Message in a Bottle (from Edge of Glacier)

A 1959 message was discovered by arctic scientists at the very northern end of Canada. A scientist, Paul Walker, left a note in a plastic bottle at the edge of a glacier-- requesting:

"Anyone venturing this way is requested to re-measure the distance..."  


Today's scientists say Walker would not have known whether the glacier would expand or shrink. Walker left his message at a rock ledge just 1.2 meters away from the glacier ice. Now the distance from the buried bottle to the glacier is 101.5 meters. The glacier has melted, or retreated, an entire football field in distance. 

Sounds like no big deal. But the message in a bottle has something to tell us.