Tip of the iceberg

A gigantic glacier, twice the size of Scotland, is thinning at record pace, scientists have warned. The Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is shrinking four times as fast as it was ten years ago, according to research from Andrew Shepherd, of the University of Leeds' School of Earth and Environment. Professor Shepherd said his findings were a "great concern", as the melting glacier is large enough to affect the rate at which global sea levels rise.