Moulins have become increasingly of interest to glaciologists and climate scientists for two reasons. Firstly because they are signs of rising surface melt-rates on glaciers and ice caps. And secondly because the deepest moulins duct water directly to the bed of the glacier. Because the meltwater is warmer than the ice, it transports thermal energy deep into the glaciers and melts more ice – so-called cryo-hydrologic warming. It is now also understood that the water can sometimes act as a lubricant, hastening the rate at which the ice slides over the rock beneath it, such that glaciers ride
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