Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week — FRISP 2016

Céline Heuzé October 7, 2016

Group picture of the FRISP 2016 meeting [Credit: Anna Wåhlin]

The Forum for Research into Ice Shelf Processes, aka FRISP, is an international meeting bringing together glaciologists and oceanographers. There are no parallel sessions; everyone attends everyone else’s talk and comment on their results, and the numerous breaks and long dinners encourage new and interdisciplinary collaborations. In fact, each year, a few presentations are the result of a previou ...[Read More]

Image of The Week – Prize Polar Pictures!

Emma C. Smith September 30, 2016

Permafrost thawing and its impacts on reindeer breeding.. This figure was created by Noémie Ross - a young graphic designer and illustrator from Montréal, Canada., as part of the ‘A Frozen-Ground Cartoon’ project. It won 1st place at the 2016 Fall APECS International Polar week figure competition. Click here to enlarge the image.

Last week was the Fall APECS International Polar Week, designed to promote and celebrate the great collaborative science that goes on around the world to further our understanding of the polar regions. Part of this celebration was a figure competition, to find the most “eye-catching, informative and inspiring” figures that illustrate aspects of polar science. What better, we thought, t ...[Read More]

Image of the Week — ice tsunamis !

Sophie Berger September 23, 2016

A pile-up ice shove at Brighton Beach, Winsconsin, in March 2009. [Credit: bigcityal via Wikimedia ]

“Tsunami“ is a word that became world famous after the so-called Christmas tsunami in 2004, when enormous waves hit the shores around the Indian Ocean with disastrous consequences for countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Somalia and many others. But did you know that tsunamis can be icy? An ice tsunami is one of the many names associated with ice shoves (or ivu, shore ice override, i ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Satellite Measurements of Arctic Sea Ice

David Docquier September 16, 2016

The map above shows the region around Fram Strait that separates Greenland and Svalbard (Spreen et al., 2009) . The colours show the amount (volume flux) of sea ice that was moving from the Artic Basin and south in October/November 2006 as measured by satellites. The arrows show the direction of sea ice.

Sea ice is an important part of the Earth’s climate system. When sea ice forms, it releases heat and salt. When sea ice melts, it takes up heat and adds freshwater to the salty ocean water. It is also important for the exchange of energy between the atmosphere and the ocean surface, and for the ocean currents that transport warm and cold water from the equator to the poles and back. The main route ...[Read More]

Water Masses “For Dummies”

Céline Heuzé September 14, 2016

Polar surface water, circumpolar deep water, dense shelf water, North Atlantic deep water, Antarctic bottom water… These names pop in most discussions about the ice-ocean interaction and how this will change in a warming climate, but what do they refer to? In our second “For Dummies” article, we shall give you a brief introduction to the concept of “water mass”, explain how to differentiate water ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Yes, you’re looking at one of Peru’s most dangerous glacial lakes!

David Rounce September 9, 2016

Lake Palcacocha is one of Peru’s most dangerous glacial lakes due to the threat of an avalanche entering the lake and causing a glacial lake outburst flood. The siphons installed in 2011 lowered the level of the lake by 3-5 m in an attempt to reduce the flood hazard of the lake. [Credit: David Rounce]

As mountain glaciers melt and recede, they often leave behind large glacial lake that are contained by the glaciers’ old terminal moraines. These glacial lakes are found throughout the world and can pose a significant flood hazard to downstream communities and infrastructure. The image of this week focuses on Lake Palcacocha, a large glacial lake located in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca at an elevation ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – The Journey of a Snowflake

Clara Burgard September 2, 2016

Figure 1: Snowflakes viewed with a low temperature scanning electron microscope (SEM). [ Credit : Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture via Wikimedia ]

You remember last winter, when everything was white and you had so much fun building a snowman with your friends? What you see on this image above, is what you would see, if you took a tiny tiny piece of your snowman and put it under a low-temperature scanning electron microscope (SEM). The colours are called “pseudo colours”, they are computer generated based on the number of electron ...[Read More]

Image of The Week – 100 years of Endurance!

Emma C. Smith August 26, 2016

Shakleton's Endurance finally sinks to the bottom of the Weddell sea in November 1915. [Credit: Royal Geographical Society via Wikimedia Commons]

The 30th August 2016 marks 100 years since the successful rescue of all (human) member of Shackleton’s Endurance crew from their temporary camp on Elephant Island (see map). Nearly a year prior to their rescue they were forced to abandon their ship – The Endurance – after it became stuck in thick drifting sea ice, known as pack ice, trying to navigate the Weddell Sea. It was the last major e ...[Read More]

Image of the Week — Where do people stay in the “coolest” place on earth?

Sophie Berger August 19, 2016

The 82 research stations in the Antarctic. The world map below shows which countries are operating a station in Antarctica. Source: COMNAP Antarctic Facilities (Updated February 2014) - [Credit: Sophie Berger]. Click here here to enlarge the image.

What word would you use to characterise the Antarctic ? White? Windy? Remote? Empty? Inhospitable? Wild? Preserved? While all of these are true it may surprise you to find out that the Antarctic is occupied by humans all year round with almost half of its 82 research stations operating 365.25 days a year! Just a few hours before the launch of the biennial Antarctic meeting held by the Science Comm ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Hidden Beauty on a Himalayan Glacier

Arindan Mandal August 12, 2016

Supraglacial lake on the surface of Chhota Shigri Glacier at ~4900 m above sea level in the ablation zone (Credit: Anurag Linda).

Today’s image of the week comes from stunning setting of Chhota Shigri Glacier in the Pir Panjal Range of northern India. The range is part of the Hindu-Kush Karakorum Himalaya region which is a notoriously challenging place to work as it is very remote and completely inaccessible during the winter months. However, when have these challenges ever stopped a hardy glaciologist?! Our image thi ...[Read More]