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In January, for example, researchers found corals, sponges and even giant sea spiders some 750 feet under the waves — all suddenly unearthed when a glacier broke free during a Schmidt Ocean Institute voyage.

Heard Island, though, is barren, icy and completely uninhabited - home to Australia's largest and only active volcano, Big Ben, and mostly covered by glaciers.

In 2021, near 100 people died in Uttarakhand after a piece of a Himalayan glacier fell into the river, triggering flash floods.

The world's glaciers are melting faster than ever recorded under the impact of climate change, according to the most comprehensive scientific analysis to date.

Paul Bierman is a geoscientist and professor of natural resources at the University of Vermont with 40 years of experience studying glaciers and ice sheets.