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The volume of lakes formed as glaciers worldwide melt due to climate change has jumped by 50 per cent in 30 years, according to a new study based on satellite data. "We have known that not all meltwater is making it into the oceans immediately," lead author Dr Dan Shugar, a geomorphologist and associate professor at the University of Calgary, said in a statement. "But until now there were no data to estimate how much was being stored in lakes or groundwater." The findings, published on 01 September in Nature Climate Change, will help scientists and governments identify potential hazards to communities downstream of these often-unstable lakes, he said.