Glaciologists to target third pole

摘要

With the health of the world's highest glaciers in dispute, an international team is planning a long-term campaign to measure the vital signs of the ice atop Tibet and its surrounding mountains. The 46,000 or so glaciers in the region -known as the Third Pole - supply water to some 1.4 billion people in southern and central Asia, and although many climate studies suggest that the ice is disappearing fast, not all measurements are so dire. Now, the Third Pole Environment (TPE) programme, an international effort to assess the effect of climate change in the region, aims to get some answers by monitoring 25 of the glaciers, which project leaders plan to identify in coming weeks.