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Cryospheric Sciences

414 search results for "sea ice"

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week – Stuck in the ice: could it have been predicted?

July 27, 2018
Image of the Week – Stuck in the ice: could it have been predicted?

Expeditions in the Southern Ocean are invaluable opportunities to learn more about this fascinating but remote region of the world. However, sending vessels to navigate the hostile Antarctic waters is an expensive endeavor, not only financially but also from a human perspective. When vessels are forced to turn back due to hazardous conditions or, even worse, become stuck in the ice (as shown in ou ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week – The future of Antarctic ice shelves

July 20, 2018
Image of the Week – The future of Antarctic ice shelves

Climate change will increase ice shelf melting around Antarctica. That’s the not-very-surprising conclusion of a recent modelling study, resulting from a collaboration between Australian and German researchers. Here’s the less intuitive result: much of the projected melting is actually linked to a decrease in sea ice formation. Learn why in our Image of the Week… Different types ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week — Quantifying Antarctica’s ice loss

June 22, 2018
Image of the Week — Quantifying Antarctica’s ice loss

It is this time of the year, where any news outlet is full of tips on how to lose weight rapidly to  become beach-body ready. According to the media avalanche following the publication of the ice sheet mass balance inter-comparison exercise (IMBIE) team’s Nature paper, Antarctica is the biggest loser out there. In this Image of the Week, we explain how the international team managed to weight Anta ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week – Why is ice colourful?

May 4, 2018
Image of the Week – Why is ice colourful?

When you think of glacier ice, what colour first springs to mind? Maybe white, blue or transparent? Well, glacier ice can, in fact, be mesmerising and multi-coloured! Our image of the week shows thin sections of glacier ice under polarised light. These sections were cut from block samples of two Alpine glaciers in Switzerland (Chli Titlis and Grenzgletscher).   In these images the individual ice c ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week – Super-cool colours of icebergs

March 30, 2018
Image of the Week – Super-cool colours of icebergs

It is Easter weekend! And as we do not want you to forget about our beloved cryosphere, we provide you with a picture nearly as colourful as the Easter eggs: very blue icebergs! What makes them so special? This is what this Image of the Week is about… What are icebergs made of? Icebergs are chunks of ice which break off from land ice, such as glaciers or ice sheets (as you’ll know if you rem ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week – Ice caps on Mars?!

January 19, 2018
Image of the Week – Ice caps on Mars?!

Much like our Planet Earth, Mars has polar ice caps too, one for each pole: the Martian North Polar Ice Cap (shown on our image of the week) and the Southern Polar Ice Cap. Yet, their composition and structure reveals these ice caps are quite different from those of Planet Earth… Mars refresher   As a refresher, here are some Mars facts: Mars is the 4th planet from the sun. Its equatorial dia ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week – Vibrating Ice Shelf!

December 22, 2017
Image of the Week – Vibrating Ice Shelf!

If you listen carefully to the Ekström ice shelf in Antarctica, a strange sound can be heard! The sound of a vibrating truck sending sounds waves into the ice. These sound waves are used to “look” through the ice and create a seismic profile of what lies beneath the ice surface. Read on to find out how the technique works and for a special Cryosphere Christmas message! What are we doing with this ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week – Does size really matter? A story of ice floes and power laws

November 24, 2017
Image of the Week – Does size really matter? A story of ice floes and power laws

The retreating Arctic sea ice is one of the most well-known facets of Climate Change. Images of polar bears desperately swimming through polar seas searching for somewhere to rest and feed resonate strongly with the public. Beyond these headlines however, the Arctic Ocean is displaying a rapid transition from having mostly permanent ice cover to a more seasonal cover. The Marginal Ice Zone As both ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week – Ice Stupas: a solution for Himalayan water shortage?

November 17, 2017
Image of the Week – Ice Stupas: a solution for Himalayan water shortage?

As the world searches for practical innovations that can mitigate the impact of climate change, traditional methods of environmental management can offer inspiration. In Hindu Kush and Karakoram region, local people have been growing, or grafting, glaciers for at least 100 years. Legend has it that artificial glaciers were grown in mountain passes as early as the twelfth century to block the advan ...[Read More]

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Cryospheric Sciences

Image of the Week — Climate change and disappearing ice

November 10, 2017
Image of the Week — Climate change and disappearing ice

The first week of the Climate Change summit in Bonn (COP 23  for those in the know) has been marked by Syria’s decision to sign the Paris Accord, the international agreement that aims at tackling climate change. This decision means that the United States would become the only country outside the agreement if it were to complete the withdrawal process vowed by President Trump. In this context ...[Read More]