‘A bellwether of change’: speed of glacier shrinking on remote Heard Island sounds alarm
by Graham Readfearn Environment and climate correspon from Environment | The Guardian on (#6Z3PH)
Glacial retreat on pristine world heritage-listed island as temperatures warm could endanger unique plant life
Glaciers on a remote Australian subantarctic island are shrinking rapidly, losing almost a quarter of their size in just 70 years, with researchers fearing glaciers on a neighbouring peninsula may have already disappeared.
Analysis of aerial photographs and maps going back to 1947 were combined with satellite data to track melting on 29 glaciers on the uninhabited wilderness of Heard Island, 4,100km south-west of Perth and 1,500km north of Antarctica.
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