During XL Catlin Arctic Live 2016, the team joined researchers from Aberystwyth University, who were investigating how melt channels in the middle of glaciers behave. To reach the research site every day required a 150 foot abseil into the glacier before entering the melt channel itself.

The study of how meltwater channels behave and change contributes to models of sea level rise. If a meltwater channel that runs through the middle of a glacier cuts through the ice to the bottom, this can speed up glacial movement towards the sea. This is because the meltwater creates a lubricating layer between the ice and the bedrock.

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