THE startling effects of climate change on a glacier have been revealed by a 34-year Salford University study.

Professor David Collins first monitored the glacier near Zermatt in the Swiss Alps as a 24-year-old post graduate student.

He has returned each year with students to take measurements from the river flow at Gornergletscher, 2,600 metres high.

The research has revealed that a lack of winter snow and warming air temperatures are causing glaciers to melt at an alarming rate - with some smaller ones likely to disappear in the next decade.

Professor Collins said: "The result of these changes to our eco-system will simply be disastrous."

The project has the longest, most continuous and most detailed records of melt water discharge and glacier river water quality in the world.

Over the years, about 500 students have taken measurements from equipment valued at £100,000 from late May to the end of September.

During the day temperatures can rise to 28C, but at night it can plunge below zero.

The nearest supplies are a one-and-a-half hour walk down the mountain with the return journey taking up to three-and-a-half hours.

Professor Collins said: "When these glaciers disappear completely there will be no melt water at all. River flow will be greatly decreased and will have changed nutrient characteristics."

He feared the Alpine eco-system would be changed forever.

The increased sediment in the river will also affect filters at nearby hydroelectric stations.

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