The LeConte Glacier ice field is thinning. Ice towers that once stood 250-feet above sea level now measure 165-feet at the tallest point along the face of the glacier, according to measurements taken by Petersburg High School students conducting their annual May survey.

Students led by instructor Victor Trautman also determined the glacier terminus has retreated 300-feet as compared to previous measurements. The glacier has a tendency to move forward with the spring melt and retreat again in the fall.

The student group this year, "was unbelievably professional," said Trautman. "They had jus...