Alaska's Columbia Glacier which drops 0.7 cubic miles into Prince William sound is a good example, said geologist and co-author of the study Robert Anderson.
The glacier has thinned up to 1,300 feet in a few places, has shrunk about nine miles since 1980 and is expected to shrink the same amount in the next two decades, he said.
The melting of the ice sheets of Greenland and the Antarctic is not expected to catch up with that of glaciers and ice caps until the end of the century, the scientists said.
They estimated the accelerated melting of glaciers and ice caps will add from 4.0-9.5 inches to the sea level rise globally by 2100.
The figures do not include the expansion of the oceans as they get warmer which could potentially double the levels, the researchers said.
A one-foot rise in the sea level causes a shoreline retreat of 100 feet or more, they said, adding that currently some 100 million people live within about three feet of sea level.
