Cryospheric Sciences

What cryoscientists should expect for a Covid-regulated EGU22

T.J. Young May 20, 2022

After two (long) years of remote work and virtual conferencing, we are looking forward to engaging with fellow scientists in-person at the upcoming EGU22 General Assembly! But, with Covid-19 still in the air, this year’s conference will be held as a hybrid format. In this way, EGU22 will be modified to comply with Austrian pandemic restrictions, as well as introduce new elements to the programme to engage with those attending remotely.

After two (long) years of remote work and virtual conferencing, we are looking forward to engaging with fellow scientists in-person at the upcoming EGU22 General Assembly! But, with Covid-19 still in the air, this year’s conference will be held as a hybrid format. In this way, EGU22 will be modified to comply with Austrian pandemic restrictions, as well as introduce new elements to the programme t ...[Read More]

Ice-hot news: A cryo-summary of the new IPCC assessment report!

Clara Burgard, David Docquier, Maria Scheel and Larissa van der Laan May 13, 2022

Figure 1: An illustration of the Vernagtferner glacier in Austria, under the influence of climate change. Painting by Larissa van der Laan, based on historical photographs compiled by Markus Weber.

We have waited eight years for it, and it is finally out: the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a.k.a. « IPCC AR6 »)! And it is more than 10,000 pages long across Working Groups! Fortunately, a synthesis report integrating the findings of all three working groups should be released in Autumn 2022. However, we, at the EGU Cryosphere Blog, thought it might be us ...[Read More]

Taiwan’s Icy Past

TJ & CJ Young May 6, 2022

The bustling cityscape of Taipei at dusk. Notice the mountains that surround the entire city! [Credit: TJ & CJ Young]

The beautiful island of Taiwan (as given by its colonial name, Ilha Formosa) is primarily known for its lush tropical forests, delicious culinary cuisine, bubbling hot springs, and a bustling cityscape. But, what does Taiwan have to do with the cryosphere? Before you resist the urge to leave and get a bubble tea, read on to find out about Taiwan’s cryospheric past! From cities to mountains Taiwan ...[Read More]

Current challenges: high-altitude Chilean glacier monitoring in an extended drought

Sebastián Cisternas, Camilo Muñoz, Claudio Bravo, Pablo Paredes and The Centro de Estudios Científicos (CECs) Glaciology & Climate Change Team April 29, 2022

Olivares Alfa Glacier in January 2021, Photo credit: Alejandro Silva.

Central Chile has been facing a long dry period since 2010, marked by a high mean precipitation deficit, a so-called Mega Drought (MD) (Garreaud et al., 2019). This, besides long-term temperature increase (Burger et al., 2018; Falvey & Garreaud, 2009), has affected negatively the glaciers’ mass balance in the region mainly due to low snow accumulation throughout a hydrological year (which is f ...[Read More]

More pancakes in the future!

Roxana S. Cremer April 21, 2022

Evening sun over pancake ice covering Hornsund Fjord in Svalbard, 27 March 2020. Credits: Roxana Cremer.

More pancakes in the future – that sounds like a very good New Year’s Eve resolution for Sunday brunches, but it could also be a development of the most tasty looking sea ice shape in the Arctic. Let’s find out more! Arctic Sea Ice The growth and melt of Arctic sea ice follows a seasonal cycle. In the springtime, under the midnight sun, the sea ice begins to melt until it reaches its m ...[Read More]

Women of Cryo VI: Women and Glaciers in the Chilean Andes (Part II)

Paola Araya and Helena Valenzuela-Astudillo April 15, 2022

In Chile, gender imbalance in science mirrors the international context, even though the Americas have been recognised as a region where women’s representation in science has increased, compared to other countries (UNESCO 2015 statistics and this study). However, Chile still has one of the lowest ratios of women participating in STEM (33.1%), followed by Mexico and Peru, as shown in this study. In ...[Read More]

Highlighted Paper – Meteorites in Antarctica

Veronica Tollenaar April 8, 2022

Figure 1. Artist impression of the Antarctic meteorite treasure map (not to scale). [photo: field team of the JARE-54/BELARE 2012–2013 expedition to the Nansen blue ice field. Artist impression: Janbert Aarnink]

A Belgian-Dutch team of scientists created the first-ever “treasure map” that shows where in Antarctica meteorites are likely to be found. Meteorites are samples from space that fall as stone-like material on the surface of the Earth. Once recovered, meteorites provide crucial information on the formation and evolution of our Solar System. First meteorite finds in Antarctica December 1969, Yamato ...[Read More]

Icy fieldwork: real or April Fool’s?

EGU Cryosphere Blog team April 1, 2022

Photo credit: Katja Laute (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Those of us fortunate to participate in cryo-fieldwork are well aware of the unique, hilarious, and sometimes bizarre scenarios that we often find ourselves in. For this year’s April Fool’s Day, the EGU Cryosphere Blog team shares crazy anecdotes, with a catch: one of these stories is fake! Are you able to tell fact from fiction? Fill in the (twitter) poll, and time will tell if you are right…!! W ...[Read More]

The fragile connection of the Ocean and the Cryosphere – a story from the past

Hayat Nasirova March 24, 2022

The primordial Earth. [Credit: Simone Marchi/SwRI]

Compared to the formation and evolution of the Earth’s surface, the ancient oceans receive little attention in geological history. However, understanding the rise and fall of the oceans of the past—or “ghost oceans”—can reveal crucial information about the evolution of our planet, the cryosphere included. Can oceans play a historical role in climate change? If water bodies had not existed, would w ...[Read More]

Massive melting of Caucasus glaciers

Levan Tielidze March 18, 2022

Ice-snow covered Mt. Kazbegi (5047 m above sea level), one of the tourist attractions of the Greater Caucasus region. Photo was taken from Village of Sno in Georgia. Photo Credit: Levan Tielidze

The Caucasus is one of the most studied glacierized regions in the world (see previous Cryoblogs on Caucasus glaciers here and here). In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about the health of the Greater Caucasus glaciers. His first study published this year indicates that the rate of decline in glacier extent between 2000 and 2020 in the Greater Caucasus is four times higher than it was be ...[Read More]