American Geophysical Union, December 13 Rising global temperatures appear to be accelerating the spread of deep and fast-moving cracks across the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf. This ice shelf plays a pivotal role in slowing the flow of ice from the massive Thwaites Glacier, one of the largest and fastest-melting glaciers on the continent. Thwaites currently […]

Over the coming weeks, the Cryosphere Capsules will feature videos of some of the best and most impactful side events that took place at the Cryosphere Pavilion during COP-26 in Glasgow. This week: what does the future hold for Greenland’s contribution to sea-level rise at low, versus high emissions? This Nov. 10 side event featured […]

Nature Communications, October 26 Rising global temperatures accelerate the decline of Arctic sea ice extent, which this study associated with increased likelihood of wildfires in the western United States. Loss of Arctic sea ice cover exposes the dark surface of the ocean to greater warming from sunlight. This warmer Arctic Ocean surface water causes a […]

Nature Communications, November 1 Meltwater runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased by 21% over the past forty years, and has also become 60% more erratic from one summer to the next. As global temperatures have risen, extreme melting events across this ice sheet are becoming more frequent and intense. For example, meltwater runoff […]

Over the coming weeks, the Cryosphere Capsules will feature videos of some of the best and most impactful side events that took place at the Cryosphere Pavilion during COP-26 in Glasgow! First out this week is a side event on the future of Arctic sea ice, featuring Dr. Walt Meier of the National Snow and […]

Nature Communications, November 30 Updated climate models for the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment (AR6) reveal that precipitation in the Arctic is changing faster and on a larger scale than previously expected. Under a high-emissions scenario, rainfall will likely dominate seasonal precipitation patterns in the central Arctic by 2070, two decades earlier than anticipated by past models. […]

Scientific Advances, November 24 Sampling of marine debris indicates that the Arctic may have already begun warming in the early 1900’s. These samples, using sediment from the Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard and covering the past 800 years in detailed 5- or 10-year intervals throughout, show stable conditions in terms of salinity and temperature […]

Scientific Reports, October 1 Heatwaves are projected to double in frequency in West Antarctica and triple in East Antarctica by the end of the century, even under a moderate emissions scenario. This warming may be particularly pronounced along the coasts of Antarctica, where air temperatures are already approaching the melting point of 0°C; and where […]

Scientific Reports, September 24 Rising global temperatures have increased the frequency of unprecedented heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires in Siberia over the past two decades. One mechanism contributing to these negative impacts is the Arctic Oscillation, a belt of strong winds circling the Arctic. These winds influence winter temperature and precipitation patterns over Eurasia, North American, […]

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, August 5 A major pre-existing crack in the Larsen C Ice Shelf broke open in 2017, releasing one of the largest Antarctic icebergs on record. The “ice mélange” – a stabilizing mixture of sea ice, iceberg debris, and snow – surrounding the ice shelf had formerly provided enough […]

Geophysical Research Letters, August 29 Glaciers in the Pyrenees Mountains had lost 88% of their 1850 volume by 2016. Since 2011, they have lost 23% of their ice and have become 0.7 meters thinner each year. These glaciers are the largest in southern Europe. Air temperatures across the Pyrenean mountain range have increased by more […]

National Snow & Ice Data Center, September 22 Although media tend to focus on the Arctic sea ice extent (or area) minimum each September, sea ice volume and thickness – especially, surviving multi-year sea ice – is at least as important. Although this year’s minimum was only the 12th lowest on record, the amount of […]

Nature Communications Earth & Environment, September 15 Fast-flowing winds over the Gulf of Alaska appear to be increasing the rate of ocean acidification in this region. When winds move quickly over the surface of water, they create low-pressure regions that amplify the flow of currents to the surface holding deep, cold water. These cold waters […]

Science, September 3 Rapid warming in the Arctic, including loss of Arctic sea ice seems to be associated with increasing extreme weather events in the Northern Hemisphere, but the cause and therefore the strength of this association has remained uncertain. Sudden warming of the stratosphere above the Arctic has been postulated as one causal link, […]

The Cryosphere, September 1 Rising global temperatures are accelerating melt at the base of ice shelves in West Antarctica, sending large quantities of freshwater into the surrounding ocean (although not raising sea levels, since ice shelves already rest on water). This influx of freshwater creates a buoyant upper layer of water that compresses the deeper […]