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According to EARTH, the latest research results led by experts from Newcastle University in the UK show that the natural glaciers in Alaska’s Juneau Icefield are melting faster than previously thought and may reach an irreversible critical point sooner.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, show that glacier loss has increased significantly since 2010.
Bethan Davis, the study’s lead researcher, noted the accelerating rate of glacier melt is alarming and highlights the ice sheet’s vulnerability to climate change.
Alaska’s ice sheets are particularly vulnerable to rapid melting due to climate change, he said.
The most alarming increase occurred between 2010 and 2020, when the rate of ice loss doubled to 5.91 cubic kilometers per year.
The researchers also found that glaciers were disappearing five times faster between 2015 and 2019 than between 1948 and 1979.
Overall, between 1770 and 2020, the Juneau Icefield lost less than a quarter of its original volume.
As climate change continues to impact polar ice sheets, understanding these processes is critical to developing effective mitigation and adaptation strategies.
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