Have you ever wondered how results from scientific studies make their way into policy and influence government decisions? Read about the experiences of Sammie Buzzard, University of Reading, who spent her summer working for a government body in Westminster, London, UK. This summer I had the opportunity to take some time away from my usual Ph.D. work and spend 3 months working for the Government Of ...[Read More]
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Cryospheric Sciences
Camping on the Svalbard coast
In early April 2015, a small team of 2 Belgian and 2 French researchers went to Svalbard. The goal? Testing new methods to measure sea-ice thickness and ice algal biomass, but also measuring greenhouse gases in the sea ice in relation with the ‘STeP’ (Storfjorden Polynya multidisciplinary study) campaign. With funding from the French Polar Institute (IPEV) and IPSL and logistical arrangements by t ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Cruising for mud: Sediments from the ocean floor as a climate indicator
Going on a cruise for a month sounds tempting for most people and that is exactly how I spent one month of my summer. Instead of sunshine and 25 degrees, the temperature was closer to the freezing point on the thermometer and normal summer weather was replaced by milder weather conditions. The destination of the cruise was the western Nordic Sea and the east Greenland Margin. The ice2ice cruise wa ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
From the Poles to Paris — An interview with Erlend Moster Knudsen
What do polar bears and emperor penguins have to do with the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame? Pole to Paris has the answer. Erlend Moster Knudsen earned his PhD in climate dynamics after four years of research from the University of Bergen, Colorado State University and University of Alaska Fairbanks on Arctic sea ice and its interaction with atmospheric circulation. He took some time to answer ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Only extremes – Babis Charalampidis
– In fieldwork, you have no average. You just have extremes. When Daniel spoke his mind out loud we were facing a bright sunny day coming in from the opening of our tent. We were very glad to see that and ready to engage with our glaciological tasks. Our camp site was at the immediate fore field of the A. P. Olsen ice cap in Northeast Greenland. We had arrived there the previous evening and ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Around the Poles in approx. 100 minutes: Earth Observation for Climate Science and the Cryosphere – Anna Maria Trofaier and Anne Stefaniak
Everyday we come into contact with technology that has changed the way we work, live and even think. Yet it is still easy to forget how integral satellite technology is to our daily lives; over two thousand artificial satellites currently orbit our planet – satellites for navigation, for telecommunication, for meteorology, and for environmental and climate monitoring. The latter two categori ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Uncovering Antarctica’s hidden subglacial lake network with satellite altimetry
Measuring ice surface elevation changes with satellite laser altimeters flying hundreds of kilometres above Earth tells us where the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are thinning or thickening and how much they contribute to sea level rise. Beyond that though, it can also reveal hidden activity of subglacial lakes filling and draining beneath the ice and meltwater rivers flowing ou ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Crossing borders – Glacier fieldwork at Sulitjelma/Salajekna
The time I first set foot at the university, I didn’t expect that two weeks later I would be looking at a backpack more than half my size, turning my back to the shelter of our rental car and walking almost 100 km in the Norwegian Arctic. Howling winds, heavy backpacks, daunting bridges, and endless beauty – that’s how I would describe my first experience with glacier fieldwork. I, Silje Waa ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
A First-Timer’s Journey to the Heart of the Himalayas
I am Krishnanand J, a graduate student in glaciology from IISER Pune, India. This is a story about my very first field trip to the Himalaya. Coming from a small village in Kerala, which is the southernmost state of India, going to the Himalaya is considered a big thing. It is like a camel visiting Antarctica. So below, I will take you along on an immersive journey, as I tell you about my first fie ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
World Mental Health Day 2024 with a focus on workplace
Friday the 10 October, was World Mental Health Day, a day that was founded by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) in 1992. This year’s official theme focuses specifically on mental health in the work environment. So let’s take a look at what this means for the field of academia and the cryosphere specifically. With this post, we aim to not only raise awareness of the mental health crisis ...[Read More]