CR
Cryospheric Sciences

Cryospheric Sciences

Cryo-Comm – Degrading Terrains

October 11, 2019
Cryo-Comm – Degrading Terrains
Outside the Murtèl-Corvatsch monitoring site used in this study [Credit: Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost ]

  Beneath dusted peaks of mountain dew A dense and rigid backcloth skulks, Worn down and compacted with Fractured decades of aged powder; Trodden into rocky outcrops To lie barrenly against This frozen, ancient soil. Subtle shifts of these forgotten rocks Ripple across subterranean sediments, Dislodging once-stable foundations That now cascade like an ocean; Echoing across the fragile firmame ...[Read More]

Cryo-Adventures – The Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) Training School: Personal and Virtual Attendance

October 4, 2019

The 2019 Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) Training School was hosted by Lantmäteriet (the Swedish Mapping, Cadastral, and Land Registration Authority) in Gävle, Sweden from 26 – 30 August. GIA is the response of the solid Earth to past and present-day changes of glaciers and ice sheets. Research interests in GIA span the geosciences: from regional planning applications (reclamation/flooding of l ...[Read More]

Cryo-Comm – Capturing Ice

September 27, 2019
Cryo-Comm – Capturing Ice
Marlo Garnsworthy’s artwork is inspired by her time spent on the rough seas of the Antarctic [Credit: Marlo Garnsworthy].

In this week’s blogpost, author, editor, artist, and outreach expert Marlo Garnsworthy gives some insights into her recent trip to Iceberg Alley, gives you some tips on how to communicate icy science, and shows us her inspirational artwork. If you’re reading this, ice may be on your mind. Ice is surely on mine. During my day job as a creative and editor, I dip frequently into Twitter for the lates ...[Read More]

Climate Change & Cryosphere – Summer 2019: The year that the Arctic was sunburned

September 20, 2019

June, July and August 2019 saw extensive heat waves across Europe, with air temperatures reaching above 40°C in many countries. In response, record breaking ice melt was observed in Greenland and wildfires in Siberia, Alaska, Arctic Canada and Greenland occurred. A particularly dry and warm summer was responsible for hemisphere-wide changes to the cryosphere. In this week’s post, we will review so ...[Read More]

Climate Change & Cryosphere – Why is the Arctic sea-ice cover retreating?

September 13, 2019
Climate Change & Cryosphere – Why is the Arctic sea-ice cover retreating?
Picture of Arctic sea ice with melt ponds [Credit: David Mark on Pixabay].

The Arctic Ocean surface is darkening as its sea-ice cover is shrinking. The exact processes driving the ongoing sea-ice loss are far from being totally understood. In this post, we will investigate the different causes of the recent retreat of the Arctic sea-ice cover, using the most updated literature… Arctic sea ice is disappearing Due to its geographical position centered around the Nort ...[Read More]

Cryo-adventures – Life and science at a central Greenland ice core drilling camp

September 6, 2019

How do you get there? Where will you sleep? What work will you do there?These are just a few of the many questions I got from family and friends when I told them that I would join the EastGRIP ice core project this summer. As a paleo climate and ice sheet modeller, I could only repeat the abstract information given to me, very conscious that I actually had no idea how it would be to live and work ...[Read More]

Vamos a la playa!

July 26, 2019
Vamos a la playa!
Photo by Ian Parker on Unsplash

A new heatwave is currently hitting Europe. In this context, the icy landscapes of the Arctic, Antarctica or the high mountains appear to be the perfect destination to cool down! As this is not necessarily an option for everyone, we alternatively recommend to find the next river, lake, or ocean and jump in, just like the penguins in the picture above! This heatwave is also a clear sign that August ...[Read More]

Did you know? – Storms can make Arctic sea ice disappear even faster

July 19, 2019
Did you know? – Storms can make Arctic sea ice disappear even faster
Fig. 1: The difficulties of in-situ observations on sea ice. Winter storm has broken up an ice floe that was only hours ago more than a kilometer wide into small pieces. Scientists are climbing over cracks and rescuing the equipment [Credit: Tor Ivan Karlsen, Norwegian Polar Institute].

The increase in air and water temperature due to climate change drives the retreat in the Arctic sea-ice cover. During summer, when sunlight reaches the Arctic, the absorption of heat by the dark ocean water enhances the sea-ice melt through the ice-albedo feedback. During winter, when sunlight does not reach the Arctic, another feedback is at work, as storms enhance the energy transfer between ai ...[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]

Surviving in cold environments: from microbes under glaciers to queer scientists in the current social context

July 5, 2019
Surviving in cold environments: from microbes under glaciers to queer scientists in the current social context
A rainbow shines brightly over glaciers in Tarfala Valley, in the Swedish Arctic. The rainbow, a natural and colourful phenomenon, has become a symbol of pride in the LGBTQ+ community [Credit: Mario Toubes-Rodrigo].

On the 5th of July we will celebrate the International Day of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, and people that do not identify themselves as cis and/or straight) People in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM). Many people will ask: “Why is this day important?” Being a queer scientist in particular, and a queer person in general, can sometimes reminds us of how livi ...[Read More]