Ice caps
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The polar regions in a 2°C warmer world Open
Polar warming will have widespread near-term consequences for sea level rise, extreme weather, plants, animals, and humans.
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Contribution of the Greenland Ice Sheet to sea level over the next millennium Open
Simulations show that the Greenland Ice Sheet could disappear within a millennium if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated.
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Return to rapid ice loss in Greenland and record loss in 2019 detected by the GRACE-FO satellites Open
Between 2003-2016, the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) was one of the largest contributors to sea level rise, as it lost about 255 Gt of ice per year. This mass loss slowed in 2017 and 2018 to about 100 Gt yr −1 . Here we examine further change…
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Modelling the future evolution of glaciers in the European Alps under the EURO-CORDEX RCM ensemble Open
Glaciers in the European Alps play an important role in the hydrological cycle, act as a source for hydroelectricity and have a large touristic importance. The future evolution of these glaciers is driven by surface mass balance and ice fl…
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Melting ice Caps and the Economic Impact of Opening the Northern Sea Route Open
A consequence of melting Arctic ice caps is the commercial viability of the Northern Sea Route, connecting North-East Asia with North-Western Europe. This will represent a sizeable reduction in shipping distances and a decrease in the aver…
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Continuity of the Mass Loss of the World's Glaciers and Ice Caps From the GRACE and GRACE Follow‐On Missions Open
We use time series of time‐variable gravity from the Gravitational Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow‐On (GRACE‐FO) missions to evaluate the mass balance of the world's glaciers and ice caps (GIC) for the time period …
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Oceans Melting Greenland: Early Results from NASA’s Ocean-Ice Mission in Greenland Open
Melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet represents a major uncertainty in projecting future rates of global sea level rise. Much of this uncertainty is related to a lack of knowledge about subsurface ocean hydrographic properties, particularly …
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Surface Pond Energy Absorption Across Four Himalayan Glaciers Accounts for 1/8 of Total Catchment Ice Loss Open
Glaciers in High Mountain Asia, many of which exhibit surface debris, contain the largest volume of ice outside of the polar regions. Many contain supraglacial pond networks that enhance melt rates locally, but no large‐scale assessment of…
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The abandoned ice sheet base at Camp Century, Greenland, in a warming climate Open
In 1959 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Camp Century beneath the surface of the northwestern Greenland Ice Sheet. There they studied the feasibility of deploying ballistic missiles within the ice sheet. The base and its wastes were …
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Greenland surface mass-balance observations from the ice-sheet ablation area and local glaciers Open
Glacier surface mass-balance measurements on Greenland started more than a century ago, but no compilation exists of the observations from the ablation area of the ice sheet and local glaciers. Such data could be used in the evaluation of …
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Greenland Ice Sheet solid ice discharge from 1986 through 2017 Open
We present a 1986 through 2017 estimate of Greenland Ice Sheet ice discharge. Our data include all discharging ice that flows faster than 100 m yr−1 and are generated through an automatic and adaptable method, as opposed to conventional ha…
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A multimillion-year-old record of Greenland vegetation and glacial history preserved in sediment beneath 1.4 km of ice at Camp Century Open
Significance Understanding Greenland Ice Sheet history is critical for predicting its response to future climate warming and contribution to sea-level rise. We analyzed sediment at the bottom of the Camp Century ice core, collected 120 km …
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Brief communication: Pancake ice floe size distribution during the winter expansion of the Antarctic marginal ice zone Open
The size distribution of pancake ice floes is calculated from images acquired during a voyage to the Antarctic marginal ice zone in the winter expansion season. Results show that 50 % of the sea ice area is made up of floes with diameters …
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Mass Change of Glaciers in Muztag Ata–Kongur Tagh, Eastern Pamir, China from 1971/76 to 2013/14 as Derived from Remote Sensing Data Open
The assessment of glacier mass budget is crucial for assessing water reserves stored in glaciers. Derived glacier mass changes in the Muztag Ata and Kongur Tagh (MAKT) region in the eastern Pamir, northwestern China, is helpful in improvin…
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Discovery of a hypersaline subglacial lake complex beneath Devon Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic Open
A possible analog for saline lakes on planetary ice bodies lurks beneath a Canadian Arctic ice cap.
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Toward an imminent extinction of Colombian glaciers? Open
International audience
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Inventory and evolution of glacial lakes since the Little Ice Age: Lessons from the case of Switzerland Open
Retreating glaciers give way to new landscapes with lakes as an important element. In this study, we combined available data on lake outlines with historical orthoimagery and glacier outlines for six time periods since the end of the Littl…
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Glacial ice supports a distinct and undocumented polar bear subpopulation persisting in late 21st-century sea-ice conditions Open
Polar bears are susceptible to climate warming because of their dependence on sea ice, which is declining rapidly. We present the first evidence for a genetically distinct and functionally isolated group of polar bears in Southeast Greenla…
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Projections of the future disappearance of the Quelccaya Ice Cap in the Central Andes Open
We analyze the future state of Quelccaya Ice Cap (QIC), the world’s largest tropical ice cap with a summit elevation of 5680 m a.s.l., which, in terms of its elevation range (~5300–5680 m a.s.l.), is representative of many low-elevation gl…
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Mass balance and a glacier surge of Guliya ice cap in the western Kunlun Shan between 2005 and 2015 Open
Contemporary estimates of glacier changes are necessary to assess the impact of climate change, associated hazards and water resources management. Glaciers in High Mountain Asia (HMA) are mostly retreating except the Karakoram and western …
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More than a century of direct glacier mass-balance observations on Claridenfirn, Switzerland Open
Glacier mass-balance observations at seasonal resolution have been performed since 1914 at two sites on Claridenfirn, Switzerland. The measurements are the longest uninterrupted records of glacier mass balance worldwide. Here, we provide a…
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Accelerating Ice Loss From Peripheral Glaciers in North Greenland Open
In recent decades, Greenland's peripheral glaciers have experienced large‐scale mass loss, resulting in a substantial contribution to sea level rise. While their total area of Greenland ice cover is relatively small (4%), their mass loss i…
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Mass Loss of Totten and Moscow University Glaciers, East Antarctica, Using Regionally Optimized GRACE Mascons Open
Totten and Moscow University glaciers, in the marine‐based sector of East Antarctica, contain enough ice to raise sea level by 5 m. Obtaining precise measurements of their mass balance is challenging owing to large area of the basins and t…
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Framework for Coordinated Efforts in the Exploration of Volatiles in the South Polar Region of the Moon Open
The exploration of the lunar south polar region and the ground truthing of polar volatiles is one of the top priorities for several space agencies and private partners. Here we use Moon Mineralogy Mapper surficial water ice detections to i…
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Subglacial controls on the flow of Institute Ice Stream, West Antarctica Open
The Institute Ice Stream (IIS) rests on a reverse-sloping bed, extending >150 km upstream into the ~1.8 km deep Robin Subglacial Basin, placing it at the threshold of marine ice-sheet instability. Understanding IIS vulnerability has focuse…
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Volume Changes of Elbrus Glaciers From 1997 to 2017 Open
This study describes the analysis of changes in area and volume of the Mt.Elbrus glacier system, Central Caucasus from 1997 to 2017. It is based on helicopter-borne ice thickness measurements, comparison of high-resolution imagery and two …
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Modeling 3‐D crustal velocities in the United States and Canada Open
A numerical model for three‐dimensional (3‐D) crustal velocities has been derived for most of the United States and Canada, primarily from repeated geodetic data. This model provides a foundation for a prototype of the TRANS4D software. TR…
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Mt. Everest’s highest glacier is a sentinel for accelerating ice loss Open
Mountain glacier systems are decreasing in volume worldwide yet relatively little is known about their upper reaches (>5000 m). Here we show, based on the world’s highest ice core and highest automatic weather stations, the significant and…
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Brief communication: Collapse of 4 Mm <sup>3</sup> of ice from a cirque glacier in the Central Andes of Argentina Open
Among glacier instabilities, collapses of large parts of low-angle glaciers are a striking, exceptional phenomenon. So far, merely the 2002 collapse of Kolka Glacier in the Caucasus Mountains and the 2016 twin detachments of the Aru glacie…
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Future retreat of Great Aletsch Glacier Open
We model the future evolution of the largest glacier of the European Alps – Great Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland – during the 21st century. For that purpose we use a detailed three-dimensional model, which combines full Stokes ice dynamics a…