Due to global warming, Earth’s cryosphere is changing dramatically. Snow and ice are crucial for the world’s freshwater supply, ecosystems, agriculture, and human communities. Glaciers and snowpack are decreasing globally, contributing to glacial lake outburst flood risks. Mass loss from mountain glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets significantly contributes to sea-level rise, with irreversible ice loss potentially locking in higher sea levels for centuries without a swift transition to zero-carbon economies. Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extent and thickness have both declined, potentially affecting global weather and ocean currents. Permafrost thaw carbon emissions are increasing, impacting the global carbon budget; permafrost collapse also causes infrastructure damage. Polar oceans are rapidly acidifying, warming, and freshening, affecting high-latitude fisheries.
By bringing together leading Chinese and international cryosphere scientists, this international workshop focused on the latest scientific results in understanding cryosphere changes under global warming, and the impacts of current and projected cryosphere loss across the planet. The workshop included panel discussions on research gaps and future perspectives in the light of the Paris Agreement, highlighted ways in which cryosphere science informs and contributes to the Seventh IPCC Assessment Cycle (AR7), and explored effective approaches to communicating cryosphere changes with policymakers.
The workshop discussed:
– Impact of global warming on the Earth’s cryosphere and sea-level rise
– Decline in snowpack and ice mass from glaciers and polar ice sheets
– Rapid changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extent and thickness
– Increasing permafrost thaw emissions and associated hazard
– Communicating science to policymakers
The program and a full list of speakers can be found below.
– China Society of Cryospheric Science (CSCS)
– Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering (KLCSFSE), Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER), CAS
– International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI)
– Chinese National Committee for International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (CNC-IACS)
– Commission on Cryospheric Science and Sustainable Development, Geographical Society of China (GSC)
If you have any questions, we welcome you to contact Mengzhu Zhang at mengzhu@iccinet.org or Miriam Jackson at miriam@iccinet.org.
9:30-21:30 Registration Desk Open
19:00 Pre-conference Welcome Dinner
8:00 Day-of Registration
8:30-9:00 Welcome and Keynotes
Moderator: Shichang Kang
Dahe Qin, IPCC Co-Chair AR4 and AR5
Georg Kaser, University of Innsbruck, IPCC Lead Author AR5, SROCC, AR6
9:00-10:40 Session 1: Mountain Glaciers and Snow Cover
Moderators: Georg Kaser and Tao Che
Keynote: Long-term glacier evolution under different levels of global warming | Ben Marzeion
Keynote: Cryosphere science: Towards regional sustainable development | Shichang Kang
Remote sensing of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau | Tao Che
Glacier Projects in the HKH Region | Mohan Chand
Land-atmosphere interaction and its effects on the weather and climate of the Tibetan Plateau | Yaoming Ma
Projected and observed changes of organic carbon transport are alarming for glaciers of the Third Pole | Hewen Niu
Panel Discussion/Q&A
10:40-11:00 Coffee Break & Group Photo
11:00-12:30 Session 2: Ice Sheets and Sea-Level Rise
Moderators: Rob DeConto and Chen Zhao
Keynote: Antarctica, sea-level rise and the Paris Agreement | Rob DeConto
Keynote: Reconciled estimation of Antarctic ice sheet mass balance and contribution to global sea level change from 1996-2021 | Rongxing Li
Can stabilizing sea-level effects save the West Antarctic Ice Sheet? Insights from projections for the coming centuries | Holly Han
Subglacial water amplifies Antarctic contributions to sea-level rise | Chen Zhao
Evaluation of eight geothermal heat flow maps for Totten Glacier using specularity content | Liyun Zhao
Surface and basal melt of the Antarctic ice shelves | Chunxia Zhou
Geothermal heat flow basal boundary condition during Greenland ice sheet spins up | Tong Zhang
Ice core signals of abrupt retreat of the Ronne Ice Shelf in the early Holocene | Bella Rowell
Panel Discussion/Q&A
12:30 Lunch (Hotel Restaurant)
14:00-15:30 Session 3: Permafrost: Threats of Emissions and Infrastructure
Moderators: Gustaf Hugelius and Lin Zhao
Keynote: Some issues in research on permafrost-related datasets and model construction on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau | Lin Zhao
Keynote: The permafrost climate feedback, with emissions not yet included in global projections | Gustaf Hugelius
Threat of permafrost degradation to transportation infrastructures on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau | Fujun Niu
Changing southern/lower limits of permafrost in Northeast China | Huijun Jin
Lake outburst threat in permafrost regions and engineering solutions | Yanhu Mu
Global warming enhanced winter CO2 emissions in the Northern Hemisphere permafrost regions | Cuicui Mu
Permafrost distribution, change and economic damage on infrastructure in Qinghai-Tibet plateau | Youhua Ran
Panel Discussion/Q&A
15:30-16:00 Coffee Break
16:00-17:30 Session 4: Sea Ice
Moderators: Fei Huang and Robbie Mallett
Keynote: Sea ice from coasts to open ocean: Tracking and communicating change | Twila Moon
Keynote: Postponement of decadal shift of the Arctic sea ice in the Eurasian sector than in the Greenland sector | Fei Huang
Changing sea ice in the Arctic’s Northeast Passage | Robbie Mallett
Arctic sea ice change, impact, and prediction | Jiping Liu
Status quo and challenges for satellite remote sensing of Antarctic sea ice mass balance | Shiming Xu
Panel Discussion/Q&A
17:45 “Chill” and Pre-dinner Panel Discussion for Early Career Scientists
Panel and Q&A with Cryosphere Pavilion ECS
19:00 Conference Dinner
8:30-10:00 Session 5: Polar Oceans: Acidification, Warming, Freshening, Current Perturbance
Moderators: Richard Bellerby and Cunde Xiao
Keynote: Triple threat to polar oceans | Helen Findlay
Newly reconstructed Arctic surface air temperatures for 1979-2021 with deep learning method | Yong Luo
Keynote: Arctic Barents-Kara seas (BKS) as a key origin of multiple disasters of North Hemisphere | Cunde Xiao
Tropical ocean contribute to Antarctic climate change | Xichen Li
Drivers of the Southern Ocean temperature and salinity changes under anthropogenic warming | Kewei Lyu
Response of Ross Sea Shelf water properties to enhanced Amundsen Sea ice shelf melting | Zhaoru Zhang
Adjoint-based Arctic Ocean and sea ice reanalysis | Guokun Lyu
Panel Discussion/Q&A
10:00-10:30 Summary of Latest Cryosphere Findings Since AR6
Preview: 2024 State of the Cryosphere Report | James Kirkham
Q&A
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
11:00-11:45 Communicating Complex Cryosphere Science to Public and Policy Worlds
Moderator: Shichang Kang
Keynote: Turning data into impact: How to make climate science resonate | Heidi Sevestre
Panel Discussion: Heidi Sevestre, Rob DeConto, Qianggong Zhang, Chen Zhao, Twila Moon
11:45-12:15 Cryosphere and Looking Towards COP29
Pam Pearson, ICCI and JiaoJiao Hu, Memory of Glaciers
12:15-12:30 Closing Remarks
12:30: Closing Lunch