Article posted Thursday, June 12, 2014 12:21pm

One of the fastest retreating glaciers is Jakobshavn Isbrae in West Greenland, which has been in retreat since the mid-1990s. Here’s a little quiz to test your knowledge of Greenland’s glaciers. In 2012, the Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier retreated:

A. The length of a football field

B. 500 yards

C. Two miles

D. Ten miles

The correct answer is “D.” The glacier reached a record pace for retreat in 2012, four times greater than during the 1990s. To be accurate, the astonishing distance was actually 10.5 miles. If you were involved in this study, how would you interpret the findings? (Jaughin et al, 2014, The Cryosphere, vol. 8, pp. 209-214; the authors used high-resolution satellite radar observations.)