. .
According to Live Science, the South Col glacier's position at the very top of the world suggests that no ice mass on Earth is safe from climate change. .
Experts urge future research to focus
on how widespread these melting trends are
among other glaciers at the top of the world.