(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists from the French Institute of Geological Sciences and Dartmouth College conducted a study in which they found out that the threat of fresh water shortage hung over humanity more than expected.
They concluded that the melting glaciers contain much less ice than previously predicted by experts. It is reported by Bloomberg.
The study was carried out using satellite imagery. Scientists have measured the thickness and movement of over 240,000 mountain glaciers. They analyzed about 812 thousand pairs of photographs and covered 98% of the Earth‘s territory.
As a result, it turned out that the volume of ice and fresh water reserves have changed a lot. Scientists have lowered previous estimates of the contribution of mountain glaciers to sea level rise.
For example, if all glaciers, with the exception of the large ones in Greenland and Antarctica, melt, then the level of the world ocean will rise not by 33 centimeters, as previously thought, but by only 25 centimeters.
“Glaciers are melting faster and faster. The reduction in the total volume of ice will inevitably have an impact on the planet much earlier than expected,” said study author Romain Millan.
The authors of the study clarified that they hope that their forecast will influence the decisions of governments of countries on the construction of water supply infrastructures.
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