Carbon released by glaciers as they melt could have a major impact on atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas, a new study from Florida State University and the University of Alaska reveals.

Climatologists agree that vast quantities of carbon will be released from glaciers into oceans, as temperatures warm around the globe. However, the degree of that release is a question for researchers attempting to predict the future environment of the Earth.  

Effects of releasing massive storehouses of greenhouses gases to the environment could go well beyond contributing to global climate change. The process could also affect plant and animal life around the planet.

"This is the first attempt to figure out how much organic carbon is in glaciers and how much will be released when they melt. It could change the whole food web. We do not know how different ecological systems will react to a new influx of carbon," Robert Spencer of Florida State University said.

Organic carbon supplies come, in part, from soot and other carbon-rich materials trapped in the massive ice sheets.

Many climate models have been developed to study the potential rise in sea levels as glaciers continue to melt. However, far less study has been directed toward assessing the impact that could be caused from the release of organic compound into ocean environments.

"This research makes it clear that glaciers represent a substantial reservoir of organic carbon. As a result, the loss of glacier mass worldwide, along with the corresponding release of carbon, will affect high-latitude marine ecosystems," Eran Hood of the University of Alaska Southeast, stated in a press release.

Glaciers hold about 70 percent of all fresh water supplies in the world, and as they melt, fresh water interacting with salt water can alter circulation patterns in oceans, further interfering with natural climate patterns. Areas of the global ocean near the poles tend to receive relatively low levels of organic carbon, since much of it is normally locked up in ice. These regions could experience significant effects from glacial melting, the new study found.

Currently, around 13 percent of the organic carbon returning to oceans is the result of melting of glaciers. That percentage is expected to increase, as global temperatures rise. By the year 2050, climate change could be responsible for the release of 15 million tons of the materials into the open aquatic environments, where it could dramatically alter marine life. This is roughly half the amount carried by the Amazon River.

Storage and release of organic carbon from glaciers and ice sheets, detailing the new study into carbon release due to melting of glaciers, was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.