Global glaciers are shrinking, accelerating sea level rise and threatening freshwater supplies.

Researchers have synthesized two decades of data to track the world's changing glacier mass. This video explains the diverse observation techniques used in this massive community effort and highlights the real-world impact of melting ice on our oceans and freshwater availability.

The Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise, known as Glambie, has aggregated major studies to quantify global glacier mass change over the past 20 years. Published in the journal Nature, these findings confirm that widespread glacial melting is significantly impacting regional freshwater resources while simultaneously causing global sea levels to rise at an increasing pace.

To illustrate these findings, the research utilizes a variety of observation methods. The video uses Iceland's Vatnajökull glacier as a primary case study to demonstrate how these complex monitoring techniques work in practice.

Source: Two decades of glacier ice loss