Through concrete examples from three continents — the Tarim Basin, the northern Andes and the Alps — this COP26 side event explored the direct and indirect consequences of glacier loss, needed emissions reductions to prevent or minimize this outcome, ways to adapt, and levels at which adaptation may not be feasible. Main Presenters include Dr. […]
Science, 2 June 2022 Over the past four decades, three-quarters of the European Alps above the tree line have experienced an increase in plant growth, a process known as “greening.” Although greening could increase carbon sequestration in the region, accelerated snow melt in combination with more habitable conditions for plant growth will lead to harmful […]
The Cryosphere, 21 April 2022 The large, very thick marine-terminating glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic appear more vulnerable to rising temperatures than previously realized. These massive glaciers have sometimes sped up their discharge of ice into the ocean over the past few decades, beginning in the late 1990’s. This model study explains the mechanisms […]
Geophysical Research Letters Oceans, 28 May 2022 Rising temperatures have increased the frequency of winter melt events across the Arctic. These brief but intense melt events have contributed to nearly half of total sea ice loss in regions north of Svalbard. Major ocean currents carry warm Atlantic waters into the Arctic. During periods of strong […]
The Getz region of West Antarctica is losing ice at an increasing rate. A recent study using satellite data found that the average speed of ice in this region has accelerated by 24% over the past three decades, with three glaciers accelerating by more than 44%. Main presenters include Dr. Heather Selley, University of Leeds; […]
News Briefing: 30 May 2022 Rising global temperatures have accelerated the growth of the Batagaika Crater in Siberia, which is the largest permafrost landslide in the world. This “Gateway to the Underworld” crater is more than 86 meters deep and 1 kilometer wide. It formed several decades ago when abrupt permafrost thaw collapsed the land […]
European Space Agency, 25 May 2022 Rain fell on the highest region of the Greenland Ice Sheet for the first time ever recorded during the summer of 2021. Several intense “atmospheric rivers” in combination with a heatwave swept along Greenland, elevating summer temperatures above freezing. Atmospheric rivers are warm, meandering air currents filled with moisture […]
Communications Earth and Environment, 27 May 2022 Long-term summer warming in the Antarctic Peninsula has increased the severity of Antarctic heatwaves by 25% over the past century, largely as a result of rising human emissions. During February 2020, the Antarctic Peninsula experienced one of the most intense heatwaves ever recorded in Western Antarctica, with temperatures […]
Black carbon (BC) accelerates ice loss in the Arctic and creates a feedback loop exacerbating global heating; and has health impacts for local communities. BC from Arctic shipping is increasing as reduced sea ice opens up access to trans-Arctic shipping routes. As a result, between 2015 and 2019, black carbon emissions from shipping in the […]
News Briefing: May 2022 At this week’s Antarctic Treaty Mechanism meetings in Berlin, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) released a key synopsis of the changes taking place in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The ACCE Report summarizes the past decade of scientific evidence; and clearly states that global emissions must be reduced to […]
Scientific Reports, 20 May 2022 The combination of rapid sea ice loss with increased human activity – including commercial shipping and oil and gas development – threaten bowhead whale populations in the Arctic. Bowhead whales are one of the few species that live their entire life in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, living in close association […]
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 […]