Live Science reports that a record-setting study found that Mount Everest's highest-altitude glacier is losing ice about 80 times faster than it took to form. <br />Scientists monitored the South Col Glacier, which stands at almost 26,000 feet above sea level, for signs of climate-related ice loss.<br />The team's report was published on February 3 in the journal 'NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science.'<br />According to the study, ice that took 2,000 years to form has completely melted away since the 1990s.<br />Currently, the data suggests that the glacier is losing several decades worth of ice accumulation each year.<br />"[This study] answers one of the big questions posed by our [expedition] — whether the highest glaciers on the planet are impacted 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 a resounding yes, and very significantly 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 to more avalanches on Everest and make terrain more 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 on how widespread these melting trends are among other glaciers at the top of the world.
