Glaciers in the European alps could shrink by 75% by the end of the century, according to new research into the expected impact of global warming.  The study, published in the journal Nature: Geoscience, concludes that, globally, mountain glaciers and ice caps are projected to lose 15-27% of their volume by 2100. The analysis suggests glaciers in the European alps and New Zealand will shrink by more than 70% but about 10% in Greenland and high-mountain asia.  The researchers argue this will result in "substantial impacts" on regional water availability. Retreating glaciers and ice caps threaten the water supplies of cities such as Kathmandu in Nepal and La Paz in Bolivia, which depend heavily on glacial meltwater for drinking and farming.  The scientists from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, predict that melting glaciers and ice caps will be responsible for increases in sea levels of 8.7-16.1cm by 2100.  "What is surprising here is the contribution to sea level rises of up to 16cm just from the melting of small glaciers and ice caps," said Dr Valentina Radic, one of the study's authors.