Many scientists believe that changes in glacial morphology can be used to extrapolate changes in the environment.
Glaciers are in fact very sensitive to environmental change.
Local as well as general climate must be taken into account in order to interpret glacial changes. There are glaciers that exist due to the peculiarities of local climate. Other glaciers form in areas that are simply cold and have abundant snow. These areas are either near the polar latitudes or at high elevations. Interest in the extent of glaciers due to climatic change has arisen for many reasons.