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A Dartmouth study of the past 500 years in the life of a Peruvian glacier suggests that temperature is the main factor influencing the growth and retreat of the glacier, reports New York Times science writer Justin Gillis.

Led by graduate student Justin Stroup and Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences Meredith Kelly, the study group found, reports the Times, “that the glacier is sensitive to temperature and that other factors, like the amount of snowfall, are secondary.”

“Assuming it holds up, that is a sobering finding, considering how fast the Qori Kalis glacier is now retreating,” Gillis writes.

Read the full story, published 2/25/14 by The New York Times.