Nature Communications, 6 March 2025 This study reports that the sudden drainage of a lake beneath Thwaites Glacier temporarily doubled the melting of its ice shelf in 2013, pushing ice loss to greater heights than expected. The quick release of lake meltwater, in combination with deep circumpolar ocean waters continually eroding ice shelf cavities, led […]

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 12 January 2025 The AMOC is a large, intertwined system of ocean currents that transports heat throughout the Atlantic Ocean, playing a key role in the regulation of ocean temperatures and global climate patterns. By quantifying the AMOC’s impact on ocean carbon uptake, this study shows that a […]

Communications Earth and Environment, 7 March 2025 Geo-engineering efforts to add an underwater “curtain” to the fjord of one of Greenland’s largest glaciers would not prevent further retreat under even a low emissions scenario, and comes with a plethora of economic and cultural concerns from local Indigenous Peoples. Previous hypotheses suggested that a curtain or […]

The Arctic and Southern Oceans are crucial components of the global climate system. Their unique ecosystems are under serious threat from warming, acidification, freshening and ice loss. Polar oceans are already experiencing changes in chemistry, and continued warming is leading to population range shifts, changes in food webs, ecosystems, fisheries, and climate regulation. Speakers highlighted […]

Nature, 19 February 2025 A comprehensive analysis from the Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise, or GlaMBIE, reveals global glaciers are losing ice at an alarming rate, averaging 270 billion tonnes annually from 2000 to 2023, with a significant acceleration in recent years. This mass loss, surpassing both Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet contributions, made glaciers […]

Nature and Environmental Research Letters, 26 February and 3 March 2025 Two recent studies refine predictions of North Atlantic and Antarctic ocean circulation behavior this century, highlighting the interconnectedness of the Earth’s polar oceans and climate system. Together, the studies emphasize the urgent need for mitigation of emissions, to avoid major disruption to the delicate […]

Nature Communications Earth and Environment, 21 February 2025 A new study reveals a significant structural shift in Antarctic sea ice patterns over the past decade. While Antarctic sea ice showed a long-term slightly increasing trend until 2016, patterns changed in 2017 with multiple consecutive summers displaying record-low amounts of sea ice. By reconstructing sea ice […]

NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science, 27 February 2025 The “El Niño Southern Oscillation”, or ENSO, is known to influence variability in sea ice. This study investigates the linear and nonlinear data trends of ENSO’s impact on Antarctic sea ice predictability. Findings reveal that ENSO’s influence on sea ice extent is not uniform, displaying both predictable […]

In honor of the very first International Glaciers’ Day on March 21, this presentation outlines results from the recent Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise (GlaMBIE) noted above, via a large international research team under the coordination of the WMO’s World Glacier Monitoring Service. GlaMBIE collected, homogenized and analyzed glacier mass changes from different field and […]

Nature Reviews: Earth and Environment, 11 February 2025 A recent review article explains the history of atmospheric rivers in Antarctica, highlighting that the rivers have led to 50-70% of extreme snowfalls, but have also triggered major surface melting events. The review warns that atmospheric rivers will likely grow more frequent and intense with rising global […]

The Cryosphere, 23 January 2025 Improved ice sheet modeling techniques in this study indicate that current rates of ice loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet show a strong possibility of future collapse in the region, even with no further warming. If ocean temperatures simply remain at present-day levels for several centuries, the models project […]

AGU Earth’s Future, 16 December 2024 This interdisciplinary risk assessment of coastal threats consolidated data on erosion, sea-level rise, and permafrost thaw across the Arctic to produce the first comprehensive map illustrating the vulnerability of coastal communities and infrastructure to climate change. Results show that by 2100, 45% of coastal settlements will be impacted by […]

Permafrost plays a critical role when calculating current and future carbon emissions. Senior researchers explain recent trends in permafrost thaw, and outline future carbon dioxide and methane emissions from this thaw under multiple emissions scenarios, including our current climate trajectory. They go into depth about the state of monitoring, measuring, and accounting for these emissions. […]

Nature Communications, 3 February 2025 An analysis of climate change alongside population growth finds that a greater number of people than previously estimated will live on the frontlines of extreme flooding in coming decades, with an additional 300,000 people in high-risk flood areas by the end of the century. High-resolution models also reveal that lower-income […]

Communications Earth and Environment, 23 January 2025 The Arctic’s “Last Ice Area” (LIA) – the area north of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago long seen as the region where year-round sea ice would survive the longest, providing a potential refuge for ice-dependent species – could disappear less than a decade after the central Arctic […]