Nature Climate Change, 19 May 2022 Rising temperatures will accelerate glacier ice loss in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, disrupting previously reliable freshwater resources for millions. The Himalayan mountains experience the impacts of climate change more intensely than most other regions of the world, due in part to their high altitude. The glaciers in these mountains […]
Nature Communications, 20 May 2022 Warming in the tropical Pacific Ocean served as the main driver behind the melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet ten thousand years ago; and similar conditions today may cause its destabilization. Rising ocean temperatures in the tropics can shift westerly wind currents to the south and generate “atmospheric rivers” […]
Loss of sea ice is associated with permafrost thaw in Earth’s past, likely in part due to damaging wave action. This side event explores that connection, and looks at projections should temperature rise continue. The main presenters include Dr. Gustaf Hugelius, Co-Director of the Bolin Center of Climate Research/Stockholm University; and Robbie Mallet, a Cryosphere […]
Journal of Glaciology, 12 May 2022 Glaciers in the Jáchal river basin of Argentina are rapidly losing ice. One-quarter of the Agua Negra glacier has disappeared within the past sixty years due to unusually high temperatures, exacerbated by a long-term drought. As global temperatures rise, these mountainous desert regions of Argentina experience more intense dry […]
The Cryosphere, 5 May 2022 Arctic sea ice plays a crucial role in protecting the Alaskan coastline from open ocean waves generated in the Beaufort Sea. Seasonal sea ice forms near the shore during the fall, gradually merging with the thicker multi-year ice to create a layer across the surface that dampens the waves underneath. […]
Nature Geoscience, 5 May 2022 The accumulation of sea ice near the Antarctic Peninsula provides a buffer that dampens approaching ocean waves, preventing them from smashing into the ice shelves that buttress the glaciers and ice sheet behind. This layer of defence stabilizes the Antarctic Ice Sheet, reducing the number of icebergs breaking off from […]
News just reached us of the death of renowned Arctic scientist Dr. David Barber, founder and Director of the Centre for Earth Observation Science (CERC) at the University of Manitoba, on April 15 at the age of 61. Although most known for his sea ice research, Dr. Barber’s work reached into all realms of Arctic […]
Greenland’s ice is 3 kilometers thick, and runs entirely to its bedrock base, the center of which is below sea level. What is the tipping point of Greenland, where the altitude of the ice sheet is so lowered by surface melt that near-complete loss is unavoidable? This session offers an explanation of this important and […]
News Brief: 11 May 2022 Record-breaking heatwaves and rapid glacier melting triggered a devastating flood last week that wiped out a bridge, damaged homes, and swept away two major power plants in the Hunzu district of Pakistan. Extremely high temperatures over the past month accelerated snow and ice loss from the Shishpar glacier, increasing the […]
Nature Communications, 9 May 2022 More than 40% of the Petermann ice shelf has disappeared over the past decade. Rising global temperatures increase the flow of warm water against the bottom of floating ice shelves, accelerating melt and rendering them more vulnerable to collapse. Ice shelves serve as gatekeepers; they restrain the flow of larger […]
Science, 5 May 2022 This study provides the first direct evidence of a deep groundwater system below the surface of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. These hidden pockets of water reduce the friction between the ice sheet and underlying bedrock, accelerating the flow of ice into the ocean. This groundwater system can also dig pathways through […]
This COP-26 session delves into the connections between loss of Arctic Sea ice, pollution and accelerated warming and extreme weather events in Europe and North America. The video features Dr. Alasdair Skelton, former Co-Director of the Bolin Centre for Climate Research/Stockholm University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8rsZhVrILI
News Briefing: 28 April 2022 The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), supported by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has released a comprehensive assessment of environmental changes in the “Third Pole,” the entirety of the glacier-capped region in South Asia containing the largest reserve of freshwater outside the poles. The Third Pole provides […]
Nature Communications, 19 April 2022 The current rapid loss of Arctic sea ice may intensify temperature and precipitation trends by 50% in Europe, North America, West Africa and South America for several decades. Rising global temperatures accelerate the flow of heat from the North Atlantic Ocean into the Barents-Kara Seas and nearby Arctic regions. The […]
Science, 28 April 2022 Under a high emissions scenario, the combination of ocean acidification, ocean warming and oxygen loss — especially in the polar oceans — will result in catastrophic marine species loss by 2300. The scale of loss would be on par with the five mass ocean extinction events in Earth’s past. Rapidly curbing […]