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Figure 54. A, Annual variability in global mass balance of glaciers and cumulative mass-balance values globally. B, Change in volume and variability computed for the worldwide system of mountain glaciers and subpolar ice caps, which has an aggregate area of 785,000 km². The results of direct mass-balance observations on 300 glaciers worldwide are averaged by area of individual glaciers—49 primary systems, 13 larger regions, 7 continental-size regions, and globally—to construct the single global curve. Vertical bars on B are estimated standard errors.