 Glacier retreat results in the loss of the low @-@ elevation region of the glacier . Since higher elevations are cooler , the disappearance of the lowest portion decreases overall ablation , thereby increasing mass balance and potentially reestablishing equilibrium . If the mass balance of a significant portion of the accumulation zone of the glacier is negative , it is in disequilibrium with the climate and will melt away without a colder climate and or an increase in frozen precipitation . 
