Ice blocks falling from a glacier front in Svalbard

Description

Research shows that the glaciers in Svalbard are melting and getting smaller. This is taking place because the climate has become generally warmer in the past 100 years. Higher air temperatures have brought a more rapid retreat in the last 10 years. A glacier gets smaller because it loses more mass during the summer than it adds in the winter. It is mainly temperature and precipitation that control this relationship.