Vanishing glaciers : a cause of sea-level rise and a threat to water supply

This video is the third in a series produced by PROTECT, a European research project on the cryosphere and sea-level rise.

The video discusses the contribution of glaciers to sea-level rise and their importance for humans. Due to their proximity to 0°C temperature, glaciers respond much faster to global warming than ice sheets, making their mass loss a significant contributor to sea-level rise during the 20th century and beyond. To determine the health state of glaciers and their contribution to sea-level rise, glaciologists calculate their mass budget, which has been largely negative for several decades now, indicating that glaciers are losing mass year after year, causing them to retreat. The video emphasizes the need for immediate reductions of greenhouse gas emissions to preserve these crucial and vulnerable water resources and natural heritage.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869304.
This material reflects only the author’s view and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.