A study published on Thursday revealed that a northeast Greenland glacier has dramatically melted in last few years and could raise global sea levels by over 18 inches if it melts completely.

While providing details to USA TODAY, lead researcher of the study, Jeremie Mouginot, said the massive glacier has been melting rapidly. It was surprising to see the dramatically shrinking of the glacier, Mouginot added.

The study published in journal Science reported that the glacier has enough water to raise global sea levels by more than one and half foot if it melts completely. The study did not disclose when the glacier will melt away to nothing. According to Mouginot, the glacier, Zachariae Isstrom, has melted in last one decade. Currently, it is melting and dispensing iceberg into the ocean.

This rapid melting is due to earth’s warming temperatures, said Eric Rignot, a researcher from the University of California and co-author of the study. He said, “The top of the glacier is melting away as a result of decades of steadily increasing air temperatures, while its underside is compromised by currents carrying warmer ocean water, and the glacier is now breaking away into bits and pieces and retreating into deeper ground”.

There is another glacier near the Zachariae Isstrom which is also melting but at a slower rate. More than 10% of the Greenland ice sheet is due to these two glaciers. If the two chunks melt, global sea levels will rise about 40 inches, but this process could take hundreds of years.