What's happening to Svalbard's glaciers?
Svalbard hosts around 1,700 glaciers, covering about 5% of Earth’s global glacier area. Since the year 2000, Svalbard’s glaciers have been continuously losing mass, and the rate of glacier loss has increased sharply since 2012. This retreat has taken place along with rapid increases in Arctic air temperatures and retreating sea ice. Additionally, changes in the layering of different ocean waters due to temperature and salinity differences have allowed warmer water to reach glacier fronts, increasing melting.