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Cryospheric Sciences

Regular Editor

Did you know… the difference between sea-ice area and sea-ice extent?

April 10, 2020
Did you know… the difference between sea-ice area and sea-ice extent?
Fig. 1: Sea-ice landscape [Credit: Tapio Haaja on Unsplash]

At the beginning of March, just over a month ago, sea ice in the Arctic reached its annual maximum extent. As currently all media attention is focused on other news, you might have missed that, once again, this maximum fell below the 1981 to 2010 average maximum extent. When reading headlines about such sea-ice facts, you may have been confused by the seemingly interchangeable use of “sea-ice exte ...[Read More]

Cryo Adventures – What’s currently going on in Antarctic science?

December 6, 2019
Cryo Adventures – What’s currently going on in Antarctic science?
Map of the various locations mentioned in the text. Green markers are bases, red markers measurement campaign locations [Credit: Andy Smedley].

As Christmas gets closer, days are getting shorter in the northern hemisphere. A good excuse to get cosy inside on the sofa, drinking tea and eating Christmas biscuits. Meanwhile, a few thousand of scientists are heading “South”, to Antarctica, where the lengthening days provide the perfect conditions to conduct a whole variety of scientific field expeditions… Science in Antarctica Just last ...[Read More]

An interview with… Marie Dumont

July 12, 2019

This week, we are interviewing Dr Marie Dumont. At the European Geosciences Union (EGU) general assembly in 2019, Marie was awarded the Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientist. Marie is currently a research team leader and deputy scientific director for the Snow Research Centre (part of Centre National de Recherches Meteorologiques, Météo-France & Le Centre national de la Rec ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Looking to the past for answers

June 28, 2019

We’re only just really starting to comprehend the state and fate of Himalayan glaciers due to a scarcity of research along the monumental mountain range. Climbers and scientists have been observing these lofty glaciers since the 1900s. However, is that looking back far enough? Glacier moraines, featuring in this Image of the Week, can reveal change extending back thousands of years. You may look a ...[Read More]

A brief guide to Navigating EGU 2019!

April 3, 2019
A brief guide to Navigating EGU 2019!

Are you going to the EGU General Assembly in Vienna next week? If so, read on for a quick guide to navigating the week: Where to start, what to see and how to meet people and enjoy yourself! After all, the meeting is as much about the opportunities to meet scientists from all over the world as it is about the science itself. How on Earth do I know what is going on?! The EGU General Assembly (GA) i ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Will Santa have to move because of Climate Change?

December 21, 2018

Because of global warming and polar amplification, temperature rises twice as fast at the North Pole than anywhere else on the planet. Could that be a problem for our beloved Santa Claus, who, according to the legend, lives there? It appears that Santa could very well have to move to one of its second residences before the end of this century. But even if he moves to another place, the smooth runn ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Making waves: assessing supraglacial water storage for debris-covered glaciers

July 13, 2018

A creeping flux of ice descends Everest, creating the dynamic environment of Khumbu Glacier. Ice and snow tumble, debris slumps, ice cliffs melt, englacial cavities collapse, ponds form and drain, all responding to a variable energy balance. Indeed, Khumbu Glacier is a debris-covered glacier, meaning it features a layer of sediment, rocks and house-sized boulders that covers the ice beneath. Recen ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Inspiring Girls!

June 29, 2018
Image of the Week – Inspiring Girls!
Figure 1: Participants of the 2018 Inspiring Girls Instructor Workshop, hosted by Girls on Ice Switzerland [Credit: Mother of Kathrin Naegeli]

What, you may ask, are this group of 22 women doing standing around a fire-pit and what does this have to do with the EGU Cryosphere blog? This group of scientists, artists, teachers, and coaches gathered 2 weeks ago in Switzerland to learn how to become instructors on an Inspiring Girls Expedition. But what, you may ask again, is an Inspiring Girls Expedition? Well read on to find out more… ...[Read More]

What’s on at POLAR18?

June 13, 2018
What’s on at POLAR18?

Next Tuesday (19th June) the POLAR18 Open Science Conference kicks off in Davos, Switzerland. We have put together a quick guide about events that might be of interest to you during the week! Conferences are about the science, of course, but the social side is just as important 🙂 What is POLAR18? The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that the POLAR18 conference is, in fact, a collection of di ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Icy expedition in the Far North

June 8, 2018
Image of the Week – Icy expedition in the Far North
Fig.1: Mooring in the fjord next to Qaanaaq [Credit: Measurement campaign team].

Many polar scientists who have traveled to Svalbard have heard several times how most of the stuff there is the “northernmost” stuff, e.g. the northernmost university, the northernmost brewery, etc. Despite hosting the four northernmost cities and towns, Svalbard is however accessible easily by “usual-sized” planes at least once per day from Oslo and Tromsø. This is not the case for th ...[Read More]