A reader claims: 'The estimate that peak water has passed is certain.' What is the correct assessment? (Passage: Glacier retreat)
Measurements taken over forty years show that a particular alpine glacier has lost roughly 30 metres of ice thickness. Meltwater from glaciers feeds rivers during dry summers, so in the short term retreat can increase river flow. Hydrologists call the point at which flow reaches its maximum 'peak water'. After this point the shrinking glacier supplies less each year, and rivers that depend on it decline. For this glacier, peak water is thought to have passed in the 1990s, although the estimate depends on assumptions about future rainfall.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. False
- Step 1: Look at how the passage qualifies the estimate. Step 2. The passage says 'is thought to' and that it depends on rainfall assumptions. Answer: False. Why not the others: Long measurements do not remove the assumptions; the estimate is mentioned; no part is called certain.
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