The principal author of the study and PhD student at the University of Arizona’s Department of Geosciences, Brandon Tober, asserted that the loss of this glacier will probably result in the biggest loss of ice from an Alaskan glacier this century.Tober says that as a result of rising temperatures due to climate change, the front permafrost section of Malaspina is “wasting away.” Permafrost is defined as ground that remains frozen for at least two years. “As this coastal barrier erodes and gives way to large lagoons, primarily through the collapse of ice cliffs, ocean water may eventually gain access to the glacier,” said Tober.