It's no secret that glaciers in Montana and the world over are disappearing. But now a new study puts a number to the losses, at least for the Western U.S. 

Of the West's 612 officially named glaciers, 52 no longer qualify as glaciers. That's according to a study released last month by Portland State University.

The research, published in the journal Earth System Science Data, delineates a glacier as a slowly moving mass of ice with an area of at least 25 acres, and a snowfield a stationary area of snow and ice that persists all year. The study found 52 glaciers have been demoted to snowfields.

Six of those 52 demoted glaciers are in Montana.

With me today to talk again about receding ice is Joshua Murdock, natural resources reporter and Rob Chaney, managing editor of the Missoulian newspaper.