US scientists have found that glaciers in Alaska are retreating much faster than originally thought.
The researchers say the resulting melt waters are sufficiently large to drive up global sea levels by 0.14 millimetres per year.
Over the last five to 10 years there has been an acceleration
Dr Keith Echelmeyer
The study by Dr Keith Echelmeyer, of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and colleagues used laser altimetry to measure the volume changes of 67 Alaskan glaciers from the mid-1950s to the-mid 1990s.
Their work, published in the journal Science, adds to the growing evidence that the level of recent glacier wastage - from polar regions to the tropics - has been underestimated.