Glaciers' Weight Helps Scientiststrack Environmental Changes

Glaciers are very large chunks of ice and snow. Think of a frozen river, one that's been frozen for thousands of years.

Glaciers exist in the very coldest regions of the Earth. They are features on mountains across the continents, except in Australia, where there are no glaciers now.

As glaciers melt, they provide fresh water for plants and animals. Too much glacial melt can cause environmental concerns, though. The study of glaciers is called glaciology and involves math, physics, chemistry and computer programming.

"Measuring the volume of glaciers and ice sheets is a very important topic in glaciology today," said Christina Hulbe, associate professor in …