Cryospheric Sciences

Recipe to quantify calibration errors in a time-dependent ice sheet model

Beatriz Recinos, Dan Goldberg and James Maddison October 27, 2023

Figure 1: Upper diagram: schematics of baking a pie, representing an idealized 1D Bayesian inverse problem. Lower diagram: schematics of a multi-dimension ice sheet inverse problem solved using FEniCS_ice error propagation framework, created from a compilation of figures from Recinos et al. (2023). FEniCS_ice is designed to solve these problems over a finite element mesh containing (in this study case) more than 100,000 elements. These elements are the vertices, faces, and edges that form our triangular mesh (red map, check out ingredients list below for more information). [Credits: Beatriz Recinos, baking icons from https://www.flaticon.com/].

Ice sheet models are awesome tools that help us learn and predict the fate of ice sheets under human-induced climate change. However, all models have errors. What types of uncertainties exist in an ice sheet model and how can we quantify some of them efficiently? Check out our recipe to quantify one type of uncertainty in sea level rise projections: The model calibration error. Not a numerical mod ...[Read More]

antARcTica

Emma Pearce October 20, 2023

In the frozen expanse of Antarctica, where the remote environment tests the limits of scientists, a unique relationship between science and art can emerge. As the isolation, weather and beauty of the ice-covered continent introduce themselves, some Antarctic individuals find solace in the realm of art. In this blog post, we delve into the interplay between the world of scientific exploration and t ...[Read More]

The search for the Antarctic giants!

José Queirós October 13, 2023

The Southern Ocean, a place of wonders and giants. At the surface we are amazed by giant icebergs, but it is in the deep that the true mystery persists! [Credits: José Queirós]

The deep Southern Ocean is full of giants! Some of them scared the sailors for centuries, like the colossal squid or, as they called it, The Kraken. They thought it was a huge monster capable of sinking ships! Far from it, these giants ran away from us, and we still know very little about them! They live in depths where the light cannot penetrate, the largest ecosystem on Earth, the Deep-Sea! They ...[Read More]

Highlighted Paper: Breaking the ice – what’s new in modeling sea ice deformation

Lina Madaj October 9, 2023

Figure 1: What might look like art is actually an image of Arctic Ocean sea ice data from different days and with different lines and angles of deformation. [Credits: Ringeisen et al., 2023, Fig.3]

Most of the time when we speak or read about sea ice it is probably about its extent or thickness or the decline in both, or maybe even about the microorganisms living inside and underneath it. How sea ice breaks and deforms is normally not so much the topic of general discussions. This is actually a really important process that we do not know enough about, at the same time it is pretty co ...[Read More]

Did you know… about worms surviving in permafrost for at least 46000 years?

Maria Scheel September 29, 2023

Fig. 1 Shatilovich and colleagues discovered some (rather unexpectedly) still surviving eukaryotes, such as amoeba and this roundworm (nematode) in the long-term survival state called cryptobiosis (adapted from Shatilovich et al. 2023).

Lately permafrost makes the news more and more because of its enormous carbon stocks and its vulnerability to climate change. While permafrost greenhouse gas budget calculations are complex and harbour an ever-growing research community, its microbial ecology is still on the rise. A recent star are tiny roundworms that survived frozen in permafrost for 46’000 years. Take a short dip into this new ...[Read More]

Small step for reindeer – large leap for humankind?

Torben Windirsch September 22, 2023

Photo of a reindeer looking for food on the snow.

Fig 1 – A reindeer digging through snow to find food. [Credit: T. Windirsch]

Since several decades, there’s a lot of discussion in the permafrost ecosystem community on “rewilding” and “return to a natural state” in order to protect ecosystems and to reduce the impacts of climate change. Reindeer and other herbivores influence the insulation regime of the ground and could thereby preserve the frozen state of permafrost ground. Is there a way to utilise this effect to our b ...[Read More]

Looking for the Window during Fieldwork

Katie Sipes September 15, 2023

Qaanaaq fjord in Northern Greenland, 79°N [Credits: Katie Sipes].

Arctic fieldwork is a meticulous dance with the ever-fickle weather, where nature’s temperament can determine the course of scientific endeavors. Rain or fog can swiftly put a halt to even the most well-laid plans. This holds true for Greenland, where proximity to the ice cap doesn’t shield researchers from the capriciousness of the climate. In August 2023, the Deep Purple ERC Project ...[Read More]

Did you know there’s a (relatively new) treaty for the Central Arctic Ocean?

Johanna Buerkert September 8, 2023

Figure 1: Arctic Sea Ice. [Credits: Lisa Winberg von Friesen, private archives]

Even as regular readers of the Cryosphere Blog , you might still be unfamiliar with the large amount of regulation that surrounds the cryosphere – and the research that’s being done on it. As effective regulation of our environment is needed, we need more scientists to understand the law and more lawyers to understand the science. So, brace yourselves and hold on tight, while we run through one of ...[Read More]

We are back – with 4 Arctic fieldwork stories!

EGU Guest blogger September 1, 2023

Walking to a glacier in NE Greenland. Photo credit: Maria Scheel

You might have missed our weekly blog posts, but we are back! This week’s post highlights four field work campaigns our cryo community conducted. Join us on a journey to Greenland, Svalbard and Alaska to learn about methane emissions, glacier flows, tundra fires and ice microbes. Chasing methane in Greenland The subglacial environment of the Greenland Ice Sheet is a relatively new discovered ...[Read More]

Some icy summer reads – the blog goes on holiday

The Chief Editors July 14, 2023

A photo of a sunset over Arctic sea ice and a photo of yellow safety rubber shoes facing that sea.

The cryosphere blog is taking a summer break but not without first providing you with your beach/airplane/train/fieldwork/balcony summer reading list to make you miss us a tiny bit less. Continue reading this post to explore some summer inspiration. Like a lot of northern countries who take long summer breaks to enjoy the long hours of light (midnight sun) after a dark winter, the Cryoblog is also ...[Read More]