Nature Communications, 14 September 2022 Scientists have identified a significant new trigger for faster Antarctic ice sheet loss, which could have a major impact on the East Antarctic ice sheet and contribute to greater sea level rise than previously predicted. When a miles-thick ice sheet slides across the rocky ground below it, the friction generated […]
Nature Geosciences, 5 September 2022 New mapping of the seabed in front of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica has revealed that the glacier is capable of retreating far more rapidly than previously thought. The floating region of a glacier lifts and settles with the tide, creating a pattern of ridges along the sea floor […]
American Meteorological Society The 2021 State of the Climate report, led by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), was released in August – combining efforts from more than 530 scientists from 67 countries. The report is an annual summary of patterns and changes in the global climate […]
Glaciers, snow cover and permafrost are disappearing all over the world as a result of global warming. Faced with this emergency, scientists are working to improve the physical science underpinning past, present and future climate change; and thus strengthen our understanding of how the climate system is changing in response to human activity. Hosted largely […]
Nature Climate Change, 29 August 2022 New research suggests that the Greenland Ice Sheet is already committed to lose 3.3% of its ice, even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gasses today; this ice loss will trigger nearly one foot (27 cm) of global sea-level rise. While the study does not specify a time frame […]
Climate change threatens the vast high latitude and high altitude cold regions of the world. This session explores the impacts of climate change on the cryosphere in Latin America, Central Asia and the Andes; and anticipates the future dangers these regions will face. Hosted largely by the COP26 Cryosphere Pavilion Hub in Geneva, panelists discussed […]
Frontiers in Environmental Science, 29 June 2022 In this week’s Capsules, we wanted to highlight an important “consensus paper” from earlier this summer on permafrost; the local and global impacts of permafrost thaw; and the need to reduce fossil fuel emissions for its preservation. The “permafrost domain” is home to tens of millions of people, […]
26 August 2022 On Friday, the U.S. Department of State announced plans to appoint the first-ever Arctic Ambassador-at-Large; and expressed a renewed commitment to address climate change in the Arctic and its global consequences. This new Ambassador will build upon the previous U.S. Arctic Coordinator position. All seven other states in the Arctic Council have […]
The State of the Cryosphere report, first published last year at COP26 in Glasgow, will be released every year through 2030; and is reviewed and supported by dozens of leading cryosphere scientists. It details how a combination of melting polar ice sheets, vanishing glaciers, and thawing permafrost will have rapid, irreversible, and disastrous effects on […]
Nature Climate Change, 2 August 2022 Mid-depth water temperatures around East Antarctica have risen by nearly 2°C over the past century, with the strongest warming occurring near glaciers whose ice shelves are retreating most rapidly. Rising temperatures shift westerly winds closer to the poles and strengthen the flow of warm water underneath floating ice shelves. […]
Nature, 10 August 2022 This study provides the first comprehensive map of iceberg “calving” across Antarctica; and doubles previous estimates of ice loss due to ice shelf retreat, which has released more than 12 trillion metric tons of ice over the past three decades. Iceberg calving occurs when large sections of ice shelves fracture and […]
The Cryosphere, 17 August 2022 Bringing together observational research with local indigenous knowledge, this study identifies three interlocking factors that control snow accumulation in the Alaskan Arctic: elevation, vegetation, and terrain. Snow is commonly found at high elevations in areas with low temperatures and high precipitation. Tall shrubs and other plants provide an essential protective […]
The Cryosphere, 22 August 2022 The 1400 Swiss glaciers have lost half their total ice volume during just the past eighty years. This retreat is accelerating, with an additional 1/8 of ice lost from 2016-2021. This study provides a first-ever reconstruction of ice loss in Switzerland throughout the 20th century, by comparing tens of thousands […]
The IPCC has made it clear that 50% emissions reductions must occur globally by 2030 to remain close to 1.5°C of warming; and prevent cascading and irreversible damage, on a planetary scale, from the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the cryosphere. As the above papers make clear, overshoot of the 1.5°C limit cannot be […]
Communications Earth & Environment, 11 August 2022 Climate models typically estimate that the Arctic is warming 2.5 times faster than the global average, but decades of observational records now suggest that the true rate of “Arctic amplification” is nearly double these estimations. The Arctic warms faster than any other region on Earth due to Arctic […]