BRUSSELS - Receding Alpine glaciers are appearing a sure telltale of
global warming. In Switzerland, 84 out of 85 glaciers under observation
became shorter in 2006.The hot summers and the lack of precipitation in
recent years will accelerate the melting process even more, scientists
say.
Glaciers are large masses of snow, ice and rock debris that
accumulate in great quantities and begin to flow downwards under
pressure of their own weight. They are formed when yearly snowfall in a
region far exceeds the amount of snow and ice that melts in a given
summer, like in the Swiss Alps.
The results published by the Swiss Academy of Sciences confirm
the measurements of previous campaigns, which clearly showed that Swiss
glaciers are shrinking. Approximately three-quarters of the observed
shrinkage in 2006 is between one and 30 metres.
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