U.S. glaciologists say the Greenlandic glacier Kangerdlugssuaq is retreating so fast it has become one of the world's fastest-moving glaciers.
The glacier is moving at a speed of 8.4 miles per year, compared with 3.6 miles in 1996, the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine reports.
"We couldn't believe our results at first," glaciologist Leigh Stearns wrote. "Apparently, large changes have taken place since 2001, causing extreme thinning, retreat, and acceleration. Now Kangerdlugssuaq rivals Jakobshaven as the fastest glacier in the world."
For 40 years, the glacier's size remained stable, but in the last four years, Stearns and her colleagues discovered the glacier had reduced by 3 miles, reported the Copenhagen Post Friday.
