Sydney: One of the largest glaciers on the planet, Totten, is melting due to ocean warming, a phenomenon that demonstrates the vulnerability of East Antarctica and its role in increasing the level of the oceans.

The Totten glacier, 120 km long and 30 km wide, is one of the largest glaciers on the planet and also one of the least understood glacier systems, Steven Rintoul, head of a scientific expedition that is measuring the waters below the ice cap, told Efe news agency.