Arctic glaciers face ‘terminal’ decline as microbes accelerate ice melt

Scientists in Svalbard in race to study polar microbes as global heating threatens fragile glacial ecosystems

It felt really scary ... like being in the middle of a burning city during a night raid." Dr Arwyn Edwards is not describing urban warfare but a recent hot and foggy day on a Svalbard glacier, where record-breaking summer heat turned his workplace into a cascade of meltwater and falling rocks.

Edwards is a leading researcher in glacier ecology - the study of life forms that live on, within and around glaciers and ice sheets. Over two decades of polar research, he has always felt relaxed and at home" on ice. But the accelerating climate breakdown is beginning to erode that sense of security.