Irreversible impacts from cryosphere loss are already visible today due to increasing global warming. Crossing additional cryosphere thresholds will have far-reaching impacts across the world. In this side event, speakers presented the latest science showing that limiting warming to 1.5°C without overshoot is critical to avoid crossing the most catastrophic thresholds. Speakers included Dr. Carl-Friedrich […]
Geophysical Research Letters, 21 March 2023 Disappearing sea ice near West Antarctica is sending warm water closer to the continent, with the potential to increase ocean temperatures under discharging glaciers by more than 1°C in the next three decades should today’s high emissions continue. On the other hand, a very low emissions pathway (SSP1-1.9, as […]
Communication Earth & Environment, 13 March 2023 This study combines historical measurements with climate models to reveal that global meridional overturning circulation (GMOC) patterns — the planet-wide system of large ocean currents — have weakened by up to 20% over the last five decades near the seafloor around Antarctica. As temperatures rise, warm meltwater from […]
The Greenland Ice Sheet is three kilometers thick and has the potential to raise global sea levels by seven meters if completely melted. Cryosphere regions such as these directly respond to peak global temperatures, even if temperatures are lowered again. This presentation from COP27 provided an overview of Greenland’s temperature threshold (the point at which […]
Nature, 06 April 2023 A study of the earlier great ice sheet covering Scandinavia has found that when it collapsed about 19,000 years ago, it did so at rates up to 600 meters per day; far faster than anything measured by satellite data over the past 50 years. Indeed the slowest rate of collapse of […]
Nature Communications, 1 April 2023 Increased warm water upwelling along the edges of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) has the potential to increase ice loss and resulting sea-level rise from the EAIS over the next 200 years, especially in the most vulnerable sections of the ice sheet. In addition to a general warming of […]
Nature, 29 March 2023 Projected increases in Antarctic ice sheet melt, especially with high emissions, appear poised to drive a substantial slowdown of deep ocean currents in coming decades, potentially as early as 2050 should current emissions continue. This would cause deep and widespread warming of deep ocean waters, and a 40% slowdown of overturning […]
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet contains 52 meters of sea level rise, and there are worrying signs of mass loss from some regions. Targeted at policymakers, this event summarizes the latest science and shows why we must satisfy the Paris Agreement to avoid several meters of sea level rise from the cryosphere’s ‘sleeping giant’. Presenters […]
News Briefing: 22 March 2023 Multiple research stations in the high mountains of France and Switzerland are observing more frequent and larger rockfalls as permafrost thaw increases every year. Although permafrost is commonly associated with the Arctic, such permanently frozen soil and sediments also are a feature of mountain landscapes. These sometimes fill the cracks […]
Every increment of warming increases the amount of carbon released by thawing permafrost in the Arctic, and these emissions will continue for centuries even if temperatures lower again. In this session, speakers focus on intergenerational climate justice related to the ever-increasing burden of permafrost emissions on future generations. The event was organized by the Woodwell […]
Link to the Summary for Policy Makers: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/ The IPCC on March 20, 2023 approved the final installment of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), the “Synthesis Report,” bringing together the world’s leading scientists to create a comprehensive assessment of current climate change. The Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) is the result of over five days […]
Journal of Climate, 15 March 2023 This study compared projected Arctic ocean temperatures from the most recent IPCC climate models with actual observations from the Arctic Ocean; and found that models consistently underestimated ocean temperatures and the degree of warming. It concluded that future Arctic warming and especially, sea ice loss will proceed much faster […]
Nature, 15 March 2023 An examination of decades of measurements from the Fram Strait concluded that Arctic sea ice crossed an essentially irreversible threshold of loss between 2005-2007, when fully half of the Arctic’s thick multi-year ice disappeared — and has never recovered. Even today, less than one-tenth of Arctic sea ice passing through the […]
For those attending the UN 2023 Water Conference next week, please join us in Conference Room 5 from 14:00-15:15 EDT on March 23 for a side event featuring science-policy discussion on glaciers, snow, and future water availability. Presenters will highlight the crucial importance of limiting global average temperature rise to 1.5°C to preserve the global […]
Bringing together a wide range of scientists and government representatives, this side event provided insight on the comprehensive management of climate change at a national level, with an emphasis on tropical glaciers and future water resources in Peru. Presenters shared the latest scientific findings carried out by the Peruvian National Institute for Research on Glaciers […]