Scientists Warn , Mt. Everest's Highest Glacier , Faces Rapid Melting From Climate Change.<br />Live Science reports that a record-setting study found <br />that Mount Everest's highest-altitude glacier is losing <br />ice about 80 times faster than it took to form. .<br />Scientists monitored the South Col Glacier, which <br />stands at almost 26,000 feet above sea level, <br />for signs of climate-related ice loss. .<br />The team's report was published <br />on February 3 in the journal <br />'NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science.' .<br />According to the study, <br />ice that took 2,000 years to form has <br />completely melted away since the 1990s. .<br />Currently, the data suggests that <br />the glacier is losing several decades <br />worth of ice accumulation each year. .<br />[This study] answers one of the big <br />questions posed by our [expedition] <br />— whether the highest glaciers <br />on the planet are impacted <br />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.<br />The answer is <br />a resounding yes, <br />and very significantly <br />since the late 1990s, Paul Mayewski, study co-author, glaciologist and director of the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute, via Live Science.<br />According to the study's authors, the rapid decline of the glacier could have major impacts on the mountain and the surrounding area. .<br />The glacier's swift melting could lead <br />to more avalanches on Everest and make terrain more <br />treacherous for climbers by exposing more bedrock. .<br />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. .<br />Experts urge future research to focus <br />on how widespread these melting trends are <br />among other glaciers at the top of the world.
