Melting of glaciers risks mountains stability

The melting of the glaciers on the Alps is changing the stability of the mountains.

The lack of the support provided by the ice from the glaciers is provoking the collapse of parts of Eiger mountain, in Switzerland.

Earlier on Thursday, a 30-metre high rock formation on the Eiger known as the Madonna fell as a result of the pressure. Geologists had predicted last week that a dramatic fall was imminent because of the retreat of the glacier – blamed on global warming. A slab had been moving away from the rock face at a rate of up to a metre a day and a fissure between the two surfaces, which was first spotted at the beginning of last month, had grown to about five metres.

On that site they have many photographs and videos of the receding glaciers.

Could the loss of the weight from the melting glaciers be big enough to provoke earthquakes in that region? Lets hope that in that case the earthquakes are many and small, and not large ones, that could be disastrous on a place like that.