It’s estimated that a third of sea level rise comes from melting glaciers.
A new international study coauthored by a University of Arizona researcher found the rate at which glaciers are melting is accelerating.
The study found glaciers across the globe lose about 273 billion tons of mass every year on average. But in recent years, glacier melt sped up exponentially.
They’re melting about 36% faster now than a decade ago.
Not only that, but the rate they are melting is faster than the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica.
UA professor Chris Harig co-authored the study. He said that increased rate will impact infrastructure planning for coastal cities.
“You really need these studies and you really need these collaborative projects to really say like, ‘OK can we nail down what what the sea level rise is going to be in the future?’ Because. You might plan for like, I don't know, a foot of sea level rise today, but you might end up with 3 or 4 in the future," Harig said.
He said he used satellite data to show differences in gravity over time.
"So when ice in, say, a glacier melts and goes into the ocean, it's a kilogram that was over here and now has moved somewhere else. And so we can measure small changes in gravity," Harig said.
About 40% of the U.S. population lives in coastal communities.
The study was published in the journal Nature.
-
Environmental advocates worry about the future of cool mix flows, which send water from Lake Powell to protect threatened humpback chub in the Grand Canyon. -
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is warning that a contagious disease that wiped out a large percentage of rabbit populations in the early 2020s is making a comeback. -
Health experts are advising people to wash their fresh produce before consuming it. The warning comes as a parasitic infection called Cyclosporaisis has been reported in 31 states, including Arizona. -
The Sun Streams solar farm, located 17 miles west of Buckeye, is first and foremost built to harvest energy. But it has also become home to what some people say is one of Arizona’s most recognizable birds. -
The state passed a law earlier this year that expands restrictions on using firefighting foams that contain PFAS.
