Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder have just released the results of a study which draws attention to the role of glaciers and ice caps on rising levels of sea water. Their findings dispel the previously held theory that Greenland and Antartica are the greatest sources of sea-level rise. Instead, their data points to the melting of glaciers and ice caps as significant contributors to rising water levels. Though not a direct cause of glacier meltoff, climate change has been identified as the trigger that accelerates a glacier's descent into the ocean at its base.

The researchers found that glaciers and ice caps are currently contributing about 60 percent of the world's ice to the oceans and the rate has been markedly accelerating in the past decade, said Professor Emeritus Mark Meier of CU-Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, former INSTAAR director and professor in geological sciences and lead study author (pictured above).

The National Science Foundation is featuring the study on the NSF website, including a video interview with Mark Meier.

Or listen to an audio podcast interview with Mark Meier on CU's News podcast station.