For some mid-latitude glacier regions such as Scandinavia and the western United States, the difference between 1.5°C and 2°C is the difference between some small preservation of glacier ice; and none at all. This side event features a region-by-region survey of the benefits of meeting the 1.5°C goal for the world’s glacier systems by three […]

Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 19 April 2022 Winter temperatures have increased by nearly 1°C in the Olympic mountain range over the past century, resulting in the disappearance of more than half its original glacial area. Glaciers in the Olympic mountains are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to both their low elevation, and […]

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 18 March 2022 This study provides the first confirmed record of Pacific salmon populations surviving and reproducing in Arctic waters near Alaska. As global temperatures rise, an increasing number of species are able to migrate northward into the Arctic Ocean due to more favorable water temperatures and the […]

Happy Earth Day, Cryosphere Capsule readers! See ICCI’s “Cryosphere” tweets in honor of the day at https://twitter.com/iccinet/status/1517404853752016896. (And check out Google’s search page, which today features time-lapse photographs of receding glaciers in East Africa and northeastern Greenland.) Whether you’re in cryosphere or not, have a wonderful day!

The glaciers of the Andes, Patagonia and New Zealand are among those in the world losing ice most quickly. This event looked at projections for the future at different emissions choices, and implications for water resources and local populations. Main Presenters: Dr. Lauren Vargo, Research Fellow at the Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington/Te […]

Global and Planetary Change, 19 March 2022 More than one-third of New Zealand’s glacier ice volume has disappeared within the past fifty years due to unusually warm summer temperatures, exacerbated by a recent marine heatwave. As global temperatures rise, New Zealand experiences more frequent extreme weather; last year was its warmest on record. Projections now […]

Scientific Reports, 21 March 2022 There has been speculation that warmer temperatures and a longer growing season in the Arctic might help slow climate change, by those plants absorbing more carbon dioxide (CO2) as temperatures rise. Plants naturally absorb CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. The reasoning has been that rising temperatures melt Arctic snow […]

The loss of Arctic sea ice may be associated with many recent extreme weather events: from droughts and wildfires in the United States and Canadian West, to flooding in Germany and northern Europe. This event explored the evidence for a connection between Arctic sea ice loss and extreme weather patterns at lower latitudes, featuring Dr. […]

Environmental Research Letters, 25 March 2022 Concentrations of black carbon (BC) in the snow near Santiago, one of the most populated cities in South America, are more than five times higher than elsewhere in the southern Andes and Patagonia. This study provides the first comprehensive assessment of the impacts of black carbon on seasonal snow […]

Nature Communications, 23 March 2022 Extreme summer rainfall can increase the depth of permafrost thaw by over 30% in the northeastern Siberian tundra, an Arctic region characterized by its thick, frozen ground. Periods of intense rainfall allow warm water to seep downward and transport heat into frozen soils, accelerating permafrost thaw. The effects of extreme […]

NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science, 28 March 2022 The decline of sea ice in the Barents-Kara Seas could account for up to one-third of winter warming over the Tibetan Plateau. As global temperatures rise, sea ice loss accelerates across the Arctic, especially in regions such as the Barents-Kara Seas (located to the north of Norway […]

What are the impacts of Arctic and Southern Ocean sea ice loss on marine ecosystems and fisheries? How is this ecosystem, so dependent on thick and reliable multi-year ice, going to respond to its decline and complete loss – which will occur even at 1.5°C of warming? This session features Dr. Helen Findley, Biological Oceanographer […]

Geophysical Research Letters, 10 March 2022 Much of Arctic sea ice research focuses on summer sea ice loss; but this study found that the Arctic has now lost one-third of its winter sea ice volume in the past 20 years as well, including a large amount of its thick, multi-year ice. This decline in sea […]

Both of Earth’s polar regions experienced extreme heat this week, with parts of Antarctica rising more than 40°C above average; and regions of the Arctic reaching 30°C above. Such high temperatures in Antarctica and the Arctic are consistent with model projections of extreme temperature events under continued carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. Warm air […]

Permafrost begins emitting carbon into the atmosphere as soon as its first thaw. These emissions can continue for over 100 years and in some cases centuries, depending on local conditions. Each degree of rising temperatures therefore commits several future generations to so-called “negative emissions,” or carbon drawdown even long after human emissions go to zero. […]