How fast can a glacier melt? Usually the answer is attributed to the amount of warming or CO2 level rise. But researchers are also looking into the actual mechanics of glacier melt to get a handle on what’s causing ice to wear away. In a paper published recently in Nature Geoscience, Adrian Jenkins of the British Antarctic Survey and colleagues examined Pine Island Glacier, one of the two main contributors of ice loss in West Antarctica. Pine Island Bay, 1984. Photo by Tom Kellogg onboard the... [Read more]