
Another day, another retreating glacier. Today's casualty is Antarctica's Cadman Glacier, located on the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Using satellite images and in-situ oceanographic measurements to track Cadman Glacier for more than three decades, a team of scientists has reported a dramatic glacial retreat of 5 miles (8 kilometers). The change was quick, occurring over just 2.5 years between November 2018 and May 2021. Following that retreat, the tidewater glacier's ice shelf — the part of the glacier that floats on the surface of the ocean, but still remains anchored to land — completely collapsed.