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Large and small lakes alike are therefore largely affected in the zone "where the base of the ice sheet melts and where that meltwater flows," Bell said.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide rely to some extent on seasonal meltwater from glaciers, which act like giant reservoirs to help buffer populations from drought.

The only place where average surface temperatures have cooled is the area immediately around Antarctica, and that’s probably due to meltwater from shrinking ice sheets, Schmidt said.

The research team pointed out that these differences stem from the way in which each model treats the flow of meltwater.

Thomas used his drone to capture this image, which is a stitched panorama of 26 individual frames, to provide a spectacular view of meltwater plunging over the edge of the Bråsvellbreen glacierglacier.