Satellite Imaging Shows Glaciers Melting at Alarming Rate!

According to 3D satellite imaging of all the world's mountain glaciers, glaciers are melting higher, losing 31% more snow and ice each year than they did 15 years ago.

According to Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University, the new research paints a "alarming picture."

Rapid melting will trigger lethal outbursts from glacial lakes in areas like India, according to Hugonnet. Shrinking glaciers are a challenge for millions of people who depend on seasonal glacial melt for everyday water.

The most serious challenge, though, is rising sea levels. The world's seas are now growing due to warm water expansion and melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, but glaciers, rather than ice sheets, are responsible for 21% of sea-level rise, according to the report. Longer-term, the ice sheets pose a greater danger to sea-level rise.

"As we progress into the twenty-first century, it is becoming abundantly clear that sea-level rise will be a bigger and bigger problem," said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

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