On Hofsjökull ice cap, mass balance has been negative each year from 1995-2005.
The National Geographic article is a well thought out example of a mass balance that doesn't "add up".
This is due to continued warm conditions and negative mass balance.
All three of these glaciers have had a strong negative mass balance since monitoring began.
The glacier's mass balance, an indicator of its health, has not been fully investigated.
To guard against this the mass balance should be calculated.
The mass balance is the net gain or loss of snow and ice.
One must first write down a mass balance before a link between and the reaction rate can be found.
Making direct measurements of the mass balance is simple.
The difference between these two parameters is the mass balance.