Nature Geoscience, 7 February 2022 Widespread media coverage of this study unfortunately has resulted in a mischaracterization of its main conclusions, by claiming that the world’s glaciers “hold 20% less ice than previously estimated.” In reality, their estimate of global glacier volume excludes huge areas of Antarctica that were included in previous estimates. The ice […]

For more on current losses and future projections for the world’s glaciers and snowpack, and impacts on water resources, watch this great overview by Dr. Regine Hock, IPCC Coordinating Lead Author (SROCC) and Professor at the University of Oslo and the University of Alaska. https://youtu.be/LBETRQXYD9E?list=PL7jYwbz8AZmjj2sl72pp7bT4JaLHiN0C0

Scientific Reports, 10 January 2022 Rising global temperatures have shifted westerly winds closer to the Antarctic continent, sending warm eddies of water into cavities at the base of Antarctica’s ice sheets, and accelerating the flow of meltwater into the ocean. During the past 20 years, the flow of Antarctic meltwater into the Southern Ocean has […]

The Cryosphere, 25 January 2022 Alaska and northwestern Canada contain more than 27,000 glaciers, which account for the second-largest area of ice in the world outside of Greenland and Antarctica. “Ice-marginal” lakes form along the edges of these glaciers when their outflow is dammed by either ice or sediment deposits. Glacial lakes with different types […]

Nature, 19 January 2022 Svalbard contains more than one thousand glaciers located across a “climate gradient” – distinct geographical regions that experience different temperature and precipitation levels. While studies often attempt to predict the response of glaciers to future warming by examining glacier behavior patterns from a few glaciers over a long period of time, […]

In keeping with the contrasting Greenland and Antarctica studies in this week’s Capsules, this COP-26 session explains the differences between melting and potential sea-level rise rates from Earth’s two major ice sheets of Greenland (7 meters of potential sea-level rise) and Antarctica (about 58 meters, or 190 feet); with Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette of University of […]

Science Advances, 1 January 2022 Warm water from the Atlantic Ocean fills the bottom of Greenland’s deepest fjords, where its major outlet glaciers meet the ocean. During the summer, this dense layer of ocean water mixes with glacial meltwater, sending a plume of warmer water to the surface. This process, known as “undercutting,” accelerates melting […]

Nature Geoscience, 13 January 2022 Scientists are observing unusually rapid retreat along the undersides of several glaciers in the Amundsen Sea of West Antarctica. Rising global temperatures send fast-moving currents of relatively warm seawater into cavities along the base of these glaciers and their adjoining ice shelves. These currents have accelerated the melting of ice […]

This jam-packed COP-26 Cryosphere Pavilion session looks at how effective management of wetlands can contribute to climate adaptation and mitigation, as well as conservation of biodiversity in the face of rapid permafrost thaw, including lake drainage as outlined above; and was organized by the CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna) Working Group of the […]

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 4 January 2022 This global inventory provides a detailed map of the current size and stability of glacial lakes, in part to allow continual assessment of projected changes as the climate warms. 80% of these lakes in Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, and glacial valley regions (such as the Alps) were found […]

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 11 January 2022 Arctic coasts have different geological compositions depending on their location, but their sensitivity to changes in temperature render them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. When air temperature rises, ground ice melts and large areas of permafrost thaw along Arctic coastal regions, causing the land […]

Environmental Research Letters, 19 November 2021 An intense period of “catastrophic” lake drainage swept across northern Alaska from 2015-2019 during a period of increased summer warming. This set one of the highest levels of rapid lake drainage on record and broke a forty-year trend of decreasing drainage. Catastrophic drainage occurs when a lake on top […]

This COP-26 Cryosphere Pavilion session examines the future impact, and attempts at mitigation and adaptation in permafrost regions of the Arctic; with a presentation by Dr. Hugues Lantuit from the Alfred Wegener Institute and a panel discussion with youth researchers from impacted communities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNcXHAy0G2w

Eos, January 10 Pinning down the amount, rates and timing of future sea-level rise from Antarctica requires more targeted and integrated efforts to identify and understand the key processes affecting ice sheet melt. Many of these involve dynamic instabilities, as well as potentially irreversible behavior by the ice sheet. Such inter-disciplinary studies will not only […]

Environmental Research Letters, December 30 The winter flow of Russia’s massive Yenisei River – the largest river emptying into the Arctic Ocean – increased 80% between 1995 and 2019, unprecedented in the record going back to 1784. This acceleration may have begun as early as 1960. Previous studies have attributed such changes in wintertime freshwater […]