A team at the University of Colorado Boulder identified a process that caused a glacier in Antarctica to retreat faster than any other grounded glacier ever recorded, researchers said, losing about half of its mass in just two months.

After monitoring glaciers in Antarctica, CU Boulder Research Affiliate Naomi Ochwat noticed that the Hektoria Glacier had retreated faster than anything she had ever seen or read about. The grounded glacier, meaning it’s grounded or resting on bedrock, retreated approximately 15.5 miles between January 2022 and March 2023, according to the study. Ochwat set out to understand how and why the Hektoria Glacier retreated so quickly.

“This process, if it could occur on a much larger glacier, then it could have significant consequences for how fast the ice sheet

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