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.
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