Nature Communications, 2 July 2024 The massive Juneau Icefield in Alaska contains more than one thousand glaciers and has rapidly melted over the past decade, shrinking five times faster between 2010-2020 compared to the 1980s. During this period, the volume of glacier ice loss doubled. Alaska’s icefields are particularly vulnerable to climate warming because these […]
Geophysical Research Letters, 30 June 2024 Tropical glaciers in the Andes are now losing ice up to 10 times faster than their long-term average, according to a new study. Authors mapped changes in more than 5500 glaciers across the Andes since the Little Ice Age (1,400 to 1,850 CE) in order to place today’s losses […]
From the high latitudes to mountain regions, the world’s glaciers are responding faster than expected to fossil fuel emissions. This event shared the latest glacier models and described which regions have the most glacier ice that would be saved if emissions are kept within 1.5°C. Dr. Mohan Chand from Tribhuvan University moderated this session. Dr. […]
Nature Geoscience, 25 June 2024 Modelers have long theorized about processes that might account for the unusually rapid sea-level rise from ice sheets in Earth’s distant past, such as marine ice cliff instability (MICI). This new study finds that runaway intrusion of warm seawater under the Antarctic ice sheet may be just such a process, […]
News Briefing, 25 June 2024 Research led by the Union of Concerned Scientists concludes that nearly three million people live in communities with critical infrastructure at risk of monthly flooding by 2050, including hundreds of schools, hospitals, and government buildings. States such as Louisiana, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, and California contain the largest amount of […]
46th ATCM and 26th CEP in Kochi, Kerala, India | 20-30 May 2024 For the first time, the Antarctic Treaty meetings worked on a tourism framework, in response to growing concerns about its rapid growth and environmental impacts. As one of the main outcomes this year, parties adopted the decision to develop the very first […]
Mountain areas are key for climate adaptation efforts due to their transboundary and global importance (natural hazards, water towers, global biodiversity hotspots), high vulnerability to climate change, and tendency to host marginalized and isolated communities. This panel focused on the need for mountain-based adaptation funding. Speakers outlined pathways for leveraging finance further, such as finding […]
The Cryosphere, 3 June 2024 A new model incorporating the latest ice-ocean interactions projects that future stability of West Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier relies on small “pinning points” where it rests on the bedrock. The speed at which increasingly warm ocean waters erode these pinning points will play an important role in determining the future […]
Communications Earth & Environment, 13 June 2024 The Hudson Bay polar bear population, comprising three of the world’s 19 remaining groups (about 4000 individuals), will go locally extinct in the next few decades if today’s emissions continue, a study this week found. This is due to projected loss not only of sea ice extent, but […]
The Arctic is currently warming up to four times faster than the rest of the planet. Rapidly disappearing Arctic sea ice impacts weather systems across America, Europe and Asia, generating frequent and more powerful extreme events than ever observed before. Critical thresholds are likely to be passed if the global warming exceeds 1.5C, impacting the […]
Dear Cryosphere Capsule readers, It has been a pleasure seeing many of you in Bonn this week during the annual UNFCCC Subsidiary Body meetings! Updates on the main cryosphere takeaways from both the recent ATCM/CEP conclusion in Kochi as well as a debrief on SB60 will be shared next Friday, especially as we look forward […]
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 20 May 2024 Seawater pulses from tides moving beneath the vulnerable Thwaites Glacier has created a 6-kilometer zone where warm water repeatedly flows underneath the ice, speeding up melting. This tidal pulsing has increased the glacier’s instability, and therefore the rate at which it contributes to global sea-level […]
Geophysical Research Letters, 20 May 2024 Antarctic sea ice reached historically low levels in 2023, with over 2 million square kilometers less ice than usual during winter. This study is one of the first to directly link fossil fuel emissions with that sharp decline in Antarctic sea ice. In terms of probability, the record-breaking low […]
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 21 May 2024 This review paper maps the global distribution of glacial lakes, consolidating historical trends of sudden outburst flooding to predict future hazards and associated risks in each region. More than 3,000 glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have occurred during the past thousand years, particularly in High Mountain Asia, […]
The Arctic and Southern Oceans are under serious threat from warming, acidification, freshening, and ice loss. These changes are already visible today and have growing impacts on food webs, ecosystems, fisheries, and global weather patterns. This session draws attention to the societal and political impacts of fossil fuel emissions, emphasizing the importance of 1.5°C. Speakers […]